I was at the opening of ‘Lab Craft’ in the Truman Brewery at Tent London last night. Curated by Max Fraser, it’s a Crafts Council touring exhibition exploring ‘Digital Adventures in Contemporary Craft’.
The exhibition followed on very nicely for the museum and gallery curators attending a Crafts Council Craft Curators Forum that I was speaking at in the morning. It had been organised to demystify the use of digital media in contemporary craft and help the curators position this type of work in their collections. The discussion was lively and partly centred on the relationship between the hand and the machine. For instance, where is the dividing line between a pole lathe and a 5-axis CNC milling machine? Both are tools controlled by a combination of hand and eye and though the latter is definitely a ‘hands-off’ tool, the thought processes required to produce a piece of work are essentially the same.
As I mentioned last week, the London Design Festival is on at the moment, but for me the highlight was the Anti-Design Festival, centred on Redchurch Street, in East London. The brainchild of graphic designer Neville Brody, it encourages risk-taking, experimentation and dismisses the notion that every creative act has to have a polished, commercial end product. For the visitor, used to the beautifully presented gewgaw, it may have been a bit of a shock, for me it was a breath of fresh air.
Officially part of the London Design Festival, but more like an offshoot of the Anti-Design Festival was a week of ‘Design Against the Clock’ events held at The Duke Street, St. James’s gallery of Established and Sons. I was involved on Wednesday when I was teaching the artist Gavin Turk to throw pots. The day went really well, Gavin was focused and determined and by the end of the day he had produced a couple of dozen simple bowl forms. The outcome was the experience and will definitely not be polished and highly finished range of commercial products.
Some visitors and staff members had their first experience of throwing pots and were all completely captivated. I have long maintained that creative expression is instinctive and part of the human make-up. For the lucky few who find an appropriate vehicle, great things can be achieved; for a large number it can be channelled through hobbies, including gardening and appreciation of the natural world, and perhaps for an unlucky minority who have never had those opportunities, a life of frustration.
Saturday 25 September 2010
Friday 25 June 2010
Assemble Conference- some thoughts
The Crafts Council organised a conference timed with the launch of new reports on the vision for the future of Craft in the UK.
I was one of the panellists invited to make a short presentation and discuss our place as makers in terms of the portfolio lives that many of us lead.
The choice of the 22nd June for the Assemble conference was completely appropriate as I’m sure everyone remembers, it was the day of the ‘Axe and Tax’ emergency budget.
The audience in the lovely, converted St.Lukes church was made up of a good number from craft and art organisations who would have been wondering what effect the chancellor was having on their immediate futures at that precise moment. I suspect the feelings amongst the makers amongst the audience were a little more ambivalent. For one thing, the conference acknowledged that Craft is definitely out there in the zeitgeist, making is happening all over, from informal groups of pals creating their Christmas gifts for each other, to Louis Vuitton bringing makers of the bespoke into their flagship stores.
The design world now acknowledges craft and some would say, feeds off the hard won skills of makers. You don’t have to travel far down the high street to find industrial ceramics imitating hand thrown pots. But is that necessarily a bad thing? Isn’t it all part of an educational process, awakening the buyer to Craft?
Where does this interest come from? Is it a reaction to the period of austerity that we are apparently entering, or a reaction to the ‘hands-off’ digital world that most people’s lives revolve around?
Making stuff, growing stuff, getting your hands dirty isn’t just about economics or fashion; it’s an outlet for an innate force that we all possess. It gives us ‘agency’ as Matthew Crawford articulated in his ‘provocation’. It gives a real shape to our lives; it connects us, both to natural laws and to each other in very real ways. Why are there long waiting lists for allotments? It’s not just about fresh food; it’s about sharing, about human interaction and according to Martin Raymond of The Future Laboratory, it’s about anarconomy.
For CJ O’Neill and Andy Cathery the effects of ‘agency’ were extremely tangible, giving focus and a sense of ownership to young people in Stoke-on-Trent and a future to a group of disaffected youths in Cornwall. Fantastic work, making a real difference to peoples lives, but for the ‘moneymen’ listening to George Osborne, how do you put a value on self-esteem? Maybe we need adopt the GNH (Gross National Happiness scale) instead of GDP?
