The Judgement of Art vs Craft is Useless

The Judgement of Art vs Craft is Useless

Ah, I have been wanting to write this for a long time. The discussion around Art vs Craft has been happening as long as I can remember. Especially in art school, I heard this talked about a million times. What is art? The conclusion I came to then was that this debate is futile, similar to talking religion. Everyone has a different view, and none of them are wrong. It's a debate you cannot win, and so has always frustrated me. I just don't participate, unless asked directly. 

But recently I saw a thread in an artist group I'm in. It's a national group on Facebook called Art Fair Reviews. Many people in that group have very high regard for what they do, and lesser regard for those they consider to be... lesser. The discussion was so arrogant and gross, I had to leave. But I've seen it a so often. And in my own group, West Coast Artists and Artisans, I have struggled with this same tendency toward something I despise: the hierarchy of craft. Meaning, a scale of handmade work that places certain "arts" at the top, and certain "crafts" at the bottom. I don't believe in it.

 

The value of any piece of art, as well as the value of the one who made it, lies in the heart of the artist. That's it. Does it come from your creative heart?  Boom. Art.

Let me go back for a minute, to my own personal history of art and craft. It will become clear why I feel so strongly about this. Because I am an artist. I don't let anyone else tell me who I am, or what I do. 

I have been crafty since birth. I grew up in a crafty household, and I just have always loved making things. As I got older, I had a talent for drawing. I wanted to be a cartoonist, I entered poster contests and won, I copied cartoons from Mad magazine. When I took a few classes in high school, I found I could easily replicate what was in front of me. Perspective, shading, all that stuff was so much fun for me.

At the same time I was still crafting. I had learned many needlecrafts growing up, so went back to crocheting blankets for friends and embroidering designs onto my jean jacket. That led later to beading and jewelry making, then designing crochet hats, selling my patterns and kits online (way before we had all these free resources like we do now). 

As an art student at university, I continued my love of textiles and incorporated them into every class I could. I welded big steel frames and crocheted onto them, I cast bronze balls of yarn, I stitched silver stone settings onto beaded leather cuffs, I painted big portraits from old crochet books, I mounted my hand developed photos by stitching them onto calico fabric with hand crochet lace. And on and on. I was that chick who does textiles. 

My professors didn't know what to do with me, unfortunately. I loved my school, but I always felt a lack of input from them, lack of guidance, because they just didn't get it. My metal sculpture professor had a twisted sense of What is Art, to my mind. Once he led a big class discussion around whether this one guy's alligator head was Art. Because it's representational and lacking expression. (Tell that to those folks in Art Fair Reviews! doh.)  He told me crocheting hats isn't art. I used to ask him, if I made one that is 6ft across, then is it art? It just seems arbitrary to me. 

At the same time, I was taking art history classes where I learned the history of women in the arts, from various perspectives. Along with my own readings around the history of textiles, I learned something important. Historically, "women's arts" are downplayed as unimportant or not artistic. And the single biggest historically female art form is textiles. Quilting, weaving, natural dyeing, sewing, embroidery, knitting, crochet. These are ancient arts. Not only used for utility (though they were very useful and important that way), but also for beauty, for identifying tribes, for telling stories, keeping histories, for rituals, and more. So not just utility but incredibly socially significant. And still we do not study these as such. Nor do we respect the traditional "women's arts" being made today as 'true art'. This has always made me nuts. Not just the clear misogyny at play, but that we all buy into it. Granny crafts, right?

There's this weird idea among 'fine artists' that utilitarian crafts cannot be art. I decided long ago that I wanted to make things people can enjoy and use in their daily lives.  I pretty much only have handmade dishes in my cupboards, for example. I want to touch them and love them every day. And yes, utilize them in my life. That's what art means to me.

Also around this time, our local monthly art walk started up. We art students would go eat free food, drink free wine, and hit all the galleries around town. Immediately I knew 2 things: 1) if you want to do the gallery fine art stuff, you have to shmooze people because it's a lot about who you know, and 2) I could never live that life. So if there was a time when I considered doing "fine art" - pure expression and experimentation, don't touch, on the wall type art - it was done in that moment. Anyway I really loved making wearables, so that's what I did for the next 20 yrs.

As soon as I graduated, I started Bohemian Mermaid, hand dyed natural clothing. So then I became a professional textile artist, doing craft shows, wholesale, all the stuff we do. And that's when I learned about the art vs craft talks out in the real world, among artists and customers. I'm used to the usual downgrade just by being in textiles. But even amongst ourselves, there is debate.

Again, if you make it with your hands and design it yourself, that's enough for me. Of course there are grey areas... how many elements do you make vs buy? That's a big one right? Do you cast all your own jewelry findings? Do you stretch all your own canvases? It's pretty rare to literally hand make every single element of your work. Where is the line exactly?

For me, I actually do not sew my own clothes, although for the record I can sew very well. I start with pre-sewn white "blanks" that are all natural and well made. I am not interested in production sewing. I enjoy the dyeing, printing, decorating of the fabrics - known as Surface Design. That's my art skill set. And because I don't sew them, there are shows I can't get into. But what I always wonder is... of the people who sew all their clothing, do they also dye and print it themselves? Or do they use someone else's art that is printed on commercial fabric? And if so, why is my way less artistic exactly? 

Likewise, why are the artists who paint landscapes, for example, considered more "artistic" than someone who dyes and prints clothing? Personally, I use my representational drawing skills as just a first step. I draw the dancers first, then I stylize them, cut them into a print block, and hand print them onto my hand dyed background colors. Is that "less" than just painting the dancers onto a canvas?

No is the answer here. No. Because one hangs on a wall and costs 100x more, doesn't make it more "Art" than one of my skirts.  Along the same lines, what about reproductions of 2d art? You don't paint them, just have them printed by someone else. Is that "fine art" because it hangs on a wall and costs more? What if you print in onto a tote bag? Is it then craft or what? It's not so clear cut.

Which brings me to my next point. Price points don't make the artist. I can charge whatever I like and it doesn't change my skill level. I like making things that are accessible, I try to keep them in a certain range, I pay myself for my time appropriately. That's the end of that. Does it mean I use shitty materials, or less skill, or make the same stuff as everyone else, or under price myself? No. It means my items are faster to make, or my material sources are awesome, or my items are smaller or whatever. Yes, if you make more expensive items, you need shows where people shop for more expensive items. That doesn't say a thing about the quality of what you do, I mean you are the one setting the price. It also doesn't mean you are an art god, and the rest of us are peons of low end crap. Like it or not, we are all part of the same community. 

In the art and craft world, there will always be a broad range of skills, abilities, creativity, and evolution along the art path. We all start somewhere, and there is room for us all. My personal belief, as mentioned at the start of this, is that anyone who creates from their heart is an artist. Certain aspects may put you more on the "craft" side or "fine art" side, when we talk about where to sell and who to sell to. But the line is blurry at best and hurtful at worst. I would argue it's also useless.

All handmade work has value, period. If you have to scale your work as better or worse, ask yourself why. Are you insecure about where you stand in this debate? Does condescending judgement make you feel more successful? Do you want to be part of a community that lifts and supports each other? Or keep to your "own kind" and degrade those who don't fit that ideal?

The main thing is to make what you make, do what you do, and have pride in it. Don't worry so much about what everyone else is doing, or make your worth based solely on money or awards. Creating is enough. It makes the world a better place, just keep doing it.