Craft and the handmade in studio practice

When considering the current art world we can see the revival of craft

based practice all around us. Looking at the Turner prize nominees this year,

only one artist, Hilary Lloyd is working with video. What I find interesting about

this is that technology has never been more readily available and user friendly.

With the mass availability and relatively low cost of digital media, we have the

ability to record images quicker and easier than ever before. Yet it appears that

more and more people are picking up traditional skills such as knitting and

embroidery in their free time. Certainly, in my peer group, it appears that more

of my friends know how to knit or sew than their mothers do. Personally, my

own work, which started out as video and photography based, has over the last

few years developed into an almost exclusively hands on, material based

practice. In this essay, I will discuss artists who work with craft in the

contemporary art world to explore the possible differences between what we

class as “ high art” and “craft”, the possible reasons for working with craft, as

well as discussing our society’s attitude towards craft making, with reference to

the role that women have played in this practice.

Recently, a lot of the work that has been emerging into the art world

seems to have a lot to do with tangible “things”. Artists such as Grayson Perry (fig

1) have almost exclusively craft based practices, but why is this, and what do we

even class as “craft ” anymore? Perry explains that he thinks craft can be

determined by the physicality of the work rather than the idea behind it:

‘To call something craft is just to say it is physical. Craft is a hot word in the art world at the moment, because people are tired of conceptual art where the ideas aren't even that good, ideas that wouldn't stand up outside the flimsy theatre of the gallery.’ (http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2005/mar/05/art)

Perry’s most famous works are his pots and vases that depict funny, grotesque

and often violent scenes painted onto the surface of the pots. At first glance his

work reminds me of traditional Oriental vases, and hand painted china, but once

you get up close you can see the illustrations are not as innocent and decorative

as the vase itself. Perry’s vases and pots are not intended to be displayed as

decorative pieces in private homes like the aforementioned china, they are

intended to be thought provoking and are thus viewed in Art galleries next to

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paintings and sculptures. It is interesting how Perry’s work has been defined as

“art” not “craft”, it seems as if the mere act of somebody, somewhere labeling it

as such has been enough for it to make the transition. A way that I can see of

differentiating “art” from “craft” is to judge the object by its usefulness.

Traditionally crafted objects such as blankets, pottery and jewelry all have a

purpose; they have typically been addressed to specific needs such as eating,

sitting and sleeping, or clothing and adorning ourselves. However, the recent

surge of handmade art works like those of Grayson Perry’s exist purely for the

purpose of being art objects

“Traditional studio craft making has understood use as something to be united with beauty in works intended to enrich the lives of ordinary people. Of course the art-craft direction within studio crafts has rejected use as an essential element in craft in favor of an emphasis on innovative form and personal expression”

(Shiner, L; 2007;pg40)

Another way to explain the recent surge of craft based work is in the

context of our societies need for “things”. This is even more relevant in our

current economic climate and attitude to money and material objects. The ease

of credit and debit cards means that there are less and less physical acts of giving

and taking money, there is an intangibility to the whole process that leaves me

feeling disconnected. The Internet, with its host of social media and dating

websites allow you to converse with a person without seeing them, touching

them, or even speaking a word out loud. Love Jonsson discusses this current

practice of craft based arts in her book on “Craft in dialogue”

“ The revival of crafts has been a much talked about topic during recent years, concurrently with the issue of our need of concrete things - in contrast to virtual phenomena that seem elusive and unforeseeable. Mindful of contemporary practices in crafts however, this explanation often appears simplified. Crafts cannot be considered merely a counter movement against the new, since they too, are a part of it - crafts themselves are one of the areas in which the contemporary is exposed and discussed.”(Jonsson, L, 2005: pg7)

I agree with Jonsson here, I think that a crafts based practice is not only about

some kind of rebellion against technology, I feel that human beings inherently

have an interest things that were made by our own hand. The presence of the

hand often seems to relate to the presence of care, touch and of womanhood.

