2009 Harriete Estel Berman:
"Session II: Round Table Discussion with Sandra Alfoldy (moderator,far left), Thomas Patti, Michael Sherrill, and Claudia Crisan - “Craft in the 21st Century: Identity, Choice, Meaning”
This panel was put together on the premise that the craft community is not having deep conversations about surviving as a craftsperson. However, I do not think this is true. I hear these debates all the time. Do you discuss this issue with your fellow artists/makers? I would guess that the vast majority would say, yes.
The panel format:
The structure of the panel was based on five myths and asking each of the speakers to address the following myths (one at a time) in reverse order (starting with #5).
#5 You don't need to use traditional craft materials to be a craftsperson.
#4 Craft is an environmentally sustainable set of practices.
#3 Functional craft is less important than one of a kind work.
#2 Making it by hand makes it craft.
#1 The craft field is dying and D.I.Y. will save it.
The three panelists all responded quickly. Tom Patti and Claudia Crisan seemed more articulate and stayed right on topic. Michael Sherrill seemed kind of "wishy-washy."
Highlights from the panelists are below:
FROM: Claudia Crisson -
- Knowledge and training of craft makes it craft.
- Using technology is OK, it is just a different way of making.
- It sounds like she also makes one of a kind work for exhibition.
- Her work was really interesting, most of it made from sugar. I saw a lady wearing a macaroon necklace. (scroll down)
- Crisson now supports her work with an edible art bakery. Wow! People actually eat her work.
FROM : Michael Sherrill
- His "piece is started in his head before he even made it." He may not have the whole thing figured out but he knows the "spirit of the object." (This echoed an opinion of the first speaker of the morning.)
- His artwork looks really amazing, but his comments were not.
- He also sells tools. He must be very good at that because it sounds like this is his livelihood.
From: Tom Patti
- Doesn't make the distinctions between one of a kind work and functional craft. These were all issues to explore with no hierarchy.
- Craft world never accepted him because his work looked machine made.
- Conviction of the maker / artist is the most important element.
- Craft is always practicing, making better and improving.
- Tom Patti never said how he supports himself, but it seemed that the architectural projects were a significant part of his livelihood.
WHAT QUESTIONS WERE ASKED AND ANSWERED? One person from Martha Stewart Living got up to speak about how Martha Stewart is supporting 50 ? artists as her employees. Later that same day, at lunch, Helen Drutt spoke from the podium saying that Martha Stewart had no place in this Conference. Helen Drutt always has strong opinions. It certainly was an entertaining and memorable moment!
I like when people are outspoken with firm convictions!
Another person mentioned a comment from Sennett (the opening speaker) ..."People need to have more understanding of what they are doing."
Comment from audience: "Craft/art teaches our children critical thinking and problem solving so that our children can be successful in the work force."
WHAT DID I LEARN? Nothing new, but the images were great. Organization of the program was excellent.
LIFESTYLE OR LIVELIHOOD? All of these people had both a lifestyle and a livelihood from their craft, one way or another.
SUMMARY: Interesting format. Again, a strong summary as a conclusion would have left the audience with great points for further conversation."
Berman, H.E. "Craft in the 21st Century: Identity, Choice, Meaning." Ask Harriete Blog. October 16, 2009. accessed October 18, 2009. http://askharriete.typepad.com/ask_harriete/2009/10/dljflsadfjasdlfldksjfaldfjsaldldfjlsadfjsalfkjsession-ii-round-table-discussion-with-sandra-alfoldy-moderator-thomas-pa.html
2009 Harriete Estel Berman:
"Elissa A. Uther spoke about “Lifestyle and Livelihood in Craft Culture”
The presentation was a well articulated history of craft focusing on the lifestyle vs livelihood issues through the decades. The lecture contained no surprises, if you are familiar with the history of craft.
To summarize this briefly:
The romanticized image of the 19th century craftsman intertwined life and lifestyle to restore the dignity of labor. William Morris and John Ruskin both considered craft as meaningful work.
