art objects, when created for utilitarian or ceremonial purposes, are commonly known as artifacts. there is an enormous tourist industry, sometimes referred to as “the 4th world”, in which reproducing cultural artifacts or modifying the design all-together to make it more marketable is encouraged. sometimes, to the untrained eye, these items are easily mistaken as authentic, meaning they’ve been used for ceremonial purposes. most consumer-produced objects such as these are often seen in import stores like world market, pier 1–even hobby lobby carries them. they are made specifically for tourists and have absolutely no cultural significance aside from defining the 20th and 21st-century tourist industry. because of this, i decided to rename them for what they are: miserable crap. throughout the world, artifictions are produced heavily in unindustrialized countries. in america, they come out of the southwest (santos/boultos woodcarving knock-offs), southeast (appalachian folk art knock-offs) and from artifiction makers of faux indigenous objects like moccasins, bow and arrows, arrowheads, etc.
contextual use:
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“…wayne, the next time we go to ganna (ghana) and the kote devoray (cote d’ivoire/ivory coast), let’s pick up more of those funny brown statues at the holiday inn gift shop…”