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When I think about handmade things I think of my grandmother knitting

cardigans and teaching me how to use a sewing machine. The homeliness and

normality of these processes make them appealing to me, yet it is for this reason

that “decorative” traditional art and “craft” are often put down, usually with

racist, classist and sexist overtones

“Art history assigns the creative to two categories – fine arts and crafts- and then certifies as legitimate only the fine arts, thereby excluding those creative traditions of primitive people, peasants, women and many other groups outside the mainstream of Western history”(Weatherford, E: 1973)

Another argument to differentiate crafts from art is that many craft

objects are things that have to be copied from a pattern such as knitting and

quilting, and that this takes away from the originality of the work. If something is

copied directly from a pattern does that make it less valuable somehow? Is the

cardigan copied from the pattern a result of the effort of the maker or is it simply

a mere imitation of something that has been designed by someone else? I

disagree with this notion; I believe that the term originality no longer serves any

purpose as we create so many objects everyday it seems unfair to criticize

something for being a copy

“An object made from a pattern is not only the copy of the copy of a copy that substitutes reality because no-one recognizes or remembers the original any longer, but it is also the product of our creative powers that becomes the manifestation of nostalgia for something that has been lost”(Hosegood, B: 2009: pg 151)

I feel that the uniqueness of an object comes from the choices made by the maker

– the textures, colours, tension, and most importantly the unique touch of one’s

own hand:

“there is a plethora of myths of origin and signs of reality – a plethora of truth, of secondary objectivity and authenticity. Escalation of the true, of lived experience, resurrection of the figurative where the object and substance have disappeared”(Baudrillard, J: 1994: pg 98)

The difference between high craft making (professional, artist made) and low,

amateurish craft making (things made from patterns), is still a little unclear to

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me, as they all essentially require similar skills and engagement of the mind and

body.

“The hand molding clay, hand holding a mallet and chisel, the hand holding fabric, the object taking shape when before there was nothing but formless mud or wood or thread- craft diverts the experience back to the physical. The choice of craft is not anachronistic. It is a statement that we still live in a body rich in potential. In a sense, craft always tries to perform a metaphysical revision: the return of labour to equal status with thought”(Metcalf:2007:pg 7)

Perhaps it is because of the traditional role of women as the cooker, the

cleaner or the mender in the family that crafts are generally viewed by the world

as a gentle, womanly practice or pastime. Even the nature of the materials

themselves, the basic resources used in textile crafts; wool, cotton, silk and

embroidery thread are all soft, unthreatening materials. Even their materiality

really reminds me of women’s bodies – of hair, clothing, wrappings etc. The

history of textiles is full of women; indeed the representation of Goddesses as

weavers or spinners exists in many cultures. There are “Spinners of the Thread

of Life” (fig 3) in which one of the 3 Goddesses of Fate is named “Klotho” which

translates as “The Spinner” (http://www.theoi.com /Daimon/Moirai.html). Early

Greek mythology in particular focused many tales of its heroines around the

practice of weaving and sewing, notably Penelope, Arachne and Philomena.

“My power as a woman and weaver emerged as I worked not consciously thinking of it….I simply concentrated on the task: the doing by day, the undoing by night in never ending rhythm. This gave me the focus and discipline to continue year after year…the creation of beauty and the undoing of it. Both are equally challenging, a changing story, a changing weave, forever new, forever undone”(Scheuing, R: 1991: pg 203)

Their weaving enabled them to assert their own wills against the male

dominated power structure around them. They all used their craft as a kind of

language, and their end products were made for the purpose of communication

rather than domestic needs (much like the art works I have discussed) Weavers

and spinners and their tools also appear in fairy tales and folklore, often as tools

of power or destruction used by witches. It is interesting that society can both

look down upon and also idolize or fear these practices.

Perhaps it is for this reason that until recently, many women artists have

abandoned craft techniques and materials, maybe it is in fear of being put down

for doing “women’s work”, or at least the ones that have worked like this have

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been largely overlooked - Ann Wilson first painted on quilts in 1958 (fig.2).

Quilts have been a recurring theme in my own work, they conjure up such

nostalgia and show a conscious effort to collect and value memories, thoughts

and ideas.

“In designing their quilts, women not only made beautiful and functional objects, but expressed their own convictions on a wide variety of subjects in a language that for the most part was comprehensible only to other women. In a sense this was a secret language among women”(Hammond, H: 1984: pg 22)

Tracey Emin is an artist who has worked with quilts and embroidery for a long

time. Her works transform the concept of the traditionally nurturing feminine

craft of quilt making into a medium for angry self-expression and diary like

confessions. The jumbled mixture of tenderness and anger found on the quilts

suggests a dreamlike state of memories, failed ambitions and slurred protests. In

her work “Hate and Power can be a Terrible Thing” (fig.4), Emin used an old pink

wool blanket, cut in two as the basis for the text. The most noticeable thing you

see in the work is the text ‘PERMISSION TO FIRE/ ENZINE’ in large black capitals.

