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Paper short abstract

This paper discusses my use of miniature cameras placed on tools and bricks to reveal hidden artistic subjectivity in Chinese Linxia brick carving. By catching real-time dynamics and micro-decisions, it shows the identity dilemmas of craftspeople and unspoken modes of their self-expression.

Paper long abstract

My research focuses on the self-expression and habitus-development that actually occurs, but is not often visible, in the making of Linxia brick carvings, which is usually regarded as "just executing a existing design."

I examined the different choices made by artisans working on the same subject - for example, what main images they choose for the overall work, to what extent they follow the established design, what carving techniques they use, and the finer details of their designs - to observe these tiny but observable differences. Specifically, I used miniature cameras placed on both the bricks and carving tools to catch the craftspeople’s faces and the real-time dynamics of their work. Differences are often not often clearly realised by the craftspeople themselves, but they continue to emerge during their repeated production process.

This technique in participant observation reveals a clear contradiction in artistic expression: the image content is designed and determined by the client and the manager, yet during the actual carving process, craftspeople showcase their styles through attention to detail, skill, and choices. My research does not view this process as assembly-line commercial production, but rather records and analyses these untaught and unspoken modes of expression, evidencing originality or creativity. Based on these process-oriented observations, I consider whether through observing such habits researchers can describe the processes of skill and art in ways that better reflect internal perspectives, and whether artisan’s self-identity can be understood within the distinctions between "worker" and "artist".