The Horror - Revisited

Etsy Metal Blog Carnival – Art or Craft?

4/6/2014

This month's question is "What are your thoughts on what is considered art or craft? Does the value lie in the process, technical ability, monetary value, meaning, lack of meaning...?"

Seems like I've been talking to friends about this topic quite often lately. Actually, seems like I've been talking about this topic for years and years and years.

I think that art and craft can be tied together, well then again, maybe not...

It seems like art goes in cycles and artists start to take themselves too seriously and then someone comes along and says life is art, this urinal is art, paint dripped on a canvas is art and they get a lot of money for it... but anyone could do that, why is there such a high value on it? Does money make things more art-like?

Sometimes to do art well you have to know the craft of it well. Sometimes.

Most of my favorite artists are the ones that question what art is. Andy Warhol hands down. I just went and saw the David Hockney exhibit at the DeYoung and my favorite part of the exhibit was his iPhone and iPad drawings and his experiments with video. Vito Acconci's crazy performance art, Christo's obsession with wrapping things... Another favorite of mine is Vincent Gallo. His website is an interesting work of art as are his movies, Buffalo 66 and just watched Truth or Consequences NM last night.

The movie Tim's Vermeer brings up a lot of questions about what art is. Tim is an inventor, not an artist and documents how he used a camera obscura and mirrors and lenses to copy a Vermeer painting. It looked pretty good. Was it art? It took him almost a decade to do it... does that make it more valuable and art-like?

I think everyone just needs to find their place in what works for them and then remember that that keeps changing.

What do you think?

See what other Etsy Metal members think:
2Roses
FluxPlay
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9 Comments

Jan Lester

4/6/2014 04:53:27 pm

Good comments Evelyn. I was an art major at OSU many moons ago! Was always sketching, did some painting (very low key stuff, for my own satisfaction). Got accepted in those years at Pittsburgh's Ivy School of Art, but that was a commercial/graphic art focus, and didn't end up going actually anyway, due to financial issues. Did take painting courses at OSU, lots of art history, and my most vivid memory was visiting a Salvadore Dali exhibit in Cleveland, this was late '70s. I was mesmerized. Then I was lucky to travel in Europe and see all the 'traditional' art works of people at places like the Louvre, so forth. Since those years, I've let my craft go a bit to be honest, but I love art still to this day, and always find something beautiful in the simplest "creations"...whether it's oil paintings, charcoal sketches, metal works, or Andy Warhol's soup can :). I think there "must be" differences between art and "craft" and those differences come from the hand of the artist. That's what makes all wonderful! But I sure can't explain what those differences truly are...I leave that up to the artist. Is someone who works with the intricacies of metal work more talented than someone who uses a brush on canvas, or a pencil on paper? I don't know :)...but I know what I like (old saying, I know!!). Thanks for the interesting comments.

Evelyn link

4/7/2014 07:10:29 am

Thanks for your input Jan! It is a many faceted topic!

Cynthia Baxter

4/7/2014 02:25:59 am

hey Evelyn-
The eternal question...
Been recently learning/reading more in depth about the "Masters" of Art - starting with the first organized schools.
At the moment i think that the artist's personality is a vital piece of why they're deemed an "artist" in our culture.
Most highly esteemed artists are involved in changing the idea of what art is, evolving out of the classical formal training.

There seem to be many meanings of what art is and what an artist is, and one involves moving us forward into new definitions of what Art can encompass.

But what about all us artist types?
It's a way of living, a certain perspective on life.
Maybe there's creative expression... separate from "Art".

I'm always trying to figure this one out.
I think maybe there are many definitions of Artist.

Howz that!
I haven't read the other links you posted. Maybe they have the answer.

Evelyn link

4/7/2014 07:20:17 am

Hi Cindy, are you reading something specific? There are just so many different ways to look at it! I do think it is a way of living and it doesn't matter if you sell it or show it. My favorite example is that book by Sister Corita Kent and Jan Steward 'Learning by Heart' (http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Heart-Teachings-Creative-Spirit/dp/0553344455) Of course, after going through my head about a piece of art... that I'm just doing it for me... that I don't care if anyone even sees it... blah blah blah... the first thought as soon as it's done is that I want to show it to somebody! When I took that enameling class with Deb Lozier at Cabrillo, she had a very interesting concept on the cycle of creation... 4 stages: Conception, Commitment, Labor, and Confrontation.

cynthia

4/7/2014 07:46:13 am

I'm reading "Techniques of the Great Masters of Art"...
but don't request it form the library yet cause I'm still reading it! :D

I'm learning things that I've always been curious about and didn't learn in school. My art history lecture was so broad.

maria link

4/7/2014 03:50:33 am

Very good point, many artist historically and still do employ craftspeople to actually produce the artwork in its practical sense.

Evelyn link

4/7/2014 07:25:38 am

Maria, when I was watching that movie 'Tim's Vermeer' he would get to this point where he was just painting thousands of dots... I started thinking - why doesn't he just hire someone to do that? Would it make it less art to have someone else do part? There is so much tedious work even in a one-of-a-kind piece, does it matter if someone else does that part? Sometimes I feel like the tedious parts are important too, not so much in the value of the work, but in the value of me doing it... it's kind of meditative and addictive if I can just let myself be there in the moment.

Cynthia

4/16/2014 04:39:43 am

E-
More thoughts on the subject:

http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2014/04/who-is-artist-on-naming-and-expertise.html

Evelyn link

4/16/2014 05:02:30 am

Cindy, that was really interesting! It's mind boggling for me to try to put it into words. It's true it's how we perceive ourselves, but I sometimes also need other people to offer their perspective on how I am perceived. I'm also not sure why it is so important to define it, but somehow it does feel important. It's one of those things that 'is this, but also is not that,' if that makes any sense... I'm at the mind boggling part! Thanks for sharing that... I will probably read it often!!

Etsy Metal Blog Carnival – Art or Craft?

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