Chapter 14 – The Crafts as Fine Art Thinking Ahead: 1.How are ceramics made? 2.How are glass objects made? 3.How is the technique of weaving performed? 4.Why has gold been a favored material since ancient times?

The Crafts as Fine Art Ceramics (clay) Glass Fiber (tapestry, weaving, sewing/stitching, crochet, knitting, quilt-making, embroidery) Metal Wood

The so-called “craft media” have traditionally been distinguished from the fine arts due to their history in making functional objects. Functional objects are objects that are intended for everyday use, and that serve a utilitarian purpose. These objects can include container vessels, eating utensils, weapons, clothing, jewelry, textiles, etc. For many years, crafts were strongly associated with women’s work— decorative, domestic design. In the 1970s, the Pattern and Decoration Movement sought to elevate the so-called “minor arts” of crafts to the level of “high art.”

Differentiating between craft and art is difficult, and classification into one category or another is sometimes controversial. In the 20 th century, the crafts lost their traditional association with functionality. In many ways, craft artists, like fine artists, were able to shed their bonds to utilitarian concerns, and create works that expressed the creative spirit of the individual Therefore, craft media can be employed to make objects that are not only works of great beauty but also works of art in their own right. Craft or Art?

If a work of art is primarily made to be used, it is craft, but if it is primarily made to be seen, it is art. But sometimes the artist’s intention is irrelevant. If you buy an object because you enjoy looking at it, then whatever its usefulness, it is, for you at least, a work of art.

Josiah Wedgwood Queen’s Ware kitchenware. c Historically, the distinction between the crafts and fine arts can be traced back to the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. Josiah Wedgwood created 2 kinds of pottery: 1.“Ornamental ware” 2.“Useful ware” This kitchenware was manufactured (made by a machine) by casting liquid clay in molds. Designs were printed by mechanical means.

This vase is an example of an elegant handmade luxury item, the work of highly skilled craftsmen. It was meant to be considered a fine art object. We identify Josiah Wedgwood’s Apotheosis of Homer Vase as a utilitarian object, a vase, yet we also view it as a painting because of the image he painted on the vase with glaze. What would you consider Apotheosis of Homer Vase to be? Craft or Art? Josiah Wedgewood, Apotheosis of Homer vase, Blue jasperware, height 18 in.

Euthymides. Dancing revelers, found in a tomb at Vulci. c. 510–500 BCE. made in Athens. height approximately 24 in. Wedgewood’s Apotheosis of Homer vase is decorated with low-relief Greek figures intended to evoke both the whit marble statuary of the ancient Greeks and their ceramic vases, such as this amphora, or two-handled vase Was meant to store provisions such as wine, oil, or honey. “Euphronios never did anything like it.”

Ceramics Clay has been universally embraced to create utilitarian vessels, plates, and pitchers throughout history. Ceramics are objects that are formed out of clay and then hardened by firing in a very hot oven called a kiln. Ceramic objects are usually formed in 3 different ways: slab construction, coiling, or throwing on a potter’s wheel. Watch the Video: Studio Technique: Ceramics

Earthenware – made of porous clay and fired at low temperatures, must be glazed if it is to hold liquid. Stoneware – impermeable to water because it is fired at high temperatures, and it is commonly used for dinnerware today. Porcelain – fired at the highest temperatures of all, it is a smooth-textured clay that becomes virtually translucent and extremely glossy in finish during firing. Ceramic: 3 Basic Types

Pieces made by any of these techniques are then painted with glazing. Ceramic glazes consist of powdered minerals suspended in water, which are applied to the object after the first firing. When the object is fired a second time, the minerals dissolve and fuse into a glassy, nonporous coating that bonds to the ceramic clay. Why do artists glaze their work? To seal clay vessels, which might otherwise absorb food or drink, thus stimulating the growth of bacteria For aesthetic reasons – the chemical reaction of firing the glaze produces colors Ceramic: 3 Basic Types

Hon’ami Koetsu. Tea Bowl Named Amagumo. Momoyama or early Edo period, early 17th century. 3 ½ × 4 9/10 in. Slab construction – clay is rolled out flat, like a pie crust, and then shaped by hand. This wood-fired ceramic was made in an early Japanese kiln called an anagama – a narrow underground tunnel. The accidental coloration results from wood ash in the kiln melting and fusing into glass on the pottery. Koge – a scorch, when the firing has oxidized the natural glass glaze completely, leaving only a gray-black area.