An English Flag divides the top from the bottom of the blanket, which is a

patchwork of various messages stitched into the quilt. Individual flowers cut out

from floral print fabrics are appliquéd across the flag and the blanket behind.

The layout of Emin’s quilts reminds me of landscapes, she seems to compose

them much like a painter would:

“Quilt making has always been considered a craft. It's never been held up in the realms of high art. But I hope, I feel, that my practice has managed to change some of these conceptions. I have always treated my blanket making more like a painting in terms of building up layers and textures. Quilt making involves a lot of thought and love. Just the time involved in the process means many things are discussed and considered concerning life." (Emin,T: 2010 : http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/stitches-in-time-quiltmaking-as-contemporary-art-1921331.html)

I think that the fame and exposure of artists like Tracey Emin and Grayson

Perry have done a lot to remove the stigma associated with working with craft

processes in a fine art practice. The familiar appearance of their works makes

them accessible to a wider variety of people, rather than simply the “art”

audience. I think that working within this practice allows one to learn a great

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deal, whether you are simply learning to knit or making work for galleries, it

seems that the way to learn the most is to be working on an even plateau, with

neither group looking down upon the other. As an artist working with this kind

of media, I have come to realize making textiles, ceramics and other handmade

items is extremely important in my work, these materials will never be perceived

as a “neutral” medium to work with. The implications of materials themselves

are what is interesting to me and I expect my studio work to move further in this

direction in the future.

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List of Illustrations

Fig 1Grayson PerryBarbaric Splendour

Glazed Ceramic 2003

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/grayson_perry.html

Fig. 2 Ann Wilson

Painted Quilts Circa 1958

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http://janosgatgallery.com/JANOS_GAT_GALLERY/

Fig.3John StrudwickA Golden Thread (detail)Oil on Canvas1885http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?

cgroupid=999999961&workid=13971

Fig. 4 Tracey Emin Hate and Power can be a Terrible Thing

2004 http://www.wmagazine.com/artdesign/2011/05/tracey-emin

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Bibliography

Alfoldy, Sandra (ed): 2007: Neo Craft: Modernity and the Crafts: Canada: The Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design

Bachman, Ingrid & Sheuing, Ruth (ed): 1998:Material Matters: The Art and Culture of Contemporary Textiles: Canada: YYZ Books .

Baudrillard, Jean: 1994: “The Precession of Simulacra”: Simulacra and Simulations: USA: University of Michigan Press

Cripps, Charlotte: 2010: Stitches in Time- Quilt making as Contemporary Art: The Independenthttp://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/stitches-in-time-quiltmaking-as-contemporary-art-1921331.html)Accessed 16/11/2011

Hammond, Harmony: 1984: Wrappings: USA: Mussman Bruce Publishers

Hosegood, Betty: 2009: Whip Your Hobby into Shape: Knitting, Feminism and Gender: source article from Textile, Volume 7, Issue 2 pg 148-163: Berg Publishers

Jonsson, Love : 2005: Craft in dialogue: six views on a practice in change: Sweden, Konstnärsnämnden

Metcalf, Bruce: 2007: “Replacing the Myth of Modernism” inAlfoldy, Sandra (ed): 2007: Neo Craft: Modernity and the Crafts: Canada: The Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design

Perry, Grayson: Grayson Perry on the Arts and Craft Movement: 2005: The Guardian(http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2005/mar/05/art)Accessed 16/11/2011

Schwartz, Judith S: 2008: Confrontational Ceramics - the Artist as Social Critic: London: A&C Black

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Sheuing, Ruth: 1991: “The Unraveling of History, Penelope and

Other Stories” in Bachman, Ingrid & Sheuing, Ruth (ed): 1998:Material Matters: The Art and Culture of Contemporary Textiles: Canada: YYZ http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2005/mar/05/artBooks

Shiner, Larry: 2002: “The Fate of Craft” inAlfoldy, Sandra (ed): 2007: Neo Craft: Modernity and the Crafts: Canada: The Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design

Weatherford, Elizabeth: 1973: Craft for Arts Sake: Ms Magazine in Hammond, Harmony: 1984: Wrappings: USA: Mussman Bruce Publishers

http://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Moirai.html Accessed 19/11/2011

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