The NeoCraft Conference in Halifax was in my opinion a game-changer for Canada.
Here is the abstract for my chapter:
Abstract: "Why are Sloppy and
Post-disciplinary Craft Meaningful, and what are the historical precedents?"
Ever since 2007, when
keynote speaker Paul Greenhalgh challenged scholars (at the NeoCraft conference
in Halifax, Nova Scotia) to devise new ways of thinking about craft there has
been a recognized need for a more contemporary and socially relevant understanding
of current craft practice and objects.
Clearly, if theoretical understanding of craft was to advance the
earlier models of contextualizing craft, which heavily relied on either the
Arts and Crafts Movement as popularized by William Morris (1834-1896) or the
Back to the Land Movement that had influenced studio craft in the 1960s and
1970s, would have to be replaced.
There was a profound gap between the contemporary practice of craft and
how scholars understood it.
Emerging generations of
craftspeople no longer worshipped at the altar of the past. They did not learn in apprenticeships
with masters and a growing number had abandoned classrooms. They were not
slaves to techniques or materials.
Young craftspeople learned from their peers or the Internet. The digital
age would be to craft what the sexual revolution was to feminism. Skills were borrowed or exchanged in collaborative
arrangements. The old tribal media
affiliations of clay, glass, metal and textiles were blurred as the younger generation
became post-disciplinary.
The U.K. has always been the leader in craft scholarship.
What is perhaps most
meaningful and exciting about this trend is that it has huge significance and
acceptance with an ever growing public audience. This more democratic approach to craft is greater than
self-expression for a special interest group or individualism. This is an approach to craft that
resonates with the times, linking craft practice to the wider concerns of
today's society. This is craft
that embraces many social currents: think global act local, feminism, gender
politics, social justice and ecological concerns. It has the potential for a craft movement that is democratic
and grassroots driven.
What are the historical
precedents for sloppy craft? Sabi
Wabi for one – the Japanese influenced approach to ceramics that preached the
perfection of imperfection. This
is also seen in textiles as truth to materials and process that saluted the
grace of the hanging thread, the slub in silk. There is also a current of abstract expressionism that looks
"sloppy" whether it is the Sheila Hicks generation of feminist
textile art or the testosterone charged ceramics of Peter Voulkos' pots. We can also consider folk craft with
its naïve and unpretentious use of materials in woodcarving but also in lawn
art and in the use of alternative materials, like houses made from beer
bottles. Or what about a house
entirely covered in Barbie Dolls or plush animals?
It is worthwhile
examining these historical approaches and their goals –whether it is humility,
authenticity, expressivity, shock value and impact – to see if they are useful
in understanding and contextualizing sloppy and post-disciplinary craft. At the very least, it will help
demonstrate whether contemporary craft practice is an evolution (of its prior
forms) or a revolution.
I have written two
articles for Studio magazine about specific examples of trends in contemporary
craft practice that has helped to inform this abstract:
No Holds Barred
Creativity, Post-disciplinary craft in the small community, Fall/Winter 2011-12
pps. 26-29.
The Tide is Changing;
Four Newfoundland craftspeople reverse an old trend, Spring/Summer 2012 to be
published.
I have also found Jen
Anisef's report prepared for the Ontario Arts Council, Tracing Emerging Modes
of Practice: Craft Sector Review (2011) helpful. In 1993 I facilitated and worked on the OAC's prior review
of craft practice; the change in craft practice is especially dramatic.
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