Peter Voulkos. X-Neck Woodfired stoneware stack. height 34-1/2 in.; diameter 21 in. Peter Voulkos is considered to be the father of contemporary ceramic art. It was through his creative work that ceramics became a respected and valid art medium. Slab construction – clay is rolled out flat, like a pie crust, and then shaped by hand. Fired in a traditional Japanese anagama, or wood-burning kiln. “A controlled accident” – anything can happen in the firing. Each of his “stacks” will turn out differently because of several factors. What are they?

Maria Montoya Martinez. Jar, San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico. c Blackware. 11 1/8 × 13 in. Coiling- long, ropelike strands of clay are coiled on top of one another and then smoothed. Slip - liquid clay used in decorating ceramic objects.

Pottery wheel-throwing Has the advantage of allowing potters to create ceramic works with far greater speed than hand-building, as well as giving them far greater control of a pot’s thickness and shape.

Rose Cabat. Onion Feelie. n.d. Ceramic. height: 8 ¼ in.; diameter 5 1/8 in. A thrown pot – made using the potter’s wheel

Kraakporselein. Plate, Ming Dynasty, late 16th– early 17th century. probably from the Ching-te Chen kilns. Porcelain, painted in underglaze blue. diameter 14 ¼ in. The first true porcelain was made in China during the T’ang Dynasty

Judy Chicago. The Dinner Party Mixed media. 48 × 48 × 48 ft. installed. For many years, crafts were strongly associated with women’s work— decorative, domestic design. In the 1970s, the Pattern and Decoration Movement sought to elevate the so-called “minor arts” of crafts to the level of “high art.”

Judy Chicago. The Dinner Party (Artemisia Gentileschi place setting) Mixed media: ceramic, porcelain, textile.

Artemisia Gentileschi Judith and Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes c Oil on canvas 72 ½ × 55 ¾ in.

Julie Green, The Last Supper, 2000-ongoing. Porcelain. Installation view

Julie Green, The Last Supper, 2000-ongoing. Indiana, 5 May 2007.

Glass Glass is one of the most ancient materials made by heating sand or silica mixed with soda ash on a core or by casting it in a mold until it becomes liquid. Around the 1 st century BCE, glassblowing techniques were developed, turning glass into a major industry. In this process, the glassblower dips the end of a pipe into molten glass and then blows through the pipe to produce a bubble, which is then shaped and cut. Paperweights, vases, pitchers…the list can go on and on of the various forms and functions of glassware created for utilitarian purposes.

Mosaic glass bowl, fused and slumped, Roman, 25 BCE – 50 CE. Height 4 ½ in. Opaque chips of colored glass that expanded and elongated in the oven as they were heated over a core ceramic form.

Moses window, Abbey Church of Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis, France. 1140–44. Stained glass, site-specific Stained glass is made by adding metallic salts to the glass during manufacture.

Abbey Church of Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis, France. 1140–44. Stained glass, site-specific

Dale Chihuly. Rotunda Chandelier (Victoria and Albert Chandelier) Glass. 27 × 12 × 12 ft. Victoria & Albert Museum, London Hand-blown glass forms, site-specific The glass artist Dale Chihuly embraces the plasticity of molten glass when creating his fluid forms

Dale Chihuly. Rotunda Chandelier (Victoria and Albert Chandelier) Glass. 27 × 12 × 12 ft. Victoria & Albert Museum, London Hand-blown glass forms, site-specific The glass artist Dale Chihuly embraces the plasticity of molten glass when creating his fluid forms

Fred Wilson. Drip Drop Plop Glass. approximately 99 × 72 × 62 in. Cast glass forms

Fiber (Fabric) Fiber arts include many different materials, derived from natural materials, and techniques traditionally thought of as craft skills. Needlepoint, embroidery, weaving, knitting, and crocheting are examples of fiber-based, utilitarian, craft forms, some of which have crossed boundaries and are defined as fine art.