We were all in agreement that Craft Matters and Craft has Value, but how do we get that across to an audience ranging from policy makers to the public. The public is largely behind us, as vast amounts of statistics from Gerri Morris prove, but the craft items that the public buy is mostly made by practitioners who were trained when Colleges still had workshops and taught material and process knowledge. That still happens in a precious few institutions, but the policy makers have to be made to understand that it is a serious mistake to erode what little there is left any further.
‘Thinking through Making’ is not an empty mantra, it is a fundamental part of the creative process that has brought about robotic arms for the Space Station from a maker of automata, as just one example of the way in which this approach encourages transferable and lateral thinking. If the economy of the UK is to have a significant income from intellectual property, then those closed workshops need to be reopened.
Whilst I’m on my soapbox here’s a few more ideas- There should be a return to subsidised apprenticeships, as away of ensuring the handing on of skills. Independent businesses should pay less business rates than the ubiquitous big names that have helped to make our town centres so anonymous. These suggestions are part of a way to ensure a future where consumers can connect with their locality, where young people can remain or return to the community in which they grew up. This may sound all rosy and middle-class, but aren’t these ways to create a C2C sustainable society?
So how can we make this happen?
As Mike Press, the chair of Assemble so passionately said: ‘”We can seize or squander this moment”, and advocated that we all get out there and tell our stories. But to whom, and what stories?
Craft, as Assemble clearly demonstrated is far more than the making of exquisite, hand made objects, consumed by a certain section of society. At it’s most inclusive it is “the desire to do something well for it’s own sake” as Richard Sennett defines it; it’s also an approach, a way of thinking.
So the stories that need to be told must demonstrate how Craft shapes our daily lives, how Craft gives meaning to our lives, how we are all dependent on Craft, how Craft is fundamental to the sciences as much as to the arts, and how Craft is instrumental to most parts of the economy.
I was one of the panellists invited to make a short presentation and discuss our place as makers in terms of the portfolio lives that many of us lead.
The choice of the 22nd June for the Assemble conference was completely appropriate as I’m sure everyone remembers, it was the day of the ‘Axe and Tax’ emergency budget.
The audience in the lovely, converted St.Lukes church was made up of a good number from craft and art organisations who would have been wondering what effect the chancellor was having on their immediate futures at that precise moment. I suspect the feelings amongst the makers amongst the audience were a little more ambivalent. For one thing, the conference acknowledged that Craft is definitely out there in the zeitgeist, making is happening all over, from informal groups of pals creating their Christmas gifts for each other, to Louis Vuitton bringing makers of the bespoke into their flagship stores.
The design world now acknowledges craft and some would say, feeds off the hard won skills of makers. You don’t have to travel far down the high street to find industrial ceramics imitating hand thrown pots. But is that necessarily a bad thing? Isn’t it all part of an educational process, awakening the buyer to Craft?
Where does this interest come from? Is it a reaction to the period of austerity that we are apparently entering, or a reaction to the ‘hands-off’ digital world that most people’s lives revolve around?
Making stuff, growing stuff, getting your hands dirty isn’t just about economics or fashion; it’s an outlet for an innate force that we all possess. It gives us ‘agency’ as Matthew Crawford articulated in his ‘provocation’. It gives a real shape to our lives; it connects us, both to natural laws and to each other in very real ways. Why are there long waiting lists for allotments? It’s not just about fresh food; it’s about sharing, about human interaction and according to Martin Raymond of The Future Laboratory, it’s about anarconomy.
For CJ O’Neill and Andy Cathery the effects of ‘agency’ were extremely tangible, giving focus and a sense of ownership to young people in Stoke-on-Trent and a future to a group of disaffected youths in Cornwall. Fantastic work, making a real difference to peoples lives, but for the ‘moneymen’ listening to George Osborne, how do you put a value on self-esteem? Maybe we need adopt the GNH (Gross National Happiness scale) instead of GDP?
