Journal entry for October 6, 2001

Today's summary: Rant on fine art vs. fine craft.

This originally evolved from a discussion of whether there's a difference between "art" and "fine craft".

Really these concepts apply to all sorts of fields that require skill... any kind of situation that requires a designer's sense. Look at furniture and silverware for example. At times it's clear that some sincere, creative thought and effort went into the work... that really does feel more like art, even if it is functional art. At the same time there's items that have become far removed from their creative origins (mostly mass-produced stuff).

And, then there's "crafts" whose primary function is simply to be aesthetic, just like traditional fine art. The methods or materials might land it in this "craft" classification... of course, I've also heard mural paintings called "crafts", as if somehow a painting on a wall is less valid than a painting on a canvas. I've frequently heard my sculptural work referred to as "crafts", because metalworking and wireworking are apparently considered a craft, not an art media.

The point is that so often the word "craft" is used as an insult, just like "decorative" can be a major insult. It really doesn't have to be, in either case... and I absolutely think it's entirely dependent on the artist's own expression and creative effort. Production line work or something like say, random faux finishing... something that doesn't really leave any mark of the artist as an individual, that's different. Not BAD. Just different from fine art.

I've been at a lot of craft shows and there is definitely a major rift there... between people making handpulled prints and people selling limited edition reproduction posters... etc etc etc.

I saw the effect myself back when I made jewelry and sold at craft shows -- so often what I was doing began to feel like real production line work, and it was no longer personally rewarding to me. Except maybe in the monetary sense, and even then, not very. But I mean, if I'm going to do mindlessly repetitive iterations of "what sells", then I might as well assemble computers instead.

I don't mind keeping audience appeal in mind, since personally I think part of the point of artwork is to be able to share it with others. I just don't want that to drive my work entirely... in the end, most of my work is for ME, not just me anticipating other people's wants (as if it's some kind of preemptive commissioned piece... make sense?) I find that sometimes artists are a decidedly neurotic lot (and yes, that is a generalization, and yes, I realize it is not universal). Because our feelings are tied up in our work, people can react very badly to rejection of any kind, or to the idea that anybody else might be better liked or better skilled or what have you.... So, sometimes I see artists who are so dependent on the self-image they've built for themselves, from (in their minds) clawing to the top of the heap, that they seem to find it absolutely necessary to put other artists down.

Of course anybody making work that could be classified as "crafts" or "decorative" art is an immediate, obvious target, in such a situation. The whole 'Oh, is that ALL you're doing?' attitude seems completely geared towards preserving an apparently fragile sense of self-worth. Digital artists get the short end of the stick in that regard, too, just like photographers have in the past (and presumably, many still do).