David Pye, "The Workmanship of Risk and the Workmanship of Certainty" The Nature of Art and Workmanship, Chapters 1,2, and 4 (London: Studio Vista, 1968) 5-10, 13-24
Bruce Metcalf, "The Hand at the Heart of Craft" from American Craft, Aug./Sept. 00, Vol. 60, No. 4 (
Adolfo Natalini, "Elements" and "Building" Figures of Stone (Milano: Electa Editrice, 1984) 33-36 and 71-75
Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake, "1.2 The Hand and the Machine" and "4.0 Processes We Do Not See," Refabricating Architecture (
Malcom McCullough, "7-Medium" from Abstracting Craft (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1996) 193-220
Question:
Craft, before the industrial revolution it was a persons lively hood. It was a part of everyone, something that ran so deep that it could not be denied. With the industrial revolution the art of craft and the handmade began to change, the value of the machine became more and more important. Machines, for the most, have part taken over the jobs of the craftsman, mass producing object after identical object.
As machines continue to improve in their dexterity, and abilities to mimic the human hand and even human behavior will the human element of making things be lost? Will there continue to be a place of those who consider themselves craftsman and makers of things, or will more and more advanced robots be able to take their place?
Reference Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78krbfy9hh0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHFZVwQ53bk&feature=related
2 comments:
I understand that our world is becoming completely swallowed in this industrial revolution of robots taking over but i think we still want things that are hand-crafted. There is a certain amount of respect that we give to people who make things without machines and thier natural ability to produce things that a machine can make. On the other hand, there is a demand for things that are cheap, perfect, and without the time it would take for hand made items. Thats where the new technologies come in because we are naturally looking for something that will be quick and easy. Hand-crafted was a way of the past and a lot of things have happened that have changed that mindset and so we have adjusted our way of thinking about it too. So now here we are in a high-tech world trying to keep it old school with hand-crafted items and its a struggle but i believe that the machines are winning by far and maybe well see the day that everything will be machine made but i doubt it. It stands for a creative outlet so regardless if people want these things they will continue to be made.
You make a valid point. I consider myself an artist above all else, yet I rarely if ever sell anything I make. I create for the joy of creating, I create because I enjoy being able to say that I made that with these two hands and this sharp mind, even if it sits locked in a corner or under a bed somewhere I know that it is there and that I made it.
I just feel that there should be more to our environment than the rapid made object that was completely built by the machine. I believe that it is the hand-crafted items, though few and fare between, that make our increasingly uniform environments have some spark of life, even if it is just a 'conversation starter'.
These hand crafted object have to have a place in our high-tech world, even if it is a passing hobby.
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