Native Funk & Flash: An Emerging Folk Art

by Alexandra Jacopetti Hart, Jerry Wainwright (Photographer)

From 1st page: "This collection of contemporary folk art comes mainly from the San Francisco Bay area, but it is representative of a much more generalized return to home-decorated functional objects. It comes from my own point of view - as an observer of its emergence and development, as a folk artist, and as a participant in the culture from which it springs. Many of us have hungered for a cultural identity strong enough to produce our own version of the native costumes of Afghanistan or Guatemala, for a community life rich enough for us to need our own totems comparable to African or Native American masks and ritual objects. The native funk and flash in this book tell us something of that hunger and what we are doing to fill it, as well as something of the meaning of those artifacts from other places and times. My hope is to make the consciousness behind these folk expressions more understandable and accessible to others and to stimulate people to experience for themselves the joy and fulfillment of making their own art for themselves."

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Photography, Fashion

112 pages, Paperback

First published September 14, 1974

Reviews

[Larry-bob Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update: Note that as of 2013 there is a new edition of the book.

Note that one of the people pictured in this book is Scrumbly of the Cockettes with some fabulous lace-enhanced jeans. Poking around in the library catalog I found that Alexandra's husband Roland Jacopetti had written a book about recycled buildings which seems like a similar thread to this.

[Karla Huebner]

I still love this book years later! Classic wild 60s and 70s homegrown art.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow there is some serious cringe from the 70’s in here that just cannot be undone nor overlooked in 2024, however the good intentions of the author and the truly stunning artworks shine through each page.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got a taste of this saucy compendium of Pacific Northwestern hippie-high fashion last weekend, but I think I need to purchase my very own copy. From what I could tell, this whimsical and weirdly photographed book would be an excellent addition to my growing library of how-to fashion guides from decades past.

[Michael Dipietro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is SUPER-inspiring!! A beautiful look into the world of West Coast hippiedom in the late '60s. The crafts pictured are totally amazing and should be inspiring to any maker for their pure lack of inhibition - plus the photographs are wonderfully campy at times and the accompanying text is hilarious.

[Maya]

Traditions and the practice of crafts are documented to become more popular when economic times are hard. In this instance of recession in the 1970s, people had less money and more time, so embroidery as a form of craft and mending, turned into an artform, were central to funk culture and the focus of this book.

"Native" does not refer to Indigenous but to an original movement of art and culture in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

If you are reading this as an ebook (I found the copy I read on Hoopla), the text may be miniscule: almost impossibly small. I found out quite late in the read that clicking on both the photograph and text enlarged them into a pop-out image that was much more readable. Hoped this saved you a new pair of spectacles.

[Ruth Rocchio]

Truly a wonder!

I found this book in the library some 15 years ago and checked it out numerous times, even photocopying pages out of it for my artist notebook. I was thrilled to see it in the kindle store! For anyone who grew up embroidering their jeans and bell sleeved hippie shirts, this book is a marvelous chronicle of an earlier moment, when we took back art as a necessity. It's art history, social commentary and philosophy, with wonderful photography. I can't recommend it highly enough.

[Kallie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I still had this book, which illustrates the art of my environs in the early 70s: textiles, assemblage, jewelry, you name it: all sorts of unpretentious art made from available, cheap materials. It also illustrates the best qualities of the hippie era that supported this sort of creative work, and people simply delighting in making the most of what they had, regardless of money or status.

[Sandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little slice of hippie heaven! I missed the exhibit a couple of years ago at Bellevue Art Museum (Seattle). Couldn't find the book, asked the county library to purchase and they did. Yay! Such a great peek into the San Francisco / northern California arts and crafts scene. And the spirit of the times. Peace.

[Donna L. Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational

Thanks to the author for making this beautiful inspiring book available at a reasonable price. I could wait to get out my needles.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a perfect time capsule and I love it! I found it inspiring, creative, and extremely 1970s bay area! This is going to be one of my favorite books!

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back in the 70's when this book came out, I would pore over the pictures of embroidery on blue jeans for hours. I loved embroidering and patching my own clothing and that of my husband and friends. Crocheting and knitting came later for me. There is one example of a crocheted cape with granny squares on pages 54 and 55. If you want a nostalgic look at the Hippy Lifestyle of San Francisco, this book is for you. I was inspired by it.

[Helena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first got hold of this book in 1969, when I was still in grade school. Found it at the local library and was lost in its wonder. This was the first book of its kind I'd had the pleasure to view. Just thumbing through the pages ( I'd skipped reading the text) triggered a creative explosion and I was off on my own. By high school a few years later, I was embroidering my faded jeans, denim jacket, even my dad's old WWII army jacket,(incidentally,many of us were wearing these back then, from WWII, Korea or Viet Nam.)

If you are interested in what The People were creating, as opposed to the generic pablum big name corporate designers and marketing conglomerates were cooking up, this is it. This is where I come from, one of the seeds that started it all. Come on and take a look at the real artisan 60's, not the Etsy/Ebay marketing designer Boho hype BS that passes for "hippy", take a look.

Whew! After that rant I'm ready to kick back and exhale!

[Ellen Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it didn't turn out to be "an emerging folk art" did it? For a fun trip back to the late sixties/ early seventies, ck out this book on hippie embroidery and other creative stuff that people used to do while stoned. Where did the creativity go? Fun colors, organic designs, patchwork, doing things yourself rather than buying it in stores. I had thought Etsy might be a revival of some of that, but it's nowhere near this level. Some pretentious crap, not very good writing, but a great collection that evokes the freedom and boundary pushing of those years, like the design of penises squirting out white heart shapes celebrating love and making love! Makes you wonder what they are doing today.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mmmmmmm...one of the things I loved most about the 70s was embroidered denim. In this beautifully photographed book published in 1974, Jacopetti examined folk art of the seventies, mostly in the form of what we would now describe as altered clothing. Damn. I am trying to get through this review without using the *h* word. As someone who moved back to the land from the movement in San Francisco during the last 60s or early 70s, Jacopetti is speaking as part of the culture, not from a distance, which adds to the charm and context of the book.

[Daniel]

There needs to be a coffee table edition of this book. The pictures of hippies showing off their psychedelic embroidery are incredible.

[Jaina Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally amazing and inspiring.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super groovy and inspiring!

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun flashback