Craft as Art
Josiah Wedgwood. Apotheosis of Homer Vase. 1786. height 18 in. Wedgwood Queen’s Ware. c. 1850.
What is Craft?
If a work is primarily made to be used, it is considered craft, but if it is primarily made to be seen, it is considered art.
There are five primary craft media:
- Clay (ceramics) - Wood - Metal (metalsmithing, jewelry) - Glass - Fiber (paper-making, felting, tapestry, weaving, sewing/stitching, crochet, knitting, quilt-making, embroidery, etc.) Ceramics
Hon’ami Koetsu. Tea Bowl Named Amagumo. Momoyama or early Edo period, early seventeenth century. 3 1/2 x 4 9/10 in. Euthymides. Revelers. c. 510–500 BCE. Height approximately 24 in. María Montoya Martinez. Jar. c. 1939. 11 1/8 x 13 in. Pottery wheel-throwing, from Craft and Art of Clay.
Peter Voulkos is considered to be the father of contemporary ceramic art. It was through his creative work that ceramics became a respected and valid art medium.
Peter Voulkos. X-Neck. 1990. height 34 1/2 in. x diameter 21 in. Karen Swyler Plate, Ming Dynasty. late sixteenth–early seventeenth century. diameter 14 1/4 in. Betty Woodman. Floral Vase and Shadow. 1983.
Judy Chicago. The Dinner Party. 1979. 48 x 48 x 48 ft. installed. Judy Chicago. The Dinner Party (Artemisia Gentileschi place setting). 1974–79.
Sergie Isupov Glass
Mosaic glass bowl. Roman, 25 BCE–50 CE. Height 4 1/2 in. Three ways of working with glass:
- Hot glass Glass blowing - Warm glass Kiln worked, casting, slumping, fusing, lampwork, and bead-making - Cold glass Mosaic, stained-glass, and grinding Moses window. Abbey Church of Saint-Denis. 1140–44. Stained glass work-- example of cold-worked glass
Dale Chihuly. Rotunda Chandelier (Victoria and Albert Chandelier). 1999. 27 x 12 x 12 ft. Hand-blown glass forms-- example of hot glass work Fred Wilson. Drip Drop Plop. 2001. approximately 99 x 72 x 62 in. Cast glass-- example of warm glass (or kiln-formed) work Pablo Soto
Hand-blown glass forms (hot glass work), then sand- blasted texture and design on the surface (cold glass work) Peter Masters
Porcelain (ceramic) forms with kiln- slumped glass (warm glass work) Fiber
The Hunt of the Unicorn, VII: The Unicorn in Captivity. c. 1500. 12 ft. 1 in. x 8 ft. 3 in. Embroidered tapestry Embroidered rumal. Late eighteenth century.
Anni Albers. Wall Hanging. 1926. 72 x 48 in. Weaving on a loom- tapestry Jessie T. Pettway. Bars and String-Pieced Columns. 1950s. 95 x 76 in. Hand-sewn quilt tapestry Faith Ringgold. Tar Beach (Part I from the Woman on a Bridge series). 1988. 74 5/8 x 68 1/2 in. Sewn quilt tapestry Marilyn Lanfear. Aunt Billie, from the triptych Uncle Clarence’s Three Wives. 2007. 8 x 4 1/2 ft. Made using buttons Marilyn Lanfear. Aunt Billie (detail), from the triptych Uncle Clarence’s Three Wives. 2007. 8 x 4 1/2 ft. Mike Kelley. More Love Hours Than Can Ever Be Repaid and The Wages of Sin. 1987. 90 x 119 1/4 x 5 in. Found object fiber painting Basketry Magdalena Abakanowicz. Backs in Landscape. 1978–81. over life-size. Fiber sculpture: burlap sacks cast in a mold Barbara Kile
Felt basket
Lisa Qualls
Made using paper pages from a book, then holes were burned into the pages using cigarettes Metal
Tutankhamun Hunting Ostriches from His Chariot. c. 1335–1327 BCE. 4 x 7 1/4 in. Griffin bracelet, from the Oxus treasure. c. 500–400 BCE. diameter 5 in. Benvenuto Cellini. Saliera (saltcellar), Neptune (sea) and Tellus (earth). 1540–43. height 10 1/4 in. Metalsmithing is using “soft” metal (usually a precious or semi-precious metal) to create detail works with high craftsmanship
Blacksmithing is using “hard” metals (traditionally iron or steel) to create works that are typically bulky and manipulated by pounding, heating, and aggressive force
Susan Ewing. Inner Circle Teapot. 1991. 9 3/4 x 10 1/4 x 8 1/2 in. Nathan Dube. S.P.I.T. (Saliva and Paper Instigating Trauma). 2005. dimensions of case 2 3/4 x 4 1/4 in. Metalsmithed Silver Matthew Smith, Cufflinks
Metalsmithed silver with inlayed resin and wood Marilyn da Silva Wood
Heiltsuk. Bent-Corner Chest (Kook). c. 1860. 21 1/4 x 35 3/4 x 20 1/2 in. Antoni Gaudí. Oak Armchair for the Casa Calvet. 1904.
Martin Puryear. Ladder for Booker T. Washington. 1996. 423 x 22 3/4 (narrowing to 1 1/4 at top) x 3 in. Louise Hibbert Matthew Danser Ceramics Metal
Fiber Wood Glass For next class: Friday, March 23rd
3D Project: Wearable art
Please bring: -An assortment (5-10) of items to press into clay (leaves, sea shells, rocks with interesting textures, stamps, textiles, broken electronic parts, any object with a raised (relief) image or pattern, etc.) - A dull pencil - Paper towels or napkins
2D Collage project is due March 23rd!