Skipping forward to the mid-20th century, the 1950's again integrated work and lifestyle.
Elissa also mentioned the photography of craft from the 1950's and 60's where craft was photographed in nature. This analogy is very strong with George Nakashima's work where he used large slabs of wood with the form of the tree still evident.
Craft shifted toward representing an alternative lifestyle with Wildenhain whereby craft was an expression of a way of life. The process and experience of making along with honest labor were considered paramount, while the finished work was an object but much less important as to meaning.
The 1960's brought the new generation of freedom, anti-establishment, "counter-culture", and the flower child. This independence and new thinking was separate from the marketplace and craft fit right in as a lifestyle. Examples of the communal craft philosophy were the Baulines Craft Guild ,Cosanti, and Arcosanti. (All of these organization still exist today.)
n a similar tone the current D.I.Y. movement of the 21st century is a similar resistance to mainstream economy. Crafts once again become a political, anti-establishment, rejection of the elitist art world and consumption of manufactured items. Yet at the same time, this D.I.Y. movement along with Etsy are marketing their craftwork by developing their own marketing strategies.
While Uther offered many facts, I was not surprised by the information. Most of the lecture seemed to suggest that craft was a lifestyle or identity within a group or community. There was little evidence with the exception of Cosanti, and Arcosanti that craft can be a livelihood. The D.I.Y. movement and Etsy phenomenon, in my opinion, are simply another sales channel selling "stuff" in our consumer society.
WHAT QUESTIONS WERE ASKED AND ANSWERED? The best question was a comment from the curator of the Oakland Museum. She suggested that the craft lifestyle was only a product of California or of the western United States.
Most of the other questions -- again, I wish people would ask their questions quickly instead of burying the question in a long winded comment.
WHAT DID I LEARN? Nothing new, but maybe others less well versed in the History of Craft left with more information.
LIFESTYLE OR LIVELIHOOD? lifestyle
SUMMARY:Very nice presentation with great images. Clear voice, easy to understand. My only criticism is that this lecture could have been improved with a strong conclusion reviewing her key points and revealing her educated opinion about lifestyle or livelihood."
Berman, H.E. "Elissa A. Uther lecture about "Lifestyle and Livelihood in Craft Culture"" Ask Harriete Blog. October 16, 2009. accessed October 19, 2009. http://askharriete.typepad.com/ask_harriete/2009/10/elissa-a-uther-lecture-about-lifestyle-and-livelihood-in-craft-cultureco.html
2009 Susannah Schouweiler:
"Fine craft organizations across the country are in the midst of a sea change. Actually, the tectonic shifts started several years ago, when professional institutions (like the Minnesota Craft Council, for example), whose ranks were filled with full-time artists and studio-based craftspeople, found both their membership numbers and influence in the arts marketplace dwindling. On the other hand, a growing network of narrowly targeted craft organizations — the Textile Center, the Center for Book Arts, Highpoint Center for Printmaking, and the Northern Clay Center — have cropped up in recent years and appear to be doing quite well.
And while it's still a struggle to make one's living as a full-time craftsperson, one could argue that public enthusiasm for handmade goods and traditional crafts has never been keener. With legions of cubicle-dwellers staring into computer screens all day, and given the trend toward buying eco-friendly goods and "conscious consumption," it's not really surprising that more and more people are attracted by the homespun lure of the handmade. In fact, young amateurs — self-described "crafters" or "makers" — working within the burgeoning do-it-yourself scene are positively thriving. Indie craft fairs regularly draw throngs of eager shoppers and media interest — here in Minnesota, you need only drop by events like the annual No-Coast Craft-O-Rama or St. Paul's Craftstravaganza, to see what I mean.
This week in Minneapolis, the American Craft Council is tackling the issues raised by these transitions in the scene by hosting a national conference on the topic, "Creating a New Craft Culture." Specifically, panel discussions, presentations, and conference dialogue will center on the "inherent tensions between craft as a lifestyle and craft as a livelihood."
