Vince Pitelka on tue 26 aug 03
Janet -
I agree with all that, and appreciate the way you state it, but that is not
the distinction I was talking about. I was referring to the distintion
between "craftsperson," which is applied to ANYONE making anything in any
sort of conceivable craft media, regardless of quality or style, and
"craftsman" which is applied to someone who practices their craft with skill
and finesse. One has only to look at the contemporary small-town Church
craft sale to see "craftspeople" selling charming napkin-holders made out of
colorful pipe cleaners or plastic bread-bag ties. How did "craftsperson"
become the catch-all for every tacky craft form (as well as legitimate fine
craft), while craftsman implies skill and quality?
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
Janet Kaiser on wed 27 aug 03
Vince asks: "I wonder how we came to this difference in
interpretation?"
Simple, Vince! The Artist acquired a celebrity, star status
accumulated over a period of several hundred years, because most
art was imbued with the sacred as well as being the prerogative
of the rich. All Art was truly awesome to behold, not least
because there was relatively little of it around and few people
saw any "High Art" at all, except maybe in a place of worship.
Just as we cannot imagine that even the super-rich often did not
own a single book and even if they did, only their family priest
or head of the household could actually read it!
The craftsman on the other hand was one of the community and
fulfilled a far more important role, in that he (rarely she
unless it was one of the few trades women were allowed to
practice) gradually took over the production of everyday objects
that had previously been made at home or by neighbours. Spinning,
weaving, bread making, brewing... The blacksmith would have been
the only professional craftsman near and far. This is naturally
not to say that it was a world devoid of artistry. Patterns,
colours and forms were part of everyday life and even the cavemen
apparently liked what we would consider decorative art
(wallpaper)!
But we have now arrived in the 21st. century when artists are no
longer restricted to a narrow visual palette, but produce
anything from exciting, cutting-edge, glorious Art right through
to abhorrent crap (literally and figuratively) which the media
are all too ready to pick up and postulate upon. With a vast army
of a supporting cast, made up of critics, agents, PR people,
collectors, financiers, academics, curators, investors and
speculators all pitching in their own "added value" to the
package, artists remain safely in their celebrity niche, whatever
skills and craftsmanship are or are not involved in producing
their work.
How is a craftsman who makes pots, baskets, jewellery, fabric,
glass, or whatever from raw materials (end product doing anything
from pissing into to clothing a queen) going to compete with the
notoriety of the Artist today? The skill and workmanship involved
in what "mere craftspeople" produce is considered everyday and
decorative, rather that in-your-face controversial, so of course
in our society where notoriety, shock and horror are so prized,
the craftsperson is therefore considered irrelevant.
Their work and the skills involved making it are naturally going
to be under-rated because our society (in general) hasn't a clue
what is involved in the making process, because it has been
raised on manufactured goods which magically appear in the shops.
Everyone is one big step removed from actually seeing anything
produced, whether it is the pint of milk on the supermarket shelf
or the mug on the kitchen table. It is sad to behold an inner
city child absolutely terrified by a curious cow and utterly
revolted at the thought of it producing milk, but apply that lack
of knowledge and experience right across the board. It is not
just sad, it is frightening!
This whole sad state of affairs started with the exodus of people
from self-sufficient country communities into the industrialised
cities of the world. It is now all-pervasive, not just in the Art
World... Look at the drive to replace people with robots in
factories, computers instead of draftsmen and women, the absence
of hands-on activities in schools so children no longer even need
to write with an implement, just type on a keyboard... All along
the way, the march of technology is diminishing and devaluing the
human gift of manual manipulation and creative expression in any
form.
Other "art forms" are taking a higher place and priority... The
beautifully crafted computer programme someone was talking about
earlier, the films we watch, the way supermarket shelves are set
out... Everything our grandparents would have regarded as
far-fetched science-fiction.
"Oh, no!" you say, "So many people have "creative" hobbies, so
how can they possibly undervalue craftsmanship?" Well they do so,
because people with such hobbies are also considered quaint and
unsophisticated! Have you ever listened to someone pontificating
about "Folk Art", well then you know. That is the establishment
side. On the other hand, because Auntie Bee pots and Uncle Joe
turns wood and does a bit of furniture making out in the garage,
the skills involved are undervalued by those nearest and dearest
because obviously there is no skill involved if someone in the
family "dabbles". I am sure there are plenty of Clayarters who
can relate to that! Not being taken seriously by the very people
you look to for support and credit for the skills you have
acquired.
Naturally the danger is to think that all art is devoid of any
skills in a modern context. HOWEVER I recognise a trend towards
the artist-designer becoming a "creative draftsman", with others
actually making the final product. Indeed, what I see of the new
generation of young artists starting careers frightens me. They
are being overfaced with too many different media and the need to
learn a little of everything to compete with their
contemporaries. They are "designers" with very little knowledge
of the medium from which their "art" is to be made. So they are
creating new ideas, dreaming up products and (in some cases)
providing solutions but have very little idea how to actually
make anything. Making or rather manufacture becomes the job of
the technicians in a product production team... Maybe robots or
minimum wage factory workers in ?
And so back to craftsmanship... It has be removed from the
equation. All independent craftspeople are suddenly reduced to
being quaint curiosities who should sit in heritage sites as
working exhibits, so people can see "living history" and then
relate to the past to see how grandma and grandpa used to live.
How quaint! How old-fashioned!
Is it any wonder that people aspire to be star-studded "artists"
and not "craftsmen"? I think not!
Sincerely
Janet Kaiser - as cynical as ever... And if it is so simple, why
did it take me so long to say?
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The top posted mail was sent by Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art : Capel Celfyddyd
8 Marine Crescent : Criccieth : Wales : UK
Centre of Excellence for The Arts
Home of The International Potters' Path
Tel: ++44 (01766) 523570 http://www.the-coa.org.uk
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