Ken Chin-Purcell on wed 1 nov 00
I've really been enjoying Lee Love's reports from Japan
and musings on the spirit of the Unknown Craftsman.
I have a question for those more widely read on mingei
than myself - did Leach/Yanagi/Hamada or whoever coined the
term ever consider the phrase Unknown Artist? If Leach
and Cardew firmly believed potters to be artists, then why
"Craftsman"?
I ask because taken at face value there are legions of unknown
craftspeople working in modern companies. Take for example
the experienced line operators at my wife's medical device
company. The pacemakers and whatnot they make are made in
sufficiently low numbers that there is still a lot of hand work
involved. The operators I've met (who are over from Minnesota
to train the Irish) clearly have great pride in their workmanship
and enjoy passing on the subtle techniques that can only be
communicated person to person. There isn't a lot of creativity
involved in what they do, but they are consumate craftspeople.
In terms of product marketing however they are completely anonymous.
As I understand it the "problem" is the overemphasis of
the ego in modern western art & fine craft, and that there are other
sources of creativity, perhaps superior ones, within us.
It seems to me that the phrase Unknown Artist captures the
idea of sublimation of the ego better.
Or do I have it all wrong?
-- Ken Chin-Purcell
Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland
| |
|
