the c**** word

ArtInfo has an interesting article on the old Art vs Craft debate, spurred on by New York’s Museum of Arts & Design - or the museum formerly known as the American Craft Museum.

The debate is nothing new, but I think this is a well-written discussion of some of the issues as they relate to the worlds of museums, galleries and collectors. Not surprisingly, opinions are split, with some believing that craft can demand the same prices as art, while some would prefer to leave craft out of art collections altogether. Some think that the lines are blurred between the two disciplines - but interestingly, not just that craft is getting more art-like:

Indeed, for many, craft at its best is just as infused with content (traditionally art’s domain) as art is informed by process and materials (craft’s bailiwick). The art-craft dynamic thus goes both ways.

Of course, some people would just prefer to forget this whole debate over terminology and just apppreciate creations on their own merit. Who cares what you call it, right?

There's also mention of what's going on now with people like, well, us:

Add to all this the evidence of a new mainstream infatuation with crafts—such once unthinkable phenomena as hipster knitting circles and trendy do-it-yourself magazines—and you have the makings of a movement that is not only top-down but from the ground up and, auspiciously, young. “There’s a real resurgence of interest among the younger generation, almost as if it skipped a generation,” says Carmine Branagan, executive director of the American Craft Council. Tellingly, Branagan recently lured 34-year-old Andrew Wagner, a founding editor of the stylish design magazine Dwell, to relaunch American Craft magazine—a move that, not long ago, would have been considered career suicide for a publishing up-and-comer. “I’ve never seen craft as anything but incredibly positive,” Wagner says. “People get confused by craft, because it has this vast definition. But I don’t think my generation has a problem with that. In fact, it’s exciting.”

Read the full article on "The C**** Word" on ArtInfo.com.