Spring 2014 Reading 1

The debate over whether craft is art, and vice versa, has been controversial over the course of recent history. As Selvage pointed out in her article, there have been many attempts from artists to remove themselves from the craftsman view. Those such as Picasso exhibited new ways of not just working with clay but also with the attitude towards it. The question then is whether functionality determines craft vs. art. Yanagi expresses the view that there is beauty in craft and therefore artistic, but I'm not sure I agree with that assessment. To be sure beauty can be found in crafts and in, very few, everyday objects but that doesn't necessarily make art. Beauty and art are not synonymous with each other though they go hand in hand quite often. What makes art art is not its functionality nor its visual aesthetics. What makes art art is intent. The intent behind an object drives how and why is was made. As such, a beautifully functional cup is not a piece of art unless the creator was intending to use the cup as a medium for the expression of an idea or message, otherwise it is just a beautiful and functional cup. Behind every great piece of artwork is such an idea or message. Even if a piece draws us in without any obvious message, it has one there for the diligent or observant. Often that idea or message is just to look at the world in a different manner. Simple or complex, the message is there if it is art.