Page 105 - Constructing Craft

Egyptian Jar’ by the author. Photo: Author’s
collection.

The Educators

During the 1980s studio craft in New Zealand flourished and many craftspeople
were making comfortable livings. Many also aspired to greater things – to being

recognised as artists. Critics, however, seemed intent on making sure that the

transition from craftsperson to artist was not earned without a struggle. In 1984 the
CCNZ and the Wellington City Art Gallery collaborated on an exhibition project

called ‘The Great New Zealand Box Show’. In his review of the exhibition, Bob
Bassant, a tutor in Visual Communication Design at Wellington Polytechnic,

compared the exhibition to two other exhibitions – and found it wanting. ‘The Great

N. Z. Box Show despite its extensive media exposure and popular success wasn’t
what it could, or perhaps should have been.’ He continued: ‘If this ... could be seen

to be an attempt to narrow the real or imaginary gap between Art (Capital A) and
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craft (lower case) it failed to do so. Entries for the exhibition had been called for
from ‘all craftspeople’ in the March/April edition of New Zealand Crafts but Bassant

felt this group was too restrictive to raise the work into the realm of Art (with a
Capital A). Ignoring the CCNZ’s request to craftspeople he complained: ‘where were

the entries by our painters – our sculptors – our industrial designers, our architects

Constructing Craft