As I get further into my textile projects, which I've always been so eager to begin and have poured my heart and skill into right up to the last stitch, I've been feeling a bit frozen. I like my work to be well-crafted. I like it to be useful. I like it to be different than any other. (And I guess that goes for more than my sewing projects!) But as I embark on the mentor-protege journey, and there is so much talk of art and design elements and critique, I can't help but wonder: am I really an artist? a designer? a craftsperson? Am I trying to "achieve" the status of art? Is my work skilled enough to be true craft? Am I simply a designer?
I feel determined to give this process a label. And let me be clear that I am not hung up on which label I end up with; I don't necessarily see them as a hierarchy with art as the pinnacle. I may even be an artist who uses design and craft in her process of making art. And maybe pinning a label on me won't make my work any better, my focus any clearer (though to be honest, focus is what I'm after here).
Here's what quilt artist Angela Moll has to say:
As an artist working in a craft medium I am increasingly skeptical of the value of appropriating modern art properties (such as moving the quilt off the bed and on to the wall) in an attempt to cloak our work with fine art’s legitimacy.
In an article for Ragged Cloth Cafe, she talks about the role of the art industry excluding craft, supposing it to be inferior, and the subsequent attempt of craftspeople to challenge that. You can read her full article here (and be sure to click on the art/craft links at the end of the article!).
I also looked up the definitions of art, design and craft, to see if getting down to basics might help:
(I think it's interesting that art is only a noun, while craft and design are both noun & verb -- in this case I used verb for both.) In the early years of my career, I referred to myself as a "designer" because I spent most of my day designing wedding and personal stationery that happened to be handwritten. Before long, I changed that title to "artist" -- primarily because that seemed to give me greater permission: it is okay for an artist to have messy clothes, messy hair, messy studio! But now I am wondering if what I do is craft instead of art -- does that let me off the hook for the "more than ordinary significance"? I still consider the principles of design when I'm creating (more as a matter of habit than a conscious choice) and I still have a teeny bit of perfectionism that insists on solid craftsmanship.
As I sit at my desk writing this post, I feel that I've gotten the questions out of my system; I'll hope for a few insights from you, and meanwhile, I'll go enjoy the bright blue sky. So much snow has melted this week that the snowbanks are no longer taller than my children!
I'm a tad more touchy feely and not so precise or organized, but here are a few thoughts:
~ Art is not a thing; it is a way. ~Elbert Hubbard
~ Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together. ~John Ruskin
~ Art is not a thing; it is a way. ~Elbert Hubbard
I have an MA in art history and this question was never fully answered, and I believe it never will be. But I will say, your creations are beyond ordinary significance. So you have my vote.
Posted by: Michael Nelson | Feb 19, 2011 at 04:12 PM