Sandra Alfoldy, a scholar of craft history and a speaker at this week's conference, offers her take on the state of the scene now: "We have so many students who are graduating with university degrees in craft, but they're very much a part of the DIY movement, too. The divide [between the "professional" maker and the self-taught crafter] is going to be most evident when DIY craftspeople, without the 'proper training,' begin applying for arts grants in greater numbers. The institutional response to that will be interesting and revealing."
She goes on, "This raises the question of credentials in craft. What does 'proper training' in a craft mean? Should it be based on the traditional apprenticeship model, or through university programs of study, or is there room for the wholly self-taught? With the DIY success stories who will inevitably throw their hat in the ring for such arts funding in the near future, there's bound to be some tension in craft organizations over whether or not to allow them into the fold."
For now, though, the indie crafters invited to present at the ACC conference seem largely unconcerned with such institutional acceptance. Faythe Levine, the filmmaker behind the new documentary, "Handmade Nation," says, "Aesthetic differences, generational differences — I think that sets the indie crafters apart from people working in the fine craft side of things. Younger crafters will often identify themselves as 'makers' rather than as artisans or artists; I think they're resisting those labels. We look through fine-craft magazines or the work in national shows and, until recently, we just didn't see anything we were interested in; it wasn't really for us."
Levine says, "I don't know that I see what indie crafters are doing as an organized movement or anything; we are just making the things we like." She adds, "I love the approachability of work presented at an indie craft fair — it is very democratic, really welcoming. There's definitely a sense of pride among the artists showing their work, but there's also an invitation for those who are interested in what they see to give it a try for themselves. I think that community sensibility is really wonderful."
"Traditional crafts are still being passed on," Levine says, "but in contemporary ways, with aesthetic choices and designs that appeal to a young generation of makers." The combination of both making things and teaching others how to do the same is proving to be a viable business model, too.
Natalie Chanin, another presenter at this week's conference, is a self-taught fashion designer who's found success using the traditional quilting techniques of her Alabama upbringing to make high-end, contemporary clothing. She says, "The business I have now, Alabama Chanin, operates on a fairly small scale, but it's profitable, too. I think that has to do with keeping the design part of the business small enough to manage — focusing on one-of-a-kind couture pieces made in small batches, rather than in larger-scale production of less expensive clothing. But also, I think our profitability has much to do with our educational efforts: the workshops we host, the how-to books and shared patterns. There's been tremendous response to those teaching components of the business; people come from all over the country to learn our techniques, how to make these kinds of pieces. I think those outreach efforts further support the design side of what we do."
When I ask craft historian Sandra Alfoldy what she thinks will come of the conversations at this week's conference, she says, "It's a cycle isn't it? Much of what's going on now is very similar to the shifts in the field that happened in the '60s and '70s. What I want to see is how territorial these groups are. Do fine-craft organizations and professional artisans see these DIY initiatives as a threat or as a positive development in the field?" She continues, "For myself, I see these developments as a good a thing. This young generation of makers and the businesses they're creating are opening the marketplace in wonderful ways. It's important to keep in mind that the field is seeing some genuinely new developments: The Internet is a huge factor here, and that new media increases markets for craft globally as well as locally."
She says, "Thankfully, we don't have those discussions about whether craft belongs in the same category as fine art, anymore. That divide has largely been overcome. I suspect we may be surprised to see a lot of common ground emerge as the two groups of makers talk this week. As DIY success stories emerge, I think they'll find they have more and more in common with the successful studio craftspeople. There is a lot of room for dialogue.""
Schouweiler, S. "American Craft Council sets up shop in Minneapolis to talk about creating a 'New Craft Culture.'" MinnPost.com. October 15, 2009. Accessed October 19,. 2009. http://www.minnpost.com/artsarena/2009/10/15/12530/american_craft_council_sets_up_shop_in_minneapolis_to_talk_about_creating_a_new_craft_culture
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