We were all in agreement that Craft Matters and Craft has Value, but how do we get that across to an audience ranging from policy makers to the public. The public is largely behind us, as vast amounts of statistics from Gerri Morris prove, but the craft items that the public buy is mostly made by practitioners who were trained when Colleges still had workshops and taught material and process knowledge. That still happens in a precious few institutions, but the policy makers have to be made to understand that it is a serious mistake to erode what little there is left any further.
‘Thinking through Making’ is not an empty mantra, it is a fundamental part of the creative process that has brought about robotic arms for the Space Station from a maker of automata, as just one example of the way in which this approach encourages transferable and lateral thinking. If the economy of the UK is to have a significant income from intellectual property, then those closed workshops need to be reopened.
Whilst I’m on my soapbox here’s a few more ideas- There should be a return to subsidised apprenticeships, as away of ensuring the handing on of skills. Independent businesses should pay less business rates than the ubiquitous big names that have helped to make our town centres so anonymous. These suggestions are part of a way to ensure a future where consumers can connect with their locality, where young people can remain or return to the community in which they grew up. This may sound all rosy and middle-class, but aren’t these ways to create a C2C sustainable society?
So how can we make this happen?
As Mike Press, the chair of Assemble so passionately said: ‘”We can seize or squander this moment”, and advocated that we all get out there and tell our stories. But to whom, and what stories?
Craft, as Assemble clearly demonstrated is far more than the making of exquisite, hand made objects, consumed by a certain section of society. At it’s most inclusive it is “the desire to do something well for it’s own sake” as Richard Sennett defines it; it’s also an approach, a way of thinking.
So the stories that need to be told must demonstrate how Craft shapes our daily lives, how Craft gives meaning to our lives, how we are all dependent on Craft, how Craft is fundamental to the sciences as much as to the arts, and how Craft is instrumental to most parts of the economy.
Friday 26 March 2010
The Arts and the Election
Following on from my thoughts about the mutual benefit of art and science working together as a way of maintaining funding for the Arts, I listened to the debate between Ben Bradshaw, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Jeremy Hunt MP, his Conservative shadow, broadcast live on the RSA* site on Tuesday.
It was encouraging to hear both politicians agreeing that Art, and Culture in general are well worth Government support. Apparently, for every pound the government invests in the Arts there is five-fold return.
They both agreed that there isn’t much point in reducing Arts spending to help save money, as the amount is miniscule in relation to overall government spending. Not only does it give such a healthy financial return, it also helps to maintain the Arts as a vibrant symbol of the Culture of the Nation.
It should be interesting to see whether all these positive words are adhered to after the election.
I am conscious that I am discussing the situation in the UK (excluding Scotland), so it would be very interesting to hear how Arts funding and the relationship between Art and Science operates in other parts of the world.
* Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce The broadcast is available online here.
It was encouraging to hear both politicians agreeing that Art, and Culture in general are well worth Government support. Apparently, for every pound the government invests in the Arts there is five-fold return.
They both agreed that there isn’t much point in reducing Arts spending to help save money, as the amount is miniscule in relation to overall government spending. Not only does it give such a healthy financial return, it also helps to maintain the Arts as a vibrant symbol of the Culture of the Nation.
It should be interesting to see whether all these positive words are adhered to after the election.
I am conscious that I am discussing the situation in the UK (excluding Scotland), so it would be very interesting to hear how Arts funding and the relationship between Art and Science operates in other parts of the world.
* Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce The broadcast is available online here.
Monday 15 March 2010
The Midwife and the Gravedigger
Having spent a few more days thinking about the Craft Matters campaign the more strongly I feel that the Crafts Council should encourage a more inclusive definition of craft and its place in society.
As I said before, Craft is not just concerned with exquisite, hand made, bespoke objects. Though there is a need and place for work of that type in society, if craft is to matter when it comes to its recognition, promotion and support by governments, the public needs to know how craft affects them in almost every area of life.
As Glenn Adamson says, "Craft only exists in motion. It is a way of doing things, not a classification of objects, institutions or people"*
As such, both the midwife and the person that buries you are craft experts, they have developed the tacit knowledge and skills necessary to safely bring you into this world and to leave it with dignity. At every stage in between craft shapes our lives, it is what differentiates us from the other species on this planet. Craft has even helped to shape our bodies, both in an evolutionary sense and in the way our bodies are affected by physical activity.
