First, if any of your are interested in taking glass blowing this summer in Lubbock, email and I will send you the information to contact the master glass blower you will be working with...it is a great opportunity to explore hot glass.
If you love clay this is your history. Maybe not the history you have been exposed to in your clay classes but it is the history of the history you probably know. When reading this section and all the sections try to track where your college teachers learned...what pedagogy of subject they come from or their teachers came from.
Look at the end of the time line...Amelia Earhart, Dr Seuss and the Wizard of Oz....wow!
As you read about the Craft Institutions know this was the reason behind TTU having an art school on the Junction Campus for 43 years. And my favorite dream school has always been Black Mt. College, I just always ask myself if I would have had the nerve to attend.
The extra question for this week...how important is the human figure in today's craft/art?
I was surprised at how far back the wage inequality went for women. I know I shouldn’t be that surprised but, was still shocked at how exploited the Appalachian women were. I was also surprised that the biggest draw to art education at the time was jewelry and ceramics studies. But as Daniel Rhodes said ‘To get a job was extremely difficult then, especially for those interested in the arts. We looked to pottery as a way of making a living and a way of keeping one foot in the art world, while keeping some kind of functioning independence.’ I see the similarities between those who become art teachers in today’s world.
ReplyDeleteI was impressed with the development of art colleges. How many of the cottage industries became educational institutions and how the development of industrial design as a profession started. I also liked that the Bauhaus didn’t shy away from machines but used them to bring fort their designs to the mass market. It was also interesting to see the Bauhaus teaching styles.
What I will take away is that not much has changed for those who want to be artist. The desire to create but also the need to make a living while living true to your artistic vision has not changed.
Yes, I think the human figure is still important in today’s craft/ art. Without the human component, you wouldn’t have teachers who are can pass on their experience and knowledge and what has come before them. You also need the human figure to pass on their passion and ideas to people. The human component is what sells art. If an artist can get others to respond to their vision and ideas then they can sell their art or get others to talk to more people about their art or vision. This reminds me of TOMS shoes. Their business grew by word of mouth. They had a good product and a great vision.
Great point about fair wage..and that history is one of the underlying causes for the practice to continue...many simply keep doing what has always been done.
ReplyDeleteAlso a good point about human figure...you took it a totally different way than I had intended, which is great. I was curious as to the human figure as subject matter, based on the use of the human form in this time frame.
I was wondering about a that lol. I think the human figure as a subject is still vital to explore in crafts/art. Especially in this day of photoshop and body stereotypes. I think it's still important for artist to create art based on the human figure. We should keep challenging the ideas of the human figure.
DeleteLaughing with you. It was fun to be pushed to see it another way.
DeleteI really like the similarities drawn between making it as an artist now and making as an artist then. It truly is why so many of us teach! We still have to put food on the table, gas in the car, and pay our vet and doctor bills!!
DeleteI always like hearing about stories of the WPA. I remember learning about the government building programs in high school. It made me feel good to think that my government tried to find positive ways to both better the country and the lives of it's people. I've also read about how the programs were run like military style camps with very strict policies. I guess it makes sense given the nature of the times and the severe goals that were to be obtained, but I think it would have been a challenging life. I was surprised on p.147 that the WAP craft projects “...were required by law not to compete with manufactured products.” My initial reaction to this was harsh. I thought how nice it is that they wanted to help unfortunate people, but not enough to have them infringe on the profits of the elite. I'm not sure what the specifics of such a vague law were, but it would seem to doom any successful start-up enterprise. It suggested to me that the government would educate the poor enough to be successful labor for big business. This is probably a critical reaction, but the section clouded my vision of the such programs. Ultimately, I'm sure they were still very beneficial programs.
