Page 78 - Constructing Craft

at the same time, by virtue of their formal structures and
sensuous qualities, present themselves as intrinsically valuable.
… An object which retains either function or aesthetic qualities
but not both loses the special complexity which gives craft its
unique appeal … How much weight is to be given to each of
these criteria may be a matter of individual preference, but at
least these are the criteria which reveal the nature and aim of
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craft.

The Technical Theory of Art

Collingwood’s notion that art did not exist in the physical form but only in the mind

of the artist was diametrically opposed to the technical theory of art, which was, and
is, the way most people think about art and craft. In its most simple form this theory

states that an artist expresses his or her emotions through a work of art. The
physical item, the painting, sculpture or poem for instance, is art and therefore the

skill that goes into producing the work is an integral part of art and, as such, can be

the subject of analysis that can determine if it is art or not. Margaret MacDonald,
reporting to the 1953 Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, defended this position

by contending that:
… it seems absurd to say of someone that he had painted a
picture or carved a statue without the use of tools or materials.
An imaginary picture or statue just isn’t a picture or statue
because these words stand for works which need hands as well
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as heads to bring them into existence.’

For some artists and many craftspeople this was a convincing rebuttal and, if
accepted, placed the artefacts that each produced within the same sphere.

Many craftspeople found the mind/body division intolerable because it excluded

them from both the world of the traditional craftsperson and the world of the artist.

Bernard Leach, who had been a major influence on New Zealand craftspeople,
particularly potters, since 1940, described this sense of isolation: ‘The potter is no

longer a peasant or journeyman as in the past, nor can he be any longer described
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as an industrial worker: he is by force of circumstances an artist-craftsman’.

Constructing Craft