Weaving is a technique for constructing fabrics in which vertical threads (the warp) are interlaced with horizontal threads (the weft, or woof). The warp threads are held tightly on a frame, and the weft threads are continuously pulled above and below. A tapestry is a special kind of weaving in which the weft yarns are of several colors and the weaver manipulates the colors to make an intricate design. In embroidery, the design is made by needlework. Rumals – embroidered muslin textiles that were used as wrappings for gifts, often offered at a temple or exchanged between families of a bride and groom. Fiber (Fabric)

Embroidered tapestry Originally woven as an aesthetic wall hanging that would also act as insulation against cold stone walls of a mansion or castle, this piece is now a highly popular work of art. The Hunt of the Unicorn, VII: The Unicorn in Captivity. Franco-Flemish, 16th century, c Silk and wool, silver and silver-gilt threads. 12 ft. 1 in. × 8 ft. 3 in. F46A

Embroidered rumal, late 18 th century. Muslin and colored silks. For a wedding gift, as in the rumal illustrated here, the designs might depict the wedding itself.

Anni Albers, Wall Hanging, Silk (two-ply weave), 72 x 48 in. Anni Albers was one of the most important textile designers of the 20 th century. This wall hanging/tapestry was created by weaving on a loom

Jessie T. Pettway, Bars and String-Pieced Columns, 1950s. Cotton quilt, 95 x 76 in. Hand-sewn quilt tapestry made by a woman from the isolated community of Gee’s Bend, Alabama. Represents an indigenous grassroots approach to textile design that rivals more sophisticated avant-garde artists like Anni Albers.

Faith Ringgold, Tar Beach (Part I from the Woman on a Bridge series), Acrylic on tie dyed and pieced fabric. 74 x 69 in. Painted and sewn quilt tapestry

Fiber sculpture In the 1970s, Abakanowicz made fiber a tool of serious artistic expression, freed from any associations with utilitarian crafts. Magdalena Abakanowicz. Backs in Landscape. 1978–81. Eighty sculptures of burlap and resin molded from plaster casts. over-life-size.

Atelier Joana Vasconcelos, Contamination, Hand-knitted and crocheted elements, applications in felt, industrial mesh, fabric, ornaments, polystyrene, polyester, steel cables, dimensions variable. Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy. Sewn, knitted, and crocheted fiber sculpture – composed of fabric samples, jeweled insects, children’s toys, sequins, pom-poms, beach towels

Metal Perhaps the most durable, and most precious, of all the craft media are the metals. Often used for items used daily, such as eating utensils, metals are also used for objects of adornment. Of all metals, gold is the easiest to work. It is relatively soft, occurs in an almost pure state, and consequently, has, since ancient times, been linked with royalty. How does repoussé differ from embossing? What features of the Oxus treasure would point to it coming from a royal hoard?

Tutankhamun Hunting Ostriches from His Chariot, base of the king’s ostrich-feather fan, c BCE. Beaten gold, 4 x 7 ½ in. Gold repoussé and embossing Repoussé – a design realized by hammering the image from the reverse side. Embossing – the raised decoration of the surface of an object

Griffin bracelet, from the Oxus treasure, Soviet Central Asia, c BCE. Gold and stones, diameter 5 in. Gold jewelry originally inlaid with colored stones which suggested the finest Asian silk drapery.

Benvenuto Cellini. Saliera (saltcellar), Neptune (sea) and Tellus (earth). 1540–43. Gold, niello work, and ebony base. height 10 ¼ in. A functional salt and pepper dispenser! Commissioned by Francis I of France

Susan R. Ewing, Inner Circle Teapot II, Sterling silver, 24K Vermeil, 9 ¾ x 10 ¼ x 8 ½ in. Contemporary metalwork Vermeil technique – a microscopically thin later of gold is plated to the finished silver form

Because of its availability and ability to replenish itself, wood has been a cost-effective and readily used material by artisans. Unfortunately, because it is vulnerable to the elements of nature and general wear and tear, very few wooden artifacts have survived from ancient cultures. Wood is a warm, texturally pleasing medium and is mostly used for furniture and other objects for living. Wood

Heiltsuk, Bent-Corner Chest (Kook), c Yellow and red cedar, and paint, 21 ¼ x 35 ¾ x 20 ½ in. Cedar – impermeability to weather, resistance to insects, and protective, aromatic odor. Designed to contain family heirlooms and clan regalia, opened only on ceremonial occasions. Often served as the ceremonial seat of the clan leader, who sat upon it, literally supported by his heritage.

Attributed to Thomas Dennis or William Searle. Chest. made in Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1660–1680. Red oak, white oak. 29 ¾ × 49 1/8 × 21 3/8 in. Nearly every 17 th century family owned at least one chest for storing linens, personal belongings, and household goods. The three central panels are carved in the popular period design of a stalk of flowers and leaves emerging from an urn. Red oak furniture