Reading 1

These articles both explored the idea of art and craft.  The first reading Towards a Standard  of Beauty was more of an argument for craft.  The author believes that we have moved away from craftsmanship due to the industrial revolution, and that there is a need for society to return to the "beautiful and truthful".   Unfortunately he never delves into what he considers to be beautiful and truthful, and without these definitions it is hard to fully understand or empathize. He talks about providing a "standard of beauty" through his folk-craft museum.  But this idea irritates me.  If everything was beautiful all the time, wouldn't art become stagnant?  It's like he's creating the Pleasantville of art.  Throughout the article he equates beauty with the truth.  But from my experience it is usually the "ugly" or the abrasive that brings us closer to the truth.  For example Kiki Smiths work is often shocking, and by most peoples standards would not be considered beautiful.  But she uses this abrasiveness to expose the truth as she sees it.  One thing I really took away from this reading was the concept of the industry perpetuating a "toss away culture".  Although this article was written a while ago, this idea remains relevant.  I think that especially in today's society it is important to make high quality, long lasting pieces to counteract the amount of crap we buy that was manufactured in bulk for cheap. 
The idea of combining the machine made and the hand crafted was expressed in the second article Art Versus Craft.   I thought one of the most interesting points made was that pottery, more then any other fine art form, really bridges the gap between manufactured and handmade.  And it's been doing so since the potters wheel was invented.  The wheel in unique in that it allows artists to create by hand something that looks machine made.  This article also explored the idea of the changing roll of craft in an industrial society.  We seem to have moved more and more towards conceptual art, often times leaving behind the element of craft. 
After reading both of these articles it seems to me that the main difference between art and craft is what they value.  Craftsmen seem to value skill and tradition, while industrial artists seem to value self expression and innovation.   In an age in which we have access both of these methods, I think truly great art will find a way to utilize both.