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
