Page 98 - Constructing Craft

Both Davis and Spencer were adamant that the move by some craftspeople to

produce ‘art’ rather than ‘craft’ was a retrograde step. They linked craft with purity of
purpose and wholesomeness while fine art was assigned to the fickle field of

fashion and ephemeral taste. Furthermore, and despite his earlier statement that
craft in New Zealand had no overtones of class, Spencer connected the growth of

ceramic art with the decline of egalitarianism. However, both Davis’ article and
Spencer’s letter demonstrate that the distinction between art and craft centred on

the aesthetic reasoning that Collingwood had made thirty years earlier had evolved

into economic and sociological arguments, and contained many of the elements that
Bourdieu had suggested influenced decisions that people made.

The Comparative Debate

Carin Wilson

Some craftspeople endeavoured to boost the status of craftspeople by comparing

them to professions that the public understood. Often the comparison was with
professions that were far removed from the trades that craft had traditionally been

associated with. The woodworker, Carin Wilson, is an example of this. Wilson
recognised that he had “a normal middle class upbringing”, but after three years

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studying law at University he grew bored and became a sales representative.
Later, he travelled overseas becoming inspired by the woodwork he saw in
Scandinavian. On his return to New Zealand he set up a workshop in Christchurch

where he and another woodworker, James Pocock, developed their skills. His first
exhibition of furniture was in 1974 and he helped establish the Canterbury Guild of

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Woodworkers in 1978, becoming its founding president. Later he moved into a
home-based workshop and became involved with the Craft Council of New Zealand,
representing South Island craftspeople on the Executive.

It was during this time Wilson realised that his new career was more than that of a

simple tradesman and he began to think about the role of craft in New Zealand.
When he stated that “Craft is reasonably well defined here”, he was comparing New

Zealand with craft in Asian countries such as Indonesia where ‘70% of the

Constructing Craft