ReplyDeleteAround P.150, I was impressed by the continued variety of forms and ethos possessed by craftspeople and craft institutions. It was interesting how some design schools, such as the Bauhaus, were trying to make craft and functional design coexist. I like the idea of craft being able to be both creative and functional. Eaton's definition of handicrafts as “all those things which people make with their hands for their own use or for that of others” really fits my personal view of craft-work. The strict modern perspective, as seen in the MOMA Machine Art exhibition, that “any complexity of form should be dictated by the function of the object” is harder for me to appreciate. I do like the modern look, with its clean lines and aggressive shapes. It taps into the same aesthetic sense that makes me like geometric abstraction. However, demanding such a severe philosophy tends to break the artistic connection from design and therefore render the created item product, not craft. I guess it is more of a conceptual distinction, but even if the item is handmade under this idea, to me, it would not be a true craft. I see this idea in the section on Adolf Loos and his position that the creative urge to decorate “...is a sign of degeneracy...”.
I'm taking away a discovery of the life and art of Maija Grotell. I found the section on her, p.159, very inspiring. I specifically liked the part about her teaching philosophy, and how she discouraged imitation and promoted creative individuality. I have worked to make my own instruction in a similar vein, which can be complicated in today’s public art education. I often feel pressure from both administration and the public to ensure my students meet specific visual results, which can be easily appreciated. I try to teach historical/ aesthetic awareness, skill/ technique building and (adult-like) production results, which in one class, of 25 to ... students, a week is quite challenging. To me, the time characteristics of this endeavor leave much to be admired, but I try to achieve as much as possible before it is time to tear the classroom down for summer.
One of my reasons for using this book is to begin the thought process of who began dividing art and craft into separate but not equal parts of creativity, when did artist begin to be forced into taking sides and where do I stand/ each of us stand in our own lives. A side road on that journey is how do we teach. So your response are solid and exactly what I hoped would begin to develop.
DeleteI had the very same reaction to reading about that law limiting free market competition! Are we really the land of the free and the brave? This law to me contradicts what so much of American successes have been built on. To limit succes before it even begins is an abortive enterprise. Seems to me.
DeleteI suppose the part that surprised me the most was the far-reaching aspects of the WPA. I vaguely remember it from my history courses, but I didn't realize that more than 3,000 projects were funded and more than 60,000 people took craft classes (pg 147). I also didn't realize that the crafts created were required by law to not compete with manufacturing. I imagine that took some ingenuity on the part of the artists!
ReplyDeleteI was impressed by and absolutely loved the section on Dorothy Liebes (pg 166-167) and her use of textiles. The Mexican Plaid Drapery Panel that was pictured is gorgeous. Weaving to make a textile has always been fascinating to me. I knit in my spare time (ha!!), but I would love to learn how to use a loom to create a textile like this. And, I think I liked it even more when I read that she loved glitter effects!!! :-)
For me, the Take away from this chapter was simplicity in design. I went back and just looked at the pictures, and for all but a couple, they were very simplistic in their decorations and construction. I don't mean to devalue the simplicity of the pieces. Quite the opposite, I really enjoyed those pieces because of it!
Personally, I think the human form still incredibly important. Just like some of the artists in this chapter, taking into account the human form, helped them to develop new and sometimes unusual objects (like the Airline chair or the Normandie pitcher).
I agree, when furniture became based around a body instead of a body trying to find a chair that fits is interesting because surely the first works in furniture ( I am thinking sleeping mats of ground cover and hammocks were for the body, so maybe the longer question is when did the human body stop being important in furniture.
DeleteI like your comments about weaving. And I'm so ignorant in this craft. I would like to learn, especially because of my Native American heritage. I would also love to try the glassblowing class! That would be so exciting. I can't see my way to doing it this summer, but maybe next!
DeleteKaty, I also am very often drawn to simple, effective design work. Most of my work starts out more involved than it ends up, especially when I work in clay. I still like complicated and highly decorative works, but it seems that the works that I develop the richest affinity with tend to be simple and strong.
DeleteI think that the human figure is always important in art and craft. If is what we know best. I think of Kiki Smith though and an exhibit I saw of hers that focused on body parts and the inner parts of us: cells and DNA and so forth. When I think of the human figure in today's terms I not only think of the outside of the human form, but what we are learning about the inside of us. Like brain research and new discoveries about DNA. I find these things fascinating and always good subjects for art and craft.
