Bricolage

Bricolage is the process of taking consumer objects and symbols and putting them together in new configurations to create new meanings. Examples of bricolage in consumer culture include the use of the safety pin in punk subcultures or, in the United Kingdom, the Volkswagen car insignia in hip-hop culture as personal decorative items: a sort of homemade jewelry made from nonjewelry items. The term is usually used to describe the practices of groups or subcultures for whom the use of consumer symbols provides an identity that is resistant to the dominant culture from which the symbols were appropriated. Although primarily associated with British subcultural groups, such as punks, mods, Teds, and skinheads, the term is now used widely to describe any active “putting together” of ...