I have been following discussions and blogs on AFI and am little confused as to everybodies take on what is art and what is crafts. Is art determined by price or medium? Is crafts determined by duplications and materials used? Is it determined by functionality? If it is something to admire it's art, if it is something to use it's craft? I have done Art shows with "crafts" and done Craft shows with "art". Or is it simply determined by the person viewing the product? Or time spent on item? What determines what?
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I have been called a Craftsman, been called an Artist and have been called a Creator...I really don't give a hoot about all these titles and adjectives that so many people seem to get concerned about...because all that is really important to me...and all that should really be important to any of us...is doing what we are passionate about doing and have entirely too much fun and enjoyment doing it...
To me it's verbiage. And we get lost too many times in it.
In the past few decades the emergence of 'craft shows' diluted things. Now people think of 'crafts' as popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners or crocheted toilet paper covers with a doll on top.
Now everyone wants to be called an 'artist' and will get mad when someone refers to their work as a craft.
People advance beyond 'crafter' and become 'craftsmen'. But somehow that term is forgotten today. Richard works with leather and creates magnificent work. And to me you are a 'craftsman' of the highest caliber. Wear that title with pride!
Now here's where I'm gonna get the hate mail.
Jewelers must have the eye of an artist to create the design, but working the material, cutting the stones, and finishing the work takes the skill and dexterity of a craftsman.
A wood turner who takes a burl and puts it on a lathe, and turns that hunk of tree into a thin walled vessel, not knowing what the final piece will look like, then polishing it to a high finish is a craftsman.
Let's look at things from the public's point of view. Just go out and ask people "what is the first thing you think of when I say 'artist'?" I think everyone knows the answer. They will say "painter".
Next ask "what is the first thing you think of when I say 'craftsman'?" The general response will be "someone who makes something of high quality".
There's nothing wrong with calling yourself a craftsman.
The debate is a "glorious waste of time". Thank you Peter Grimord. A more important question to consider is what sells and what doesn't in the venues where we exhibit.
Cindy Welch > Richard L. ShererMay 7, 2015 at 5:11pm
"Glorious waste of time" or not, the debate still continues. <smile>
The art vs craft discussion hasn't let up one bit in the thirty five years I've been swimming the "arts waters". I made a living for over 25 years as a sculptor yet cut my teeth in the American Craft Council group of wholesale/retail shows. Only later did I enter the street show circuit and not once along the way did I finesse my identity as a sculptor to get into this or that show. It was a raging issue amongst all players yet never mattered a bit in the actual practice of applying to and doing shows. If the show was a "Crafts Show" I applied under Metal, if "Art" I applied under Sculpture. Period. Yet, we all know there is some sort of a difference and we all know what it is even if, like pornography, we can't define it but we know it when we see it. So here' my stab: Art is pedagogical and craft is utilitarian, and both eventually share the intention of invoking some sort of emotive response in the beholder and this is where the confusion starts. Example: the interior of Medieval Gothic churches. The frescos and statuary are "art" and aim to teach the masses something and may also inspire awe or fear. The pigmented glass windows are "craft" insofar as the intent is letting in light and keeping out weather but the imagery may also inspire awe or fear. So there you have it, the distinction without a difference, a glorious waste of time, yet somehow a pleasure to fondle in our collective creative brain.
Replies
I have been called a Craftsman, been called an Artist and have been called a Creator...I really don't give a hoot about all these titles and adjectives that so many people seem to get concerned about...because all that is really important to me...and all that should really be important to any of us...is doing what we are passionate about doing and have entirely too much fun and enjoyment doing it...
To me it's verbiage. And we get lost too many times in it.
In the past few decades the emergence of 'craft shows' diluted things. Now people think of 'crafts' as popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners or crocheted toilet paper covers with a doll on top.
Now everyone wants to be called an 'artist' and will get mad when someone refers to their work as a craft.
People advance beyond 'crafter' and become 'craftsmen'. But somehow that term is forgotten today. Richard works with leather and creates magnificent work. And to me you are a 'craftsman' of the highest caliber. Wear that title with pride!
Now here's where I'm gonna get the hate mail.
Jewelers must have the eye of an artist to create the design, but working the material, cutting the stones, and finishing the work takes the skill and dexterity of a craftsman.
A wood turner who takes a burl and puts it on a lathe, and turns that hunk of tree into a thin walled vessel, not knowing what the final piece will look like, then polishing it to a high finish is a craftsman.
Let's look at things from the public's point of view. Just go out and ask people "what is the first thing you think of when I say 'artist'?" I think everyone knows the answer. They will say "painter".
Next ask "what is the first thing you think of when I say 'craftsman'?" The general response will be "someone who makes something of high quality".
There's nothing wrong with calling yourself a craftsman.
^^^ = like
The debate is a "glorious waste of time". Thank you Peter Grimord. A more important question to consider is what sells and what doesn't in the venues where we exhibit.
"Glorious waste of time" or not, the debate still continues. <smile>
The art vs craft discussion hasn't let up one bit in the thirty five years I've been swimming the "arts waters". I made a living for over 25 years as a sculptor yet cut my teeth in the American Craft Council group of wholesale/retail shows. Only later did I enter the street show circuit and not once along the way did I finesse my identity as a sculptor to get into this or that show. It was a raging issue amongst all players yet never mattered a bit in the actual practice of applying to and doing shows. If the show was a "Crafts Show" I applied under Metal, if "Art" I applied under Sculpture. Period. Yet, we all know there is some sort of a difference and we all know what it is even if, like pornography, we can't define it but we know it when we see it. So here' my stab: Art is pedagogical and craft is utilitarian, and both eventually share the intention of invoking some sort of emotive response in the beholder and this is where the confusion starts. Example: the interior of Medieval Gothic churches. The frescos and statuary are "art" and aim to teach the masses something and may also inspire awe or fear. The pigmented glass windows are "craft" insofar as the intent is letting in light and keeping out weather but the imagery may also inspire awe or fear. So there you have it, the distinction without a difference, a glorious waste of time, yet somehow a pleasure to fondle in our collective creative brain.