Caste Archives and Artisanal Subject Formation

Caste Archives and Artisanal Subject Formation

While traditional artisans in South India claim a caste identity called the Vishwakarma, post-independence craft revival projects by the Government of India have partially severed the links between caste and vocation by democratizing the art form and making art education accessible to sculptors of all castes and religions. Simultaneously, traditional Vishwakarma families engaged in craft are seeing younger generations transforming into managerial and entrepreneurial classes rather than keeping to hand work. Under these destabilizing circumstances, I analyze the formation of a Vishwakarma caste archive which provides a historical scaffold for a subjectivity no longer tied to ancestral vocations.