ReplyDeleteI was impressed by the dinnerware section of the ceramics. I am a shameless and avid collector of dinnerware. I have Wedgwood and Staffordshire, some Depression glass handed down, Lenox and a smattering of the five and dime or grocery store dishes of the sixties, just because I like them. I don't own any Fiesta ware, but have always admired it and I wish I had some. I also really liked the American Modern and would love to get hold of some of that. I think that this decade more than any so far truly resonates with me because I remember so many of these styles and pieces from old family photos and from the homes of my family members in my father's side. He was the youngest member of his immediate family and born in 1935. My mom was born in 1938. I was the youngest grandchild in my dad's side and I remember seeing things made from this decade. And in fact, I own some of these items that were handed down from my paternal grandmother. So, I think I have a natural affinity and nostalgic feeling when reading this chapter. I find it fascinating that my dad was only a year old baby when the Wizard of Oz came out and Dr. Sure began his publishing career. Wow. Kind of blows me away, since these two things were such a strong part of my own childhood and growing up experience. We watched the Wizard of Oz every year that it aired on television, and Dr. Suess books a large part of my childhood library and that of my own children.
What surprised me was the affect that the depression and WWII had on arts and crafts. It totally makes sense, but just not something that I ever thought about it realized. I will say that I grew up knowing people that had lived through this era. And they never stopped talking about it. The people and families I knew were very cautious with money and spending and always had a savings. My grandmother was known to hide cash all over the place in the house. Even in books. So what they did buy was important to them. And quality mattered. They wanted it to last. And because they took such good care of things, I still enjoy some of it today.
What I Wil take away with me is the truly great design that happened during this decade. Design that has had long lasting influences and some of the things still sold and popular today, like some of the Bauhaus designs and furniture. The fiesta ware which is still sold today. For going through as much as they did with the war and depression, this seems to me to be a Golden Age of Design. Designers and Artists working in craft and art and manufacturing. The lines seem to be crossing and interconnecting a lot in this decade. I like that, and it is very inspiring to me.
You make a solid point about a time when money was used wisely and quality was important. I always think about the quilts my grandmother had and the quilts you find a big store. When did hand made become not good enough or is it hand made became too expensive?
DeleteGood question. I just think that we are such an instant and materialistic society, and so inundated with technology and the "need" to be entertained constantly! That most people do not have the propensity towards "hands on" or the patience, or time. However, I can't think of a better way to spend relaxing time out in the porch on a pretty day! It is so therapeutic and so needed in our culture.
DeleteThis is really an interesting topic. After though, I struggle to find many things that I insist on quality and seek out handmade/ craft work. Part of this is due to availability, but I know that, regrettable, it is also due to money restraint, coupled with the fact that I rarely have time to really enjoy my "things". Most of the items that I use on a daily basis are used in haste as I work to get to my next required task. I would like to have my day be more like a Japanese tea ceremony, where I can take in and savor all of my experiences. A good example is that during the week I bring a Starbuks ceramic mug to work for my coffee. It is an okay cup, but I do not cherish it and it is simply there to drink from. On the weekends, I take my coffee from a handmade mug. I drink much slower and often find myself looking at the cup and admiring its craftsmanship. The visual pleasure adds to the overall joy I experience from the flavor and aroma... and caffeine. I think that if I spent more quality time in my home, I would probably seek out more quality items to enjoy.
DeleteMakers: Preface and Chapter 1 - Catching up
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the rise of American craft is a push against the disconnect between the process of making and the maker. The Industrial Revolution (p. 1) and the “standardization” (p. 2) of the process of making via the move to factory manufactured product has made the process exact and speeded it up, which was necessary for improving working conditions for the factory worker and knocked out weapons for the battlefield. It also took the humanity out of the process, and sterilized it in the way, that the hand was no longer in loving contact with the object it was creating. It ripped out the heart. The precise nature of the manufacturing process also demanded defragmentation of the process, so that it was chopped up into steps from start to finish, resulting in further disconnect of the maker from the object he/she was creating.
