ART: ...and Craft.

From: IN%"[email protected]" "Ceramic Arts Discussion List" 10-APR-1993
21:54:53.94
To: IN%"HRL@xxxxxxxxxxxx" "Howard Lawrence"
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Subj: RE: craft, art, and functionality

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Date: Sat, 10 Apr 1993 21:21:49 EDT
From: Linda Arbuckle <ARBUCK@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: craft, art, and functionality
In-reply-to: Message of Fri,
9 Apr 1993 10:45:24 EDT from <winowiec@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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To: Howard Lawrence <HRL@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
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Chester,

Thanks for putting forward some comments for people to respond. It keeps the
pot boiling. A few half-baked thoughts before I log off to grade tests.

I thought Bruce Metcalf did address art and craft as 2 separate things. He
indicated that art is limitless, but craft is defined by 4 identities
(made substantially by hand, medium specific, defined by use, and has a
set of limitations defined by history). I disagree with this dichotomy, altho
I enjoyed the prod of the article and applaud his efforts.

Craft is defined as art, skill, or an occupation requiring skill. So, it could
be the craft of fine auto restoration, for example, or the craft of sharpening
a knife. I think art is about communication, whether materials traditionally
craft-based, or "fine-art" materials are used. There is a method of making
pottery that is probably very enjoyable and strictly craft-based. I great
deal of skill may be involved, but the product would not involve interpretation
or communication. I have seen very well-made work that was very empty. And
I have seen work that perhaps lacked the finesse of great skill, but had
wonderful heart and said a lot. The first (to me) is not art, the second
is. In a polarized situation this is easy to define. In real life it's a lot
of grey areas.

Do see the article by Warren Frederick, "An Aesthetic of Function" in New
Art Examiner, Sept. 1985 p.42.

To go back to Bruce Metcalf, I'm not sure that the "made by hand" tag is a
must. For instance, Rhode Island School of Design had a loom driven by
punch cards for jacquard weaving. This is NOT weaving by hand, but a
number of fiber artists came to work w/this machinery, and certainly saw
their output as artwork.

In the end, it's the singer, not the song. It's about THINKING, whether the
product is realized in a traditional medium with traditional technology, or
with other materials and methods. Making pottery by hand is anachronistic in
the latter half of the 20th century in modern countries. It now carries more
than food or liquid: it's about communication. Often considerable skill is
needed to make this statement and/or it may be a statement about the skills
of the body. BUT, this is secondary to idea. When Howard Kottler showed
a sculpture made from commercial casting molds, (was the title "The Old Bag
Next Door is Nuts"?) it outraged traditionalists, but it was art. In ceramic
materials, based on a way or re-thinking givens.

I do believe that it's best to make decisions from a position of strength,
rather than weakness. I've encountered students who handbuild because they
never really learned to throw (or vice versa). One ought to learn as much
of the vocabulary of materials and techniques as one can. But it's about
expression beyond technique.

As I've posted to ClayArt before, a quote by Robert Arneson:
"Technique in art is like technique in love-making:
heartfelt ineptitude has its charms, and so has heartless skill,
but what we all want is passionate virtuosity."

Looking forward to further discussion....
Linda Arbuckle, UF, Gainesville, FL
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