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Jacopetti Hart presents a full-color, coffee table book of images of folk art that come mainly from the San Francisco Bay area in the 1960s and 70s. According to the text, these pieces are not only functional objects, but they serve as artifacts and symbols of cultural identity specific to that era. These can include a piece of a well-worn shirt, lavishly embroidered by the author for her husband, a colorful wooden puzzle with an enclosing box, or a heavily-decorated quilt that hangs on the wall like a tapestry, among others.
The book is a testament to the art of the Counter-Culture, and Hart does a great job introducing the reader to the primary thoughts, ideas, and attitudes of those times, as well as what the clothes, jewelry, dolls, and many other objects meant to the people who created them with loving hands. Hart's writing style is light-hearted with a slight irony thrown in, and the full-color images of various folk art creations range from embroidered Levi's jeans to handmade shoes and crocheted capes and blankets. The author gives a little bit of a background with each picture, as to the artist who created the piece and what technique was used. According to the author, the book provides a glimpse into how that culture influenced our current times.
This is a great reference book for lovers of folk art, multi-media artists, crafters in general, and for those who are interested in the way of life of the Counter-Culture in the 1960s and the 70s.