While I was working on the completion of my undergraduate degree in Art and Art History at the University of Toronto in Canada I also had a summer job at a machine shop drilling holes in cam tubes. It was a mindless job completely devoid of all sensual touch stimulation that we normally think of when we think of craft making. I had experienced what the author is discussing here firsthand. The defragmentation of the process, where one is responsible for merely a step in the making, puts the maker in the same status as the machine, locked in a repetitive machinelike motion for eight hours a day.
We used to use a derogatory term to describe people who were "good with their hands" which meant they weren't intellectual giants. I can relate to your observations about fragmented manufacturing processes being devoid of tactile stimulation, but I always paid attention to these processes and thought about different ways to conceive of and build things. Now we know that people who are "good with their hands" are actually integrating more sensory information and making neural connections that "great thinkers" are not.
DeleteDavid good point..when did we begin to call the" other" names? Primitive? Good with Hands? Simple?
DeleteMaia, can you speak more on the three basic questions for this chapter: What surprised you, what impressed you and what you are carrying away with you. Your experience with a factory will be helpful in the first chapters.
DeleteI am disheartened the our country couldn't reprise a WPA-like program during our Great Recession. We let infrastructure and housing fall apart, neglected arts, education, and environmental issues while skilled craftspeople went broke instead of enriching daily life. I believe this was deliberate in order to sell the idea that "government is the problem" (to quote Ronald Reagan). And this philosophy was all designed to keep manufacturers and corporations from having to compete.
ReplyDeleteOK, on to the harder questions:
1) Is the human figure still relevant in the arts? As much as I would like to think so, concept has eclipsed content, and there are some bright spots and dark possibilities in the answer I will put forth. Dark possibilities include the advances in cybernetics that will make the human of the future possibly unrecognizable from our biology. With the advent of social media, users now have two bodies, one physical and one virtual (what philosopher Paul Virillio called "stereo perspective"). Virtual bodies need not have human features, proportions, or physical limitations. Normative proportions are being discarded for avatars that have sometimes impossible anatomies and proportions. While humans are usually 6-8 heads tall, avatars are 10-12 (females 10, males 12). Body dysmorphia will become a bigger problem and cybernetic enhancements will permit physically distorted human-machine intersections. Sound rather dismal? The upside is that sites like Deviant Art may show these distorted figures, but they display a concurrent interest in physical anatomy and representing it more accurately. Some social media users actually critique disproportionate human representations. I have watched the human figure become passé twice in my lifetime, but it keeps coming back. I figure it will last as long as our species does. Sounds rather dismal. The other bright spot has to do with gender and sexual identity. More and more young people will not allow themselves to be categorized by gender. Agendered individuals will become more commonplace, just as committed relationships no longer require a male and a female. One day, maybe we'll all just be "people."
2) The wage inequality that Nigel pointed out was particularly bad for women teachers. I have mentioned John Taylor Gatto's "Underground History of American Education" and in it he displays an actual Mid-Western teaching contract from the beginning of the 20th century. Female teachers were expected to clean the school, wash the curtains, were forbidden from entertaining males, and could only be driven by a brother or a father around town. And they made squat. Teaching was not even considered a bona fide profession, except for male professors in colleges and universities.
3) I also found the section on Maija Grovel (p.159), very inspiring. Her teaching philosophy that discouraged imitation and promoted individuality has been terribly undermined by corporate pressures and initiatives like "No Child Left Behind" which drive students to learn the "correct" answer and discourages divergent thinking. And I see in my own teaching, projects being ruined by Google searches. You will only find what search engines direct you to, and none of it will be wholly unique. It's the library of Been-there, Done-that. What about critical thinking skills? The arts put that front-and-center which makes it doubly important for our society. "Think different."
I should add that Maija Grotel fell victim to the overwork that afflicts many artists. We artists learn to work beyond discomfort and fatigue with little regard for long-term consequences of this exertion. In later years the effects become obvious, for carpal tunnel to bone spurs.
