Architects, Craftsmen Seek Common Ground
by Ray Conlogue, Quebec Arts Correspondent Montreal
in The Globe & Mail March 25, 1997 page A13
A symposium called Common Ground organized by the Institute for Contemporary
Canadian Craft, with help from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the
Canadian Centre for Architcture, brought together teachers and practitioners
in the fields of architecture, craft and the decorative arts. Most seemed to
agree that their fields had become excessively intellectual, with architects
in particular having become divorced from the realities of building.
"Architects don't smell wood, and it shows in their work," said Dan Hanganu,
the celebrated Montreal architect.
"We're talking about the dematerializing of architecture," said Myriam
Blais, who teaches architecture at Laval University.
Most speakers agreed that North American culture looks down on physical
labour, and that the crafts associated with architecture and design have
suffered from the loss of status. Today, said Hanganu, an architect not
only doesn't know how to lay bricks, he doesn't know how to to talk to a
bricklayer. "And you can see the result in the poor quality of the buildings
that are constructed."
Alain Findeli, who teaches industrial design at the University of Montreal,
went so far as to argue that our society is unhealthy, in part, because of
its disrespect for craft. "There is a kind of pride that you can only get
from making a material object, and young people don't know what that feels
like any more. It is part of our social problem."
In Findeli's view, craftspeople have responded by trying to intellectualize
their work. "There is too much 'concept' in craft now, and esthetics has
been completely forgotten."
Myriam Blais suggested that when architects threw aside tradition in favour
of individual expression, they opened themselves to an obsession with novelty
for novelty's sake.
Hanganu went evenfurther in denouncing technology. "Architecture is not
related to technology at all. The Temple of Karnak ... solved certain
problems of space once and for all. We don't add anything to that by doing
the same thing on a larger scale now. That's just showing off our
technique."
A number of speakers focused on practical ways of getting the message out to
city planners and builders. Anthroplogist Rae Anderson spoke of the use of
craftwork in the StreetCity project in Toronto, which tries to get the
chronically homeless off the street and help them to establish a home.
Since the symposium was sponsored by the Institute for Contemporary Canadian
Craft, the question arises whether it isn't merely a way for craftspeople to
try to heighten the status of their work. "Let's just say that nobody else
seems to be trying to make these connections," said organizer Rosalyn
Morrison. "It's a natural challenge for us to undertake."
by Ray Conlogue, Quebec Arts Correspondent Montreal
in The Globe & Mail March 25, 1997 page A13
A symposium called Common Ground organized by the Institute for Contemporary
Canadian Craft, with help from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the
Canadian Centre for Architcture, brought together teachers and practitioners
in the fields of architecture, craft and the decorative arts. Most seemed to
agree that their fields had become excessively intellectual, with architects
in particular having become divorced from the realities of building.
"Architects don't smell wood, and it shows in their work," said Dan Hanganu,
the celebrated Montreal architect.
"We're talking about the dematerializing of architecture," said Myriam
Blais, who teaches architecture at Laval University.
Most speakers agreed that North American culture looks down on physical
labour, and that the crafts associated with architecture and design have
suffered from the loss of status. Today, said Hanganu, an architect not
only doesn't know how to lay bricks, he doesn't know how to to talk to a
bricklayer. "And you can see the result in the poor quality of the buildings
that are constructed."
Alain Findeli, who teaches industrial design at the University of Montreal,
went so far as to argue that our society is unhealthy, in part, because of
its disrespect for craft. "There is a kind of pride that you can only get
from making a material object, and young people don't know what that feels
like any more. It is part of our social problem."
In Findeli's view, craftspeople have responded by trying to intellectualize
their work. "There is too much 'concept' in craft now, and esthetics has
been completely forgotten."
Myriam Blais suggested that when architects threw aside tradition in favour
of individual expression, they opened themselves to an obsession with novelty
for novelty's sake.
Hanganu went evenfurther in denouncing technology. "Architecture is not
related to technology at all. The Temple of Karnak ... solved certain
problems of space once and for all. We don't add anything to that by doing
the same thing on a larger scale now. That's just showing off our
technique."
A number of speakers focused on practical ways of getting the message out to
city planners and builders. Anthroplogist Rae Anderson spoke of the use of
craftwork in the StreetCity project in Toronto, which tries to get the
chronically homeless off the street and help them to establish a home.
Since the symposium was sponsored by the Institute for Contemporary Canadian
Craft, the question arises whether it isn't merely a way for craftspeople to
try to heighten the status of their work. "Let's just say that nobody else
seems to be trying to make these connections," said organizer Rosalyn
Morrison. "It's a natural challenge for us to undertake."