A Theory of Craft: Function and Aesthetic Expression

by Howard Risatti, Kenneth R. Trapp (Foreword by)

Overview

What is craft? How is it different from fine art or design? In A Theory of Craft, Howard Risatti examines these issues by comparing handmade ceramics, glass, metalwork, weaving, and furniture to painting, sculpture, photography, and machine-made design from Bauhaus to the Memphis Group. He describes craft as uniquely blending function with a deeper expression of human values that transcend culture, time, and space. Craft must articulate a role for itself in contemporary society, says Risatti; otherwise it will be absorbed by fine art or design, and its singular approach to understanding the world will be lost.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807889077
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	09/15/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Howard Risatti is professor emeritus of art history at Virginia Commonwealth University. His four previous books include Skilled Work: American Craft in the Renwick Gallery and Postmodern Perspectives: Issues in Contemporary Art.

Table of Contents

Foreword   Kenneth R. Trapp     xi
Preface     xiii
Introduction     1
Practical-Functional Arts and the Uniqueness of Craft: Questions about Terminology     13
Purpose, Use, and Function     23
Taxonomy of Craft Based on Applied Function     29
Different Applied Functions: Tools and Craft Objects     41
Comparing Machines, Tools, and Craft Objects     48
Purpose and Physiological Necessity in Craft     54
Nature and the Origin of Craft Objects     60
Craft and Fine Art     67
What Are the Fine Arts and What Do They Do?     71
Social Convention versus Physical Necessity     78
Craft, Fine Art, and Nature     87
Technical Knowledge and Technical Manual Skill     98
Hand and Body in Relation to Craft     108
Hand and Body in Relation to Fine Art     116
Physicality versus Opticality     127
Thingness of the Thing     139
Issues of Craft and Design     151
Material and Manual Skill     157
Design, Workmanship, and Craftsmanship     162
Craftsman versus Designer     171
Implications of Craft and Design     182
Hand,Machine, and Material     194
Aesthetic Objects and Aesthetic Images     207
A Historical Perspective of Craft and Aesthetic Theory     209
Aesthetics and the Function/Nonfunction Dichotomy     219
Kant and Purpose in Fine Art     232
Fine Craft, Fine Art, Fine Design     239
Intentionality, Meaning, and the Aesthetic     251
Beauty, Contemplation, and the Aesthetic Dimension     262
How Aesthetic Contemplation Operates     273
Development of the Critical Objects of Studio Craft     281
Postscript     303
Bibliography     307
Index     317

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

An unprecedented effort to define crafts and to place the work in a cultural context, both differentiating it from and aligning it with other aesthetic activities. Risatti's fluent, knowledgeable approach and his emphatic categorizing should be widely read—not because he offers a final answer but because his extraordinary book is so stimulating and provocative.—Janet Koplos, senior editor, Art in America



Risatti challenges many of the long-held stereotypes about craft that hinder a true understanding of the art form. His conclusions challenge us to reevaluate our ideas not only about craft but also about what actually constitutes a work of art.—Kenneth R. Trapp, from the Foreword



This book is notable for its logically progressive and rigorously philosophical development of a general theory of craft. In arguing his case, Risatti draws upon an extensive knowledge of aesthetics. A Theory of Craft sets an excellent precedent for future research in the field.—Glen R. Brown, Kansas State University

Editorial Reviews

This scholarly work lays out reasons for the historical dichotomy in Western philosophy between fine art and craft. Risatti (art history, emeritus, Virginia Commonwealth Univ.; Postmodern Perspectives: Issues in Contemporary Art) argues that aesthetic standards for craft separate from those of the traditional fine arts are necessary for craft to receive the status it deserves in the art community. He points out that non-Western traditional societies don't make such distinctions and that their artwork is a functioning part of daily life. Since fine craftworks in the marketplace now approach the prices paid for fine art, this is a problem that may be solving itself. Suitable for academic art libraries.

—Constance Ashmore Fairchild

Library Journal

A well-organized argument for the consideration of craft as art and its elevation in status. . . . An important contribution to the field of contemporary craft activity and its contributions.—Wintherthur Portfolio



Destined to become required reading for undergraduate and graduate courses in art and craft history. . . . A book worth waiting for.—Ceramics Monthly



With a writing style that is direct and engaging, Risatti examines the value of the handmade in an age of mass-production and constructs a critical framework for evaluating the place of craft media in today's art environment.—FiberArts



[A Theory of Craft] lays out reasons for the historical dichotomy in Western philosophy between fine art and crafts.—Library Journal



Howard Risatti offers a very palatable narrative in A Theory of Craft: Function and Aesthetic Expression. Risatti dives headfirst into the craft versus art and design argument, peeling back the layers to understand the most basic definitions, functions and history of craft.—Arts Reader



Risatti has long been ahead of the curve in regards to bridging the art/craft divide. . . . A tantalizingly broad argument for craft's relevance.—Surface Design Journal

From the Publisher