DeleteBecause I began woodworking at age 3, w/o any guidance, I was impressed with the organic designs of Noguchi, Kem Weber, and Eshrick. It was a challenge to make curves when I had only hand saws. I resorted to rubbing my shapes on the sidewalk to get curves until I was told about coping saws by a passerby. Collectively, these 3 artists seemed to be paving the way for the wood artisan I admire most, Wendell Castle (pp. 370, 384) who decided to embrace craftsmanship of the highest order to distinguish his work from imitators.
Your response on the human body is a great bridge between what Nigel had to say and what I had intended. I especially like your reference to body image and how many brave young men/women/both are challenging the limitation of the past.
DeleteWhat surprised me in the section of the Hispanic craft revival, that Santa Fe style architecture was revered. When New Mexico was fighting for statehood, adobe architecture was looked down upon, I suppose in today’s term, ghetto. I am glad that the architecture was embraced.
ReplyDeleteAlso, that the Penland model reminded me of Junction. It was full immersion, safe spaces, community building, bonding in a sacred space. Sigh.....
What impressed me was in his book, Handicrafts of the Southern Highlands Allen Eaton he included the topic of crocheting with dog wool. I need to start harvesting some dog wool from my little poodle-ish much. It is about time he starts pulling his weight around the house. I actually did joke with my family about a month ago that they were all going to get scarves made out of dog fur. Hmmm….
I am taking away is the inspiration of the depiction of culture in many of the artworks and the attempt to empower people after emerging from the depression to a sense of independence.
My first major in college was Drafting, and I was one semester away from getting my associate’s degree. Reading about Modern architecture of the 30’s, I am reminded how much I always hated the International style.
Also the work of Viktor Schreckengost reminds me of the work of one of my favorite Mexican artists, Miguel Covarrubias. Covarrubias was a caricature artists, painter, illustrator, anthropologist, and is well known for his illustrations for Vanity Fair, particularly the “Impossible Interview,” in which he was draw caricatures of two famous people that you would likely never see sitting in the same room together.
I think the human figure is vital in today's art/craft, particularly for representation of communities of people, genders, social class, in a an empowering way. Empowering for that community.
I am always interested in how a culture/part of the country feels about themselves and their work vs how the world /country feels or interprets their work.I still know folks who consider adobe to be mud and not in a nice way.Keep us posted on the dog yarn.
DeleteFrom my experiences, the figure is quite prominent in today's arts/crafts. I see figures represented in painting, sculpture, printing, fibers, ceramics, pipe making, and metal work. With the blending of media, animation and traditionally based representation, I think the figure is generally experiencing somewhat of a revival in art. This is not to imply that it ever disappeared, but the figure seems to be used today in academic, post-modern, commercial and overtly ornamental/ entertainment fashions. Personally, I have been moving away from figurative representation, something I never imagined that I would do. It has been a gradual weeding process, and I still incorporate figures intermittently. I'm currently working within geometric abstraction and really feel that it is allowing me to grow artistically.
ReplyDeleteWhat surprised me? How most ventures in the arts or crafts couldn’t survive until federal funding came along. During this time we are seeing more and more colleges have staying power thanks to the government stepping in. I am also surprised at the percentage of women who were in the crafts-95%.
ReplyDeleteWhat Impressed me? During last years TAEA convention in Dallas, I sat in future’s workshop listening to Future tell stories about students and the profound impact some of them had on the summer program in Junction. Future told of times of struggle and breakthrough, high craft, and lasting friendships. The Penland school model and Black Mountain College reminds me of Junction, Tx. Although, I unfortunately did not get to experience studio there, I would imagine the two would be very similar. I feel real growth and mind expansion happens in an atmosphere such as this.
What I will take with me.. I am beginning to comprehend the struggle and attempt at balancing arts and crafts with the industrial and machine age. Financial struggles trended throughout each stage. It is through the core values and vision of a few that arts and crafts survives today. I see a marriage between the two- each cannot survive without the other- they share a common need of one another.
The human figure I feel has always subtly been present in the arts and crafts –it has become more prominent as society grows intellectually and becomes less prudent.
Thanks for the reference to Junction. The idea of a isolated art community in the Hill Country was based on Arrowmont which in turn was modeled after Penland!
Delete