Month: February 2008

Catherine Bertola. Scratching at the Surface (detail). 2001. Found painted surface. Newcastle Upon Tyne, ©Locus+ Archive, Photo Steve Collins.

Art versus craft. I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while now. After looking through the images from an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum entitled Out of the Ordinary: Spectacular Craft, I am left contemplating the nature of craft. For me, craft is about making beautiful functional objects. These artists are definitely pushing the limits. I suppose that fine art has traditionally moved ahead of craft in setting trends. I am particularly moved by British artist Catherine Bertola, whose work is shown above. She evokes a sense of the past and questions the traditional domain of women, as she frequently uses dust as a medium. Her work is about the forgotten; making something beautiful from the decay of the everyday.

The distinctions between fine art and craft are becoming more ambiguous these days. I was a slack art history major and spent a few years working in a museum, so I felt that I had some understanding of fine art. Something about having kids has caused me to re-think all the “deep” feelings that I once had. Much of what I see happening in the art world these days seems frivolous to me (I’m certain you could say the same of the craft movement). Still, so many things changed for me once I became a parent. Of course I can see the beauty and the value of art as it pushes society forward and confronts reality, but there is something about fine art that leaves me cold these days. Is there as much value in a beautifully crafted piece of furniture as there is in a painting with a social or political message? For me, the idea of painstakingly putting yourself into a functional object that can be passed down to the next generation is beautiful and I just can’t compare the two things.

Perhaps this is all defensive talk because I love crafts and have no artistic ability. But I also have trouble with the distinctions being made within the so-called “craft revolution”. Sure, I can dismiss the artistic merits of the country style cat quilt, but I am in awe of traditional techniques and if someone spends hours making anything, then I am impressed. Modern crafters are using most of the same techniques that have been passed down from our grandmothers, but re-interpreting them. I appreciate innovation and strive to come up with new ideas in my own work, but for me, there’s just nothing wrong with my grandmother’s crafts.

Lace Tatting from the 1840s. Image from The Ring of Tatters. I saw some women practicing this craft and it is the most amazing and detailed work that I have ever seen. To spend hours on a tiny object like this is simply unbelievable. And then to see them machine-produced! Oh, the heartache.