From Stacy Thomas:
In today’s society of mass production and get rich quick schemes, craft is not seen as often as design. An example of craft is The Bride lamp by Ieva Kaleja for Mammalampa. These lamps represent most of the key attributes of Craft in a contemporary setting. They are materials based, made from a traditional lamp material; paper, however it is presented in a different, more modern way. The Bride lamp aims to “make lamps differently without adapting, killing or violently beautifying materials.” The lamp also drew inspiration from history, the story of Rapunzel. This shows the lamps appreciation for culture and are not created on a computer program purely for aesthetics.
Mass production is an aspect of design as opposed to craft. The Bride Lamp is created by hand on a small scale of production. Each lamp is woven uniquely, with personal touches added by the weaver.
The lamps are elegant and very feminine, another characteristic of Craft. All the details of the lamp allude to the technique of craft; the execution and the quality.
From Georgie Rodie:
Craft was traditionally known as something practiced by independent artists working alone or in small groups, displaying a great skill in an area. This tended to be biased to hand craft as it was believed that this showed the true struggle in the object. Also, the likes of William Morris and John Ruskin believed that the maker should be fully devoted to the craftsmanship as well as having a meaningful experience.
Yayoi Kusama is an avant-garde scupltor, painter, and novelist born in Nagana Prefecture of Japan. She has long struggled with mental illness and has even said, “If it weren’t for art, I would have killed myself a long time ago”. Is this quote not evidence enough that Yayoi Kusama is an artist who puts everything into her works. She started to paint using polka dots and nets as motifs at around age ten, and created fantastic paintings in watercolours, pastels and oils. She now uses many medias including mirrors and electric lights. Therefore, Yayoi Kusama definitely has an understanding of mediums having worked with them for so long.
Who are we to say that the works of Yayoi Kusama are not displays of craft just because they are not typically hand crafted? I believe the reason she is so successful is because she uses the integration of technology and an idea to create experiences through her work. Her works do not rely totally on either the machine or the hand. I believe she represents today’s understanding of craft being; a direct experience, a personal vision, and a mastery of medium according to Malcom McCullough.
In the modern world we have access to a great range of mediums that means craft can no longer be defined the way it traditionally was. The types of skills are forever increasing due to an increase in technology and knowledge, how can there be clear cut guidelines as to what a skill is? If these guidelines did exist, would Yayoi Kusama be classified as unskilled, despite her success throughout the world?
I believe craft now is somewhere between a talent and knowledge and Yayoi Kusama has successfully incorporated the two to evoke emotion and create an experience for an audience.
With today’s emphasis on mass production and consumerism, if someone’s emotion, whether good or bad can be aroused when experiencing art then I believe that is what shows true skill.
The image is of a young Yayoi Kusama herself in one of her ‘Infinity’ pieces.
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