In getting this message across a recent Radio 4, Point of View programme could be very helpful. It was the last of a series by Professor Lisa Jardine who used the example of crystallographer, Dorothy Hodgkin to demonstrate how science and the arts can both benefit through collaboration. Lisa jardine referred to a letter to the Observer signed by many eminent thinkers who are concerned that future government spending cuts will sacrifice the arts in favour of the sciences, a policy that appears extremely short-sighted.
Adamson, G. Thinking through Craft. Berg 2007, p4.
As I said before, Craft is not just concerned with exquisite, hand made, bespoke objects. Though there is a need and place for work of that type in society, if craft is to matter when it comes to its recognition, promotion and support by governments, the public needs to know how craft affects them in almost every area of life.
As Glenn Adamson says, "Craft only exists in motion. It is a way of doing things, not a classification of objects, institutions or people"*
As such, both the midwife and the person that buries you are craft experts, they have developed the tacit knowledge and skills necessary to safely bring you into this world and to leave it with dignity. At every stage in between craft shapes our lives, it is what differentiates us from the other species on this planet. Craft has even helped to shape our bodies, both in an evolutionary sense and in the way our bodies are affected by physical activity.
In getting this message across a recent Radio 4, Point of View programme could be very helpful. It was the last of a series by Professor Lisa Jardine who used the example of crystallographer, Dorothy Hodgkin to demonstrate how science and the arts can both benefit through collaboration. Lisa jardine referred to a letter to the Observer signed by many eminent thinkers who are concerned that future government spending cuts will sacrifice the arts in favour of the sciences, a policy that appears extremely short-sighted.
Adamson, G. Thinking through Craft. Berg 2007, p4.
Friday 12 March 2010
Does Craft Matter?
I went along to the Crafts Council launch of 'Craft Matters' at the House of Lords on Tuesday and an interesting tea party it was.
The campaign aims to raise the profile of craft in the mind of the public, in education and in business. The speeches focused on the making and acquisition of exquisite hand crafted objects and each of the speakers described why craft matters to them. You can say why craft matters to you here.
My contribution applies a much wider definition to the notion of craft, the short version being that 'Craft matters because it is the fundamental building block of the creative industries'. I used that term because of its association with DNA and the fact that craft skills are needed in many areas of science as much as they are in the arts and crafts.
The longer version is:
'Craft matters because it is not only the fundamental building block of the creative industries, but is a process that brings together the hand, the head and the heart in order to engage with, explore and interpret the world around us.'
The longer I am involved in creating work using advanced technology the more strongly I feel that successful pieces rely on a combination of my pottery craft skills, the development of new skills plus a developed sensibility to the 3 dimensional form. Together, a new world of creative possibilities has opened for me, neither superior nor inferior to my previous practice.
As an inveterate maker, concerned with the the use of materials and processes for expressive purposes, I am now more fully engaged with the notion of craft than I have been for some time and it matters.
So, does craft matter to you?
The campaign aims to raise the profile of craft in the mind of the public, in education and in business. The speeches focused on the making and acquisition of exquisite hand crafted objects and each of the speakers described why craft matters to them. You can say why craft matters to you here.
My contribution applies a much wider definition to the notion of craft, the short version being that 'Craft matters because it is the fundamental building block of the creative industries'. I used that term because of its association with DNA and the fact that craft skills are needed in many areas of science as much as they are in the arts and crafts.
The longer version is:
'Craft matters because it is not only the fundamental building block of the creative industries, but is a process that brings together the hand, the head and the heart in order to engage with, explore and interpret the world around us.'
The longer I am involved in creating work using advanced technology the more strongly I feel that successful pieces rely on a combination of my pottery craft skills, the development of new skills plus a developed sensibility to the 3 dimensional form. Together, a new world of creative possibilities has opened for me, neither superior nor inferior to my previous practice.
As an inveterate maker, concerned with the the use of materials and processes for expressive purposes, I am now more fully engaged with the notion of craft than I have been for some time and it matters.
So, does craft matter to you?
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