Art vs Craft

[Joe Dupre']

This ought to get the juices flowing! It's pretty much how I feel about bonsai. Art tends to be the expression of emotions and craft is the "nuts and bolts" of how that is attained. Craft can , for the most part, be taught. I feel art cannot be taught , but can be awakened if the talent is there. Too many "rules" reduce the art of bonsai to the craft of bonsai. Nothing at all wrong with that. Art is creativity. Creativity is making something that never existed before. Rules tend to get in the way of that.

From The Difference Beteween website.

"
Art vs Craft


Most people do not see any difference between art and craft as they are both considered to be forms of creativity. Let’s consider how art and craft differ.

Art is a form of work that is the expression of emotions. Craft is a form of work, which results in a tangible output, for example, moulding and carving.

Art is often described as unstructured and open ended. It has no limitations of expression, just like in painting. Craft on the other hand is structured, which means that it has a certain form that is visible.

While Craft can be quantified, this is more difficult to do with art. Â Another thing that can be seen is that one can create duplicate craft forms, which is not possible with art. It can also be seen that art forms move people on an emotional level whereas crafts attract people. For example, a piece of painting can create emotions in a person whereas a piece of jewellery or pottery can be an attraction.
Unlike craft, art is known to come out of the heart and soul. Crafts come out of the mind and need considerable practise to come out with world-class forms.

Art is a result of a person’s innate talents whereas skill in craft can be acquired with experience. Craft forms can be called skilled forms. In craft, more practical thought is needed whereas in Art, it is the emotions that make a perfect creation. Art is more related to aesthetics.

A craftsman will have an idea about what he wants to actually make. In art, it is the emotions that flow out, whereas in craft, no emotion is involved.

Pottery, metal works, glass works and jewellery are some examples of craft works. Painting, architecture and sculpture are examples of art forms."

 

[penumbra]

Pottery, metal works, glass works and jewellery are some examples of craft works. Painting, architecture and sculpture are examples of art forms."

Your post was brilliant and for all intensive purposes I am in complete agreement. Except this last line. You simply cannot divide the arts and the crafts individually and so dogmatically. To say what is says more about what is not. Yet there is no blame actually merited because to name and number things is the human condition as much as seeking shelter or food. As an expression of heart, art can be made manifest by a potter, a jeweler or a plumber. Likewise a painter, a sculptor or any other, can be acting on the nature of craft. Whereas those of an excepted craft are sometimes perceived as trying to be artsy, their craft is an art that can move the heart though it would be defined as coming from the head, the intellect. Conversely, an absolutely brilliant artist could be held at bay due to his lack of craft skills. I would say that many (probably most) are able to create things in their hearts and in their heads, that they cannot manifest because of lack of skill.
As I said, I very much enjoyed your brilliant post.

 

[AZbonsai]

Pottery, metal works, glass works and jewellery are some examples of craft works.

Picasso may disagree.

 

[BuckeyeOne]

@Joe Dupre' In some ways I can see your observations of "Art" as a free-for-all of personal expression.
I'll give you my own personal experiences of "Art".
My father attended Yale University and studied under Josef Albers. Josef was a student of the "Bauhaus" School of design.
Before you were allowed to "express" your artistic visions, you were to have mastered the "techniques" of the art. This meant mastering your craft. From countless hours of creating and understanding color studies, preparing substrates to accept your art, using multiple medias such as water colors, egg temperas (look it up) acrylics, oils, gesoing canvases, framing, etc!
So from my perspective, the "craft" supercides the "art"

 

[Paradox]

We have had this arguement a few times in the past.
If you care to do a search, Im sure youll find it.
Im sure there are a few of us that dont care to repeat the debate.

 

[Michael P]

Some art forms impose fewer requirements of craft than others. Painting is relatively free of craft restrictions, especially if you don't care how long the painting lasts. Sculpture requires more craft because a sculpture has to resist gravity and retain its shape--easy with small objects, much more difficult with big ones.

Bonsai requires a lot of craft! There is so much technique necessary--first the horticultural skill, then the sculptural skill, and then the maintenance. For this reason it is very exciting to see truly inspired bonsai that push the limits of the craft.

 

[Woocash]

This may be oversimplifying it, but the way I see it is that craft can exist without the art, whereas art cannot exist without the craft.

 

[penumbra]

T

This may be oversimplifying it, but the way I see it is that craft can exist without the art, whereas art cannot exist without the craft.

That was my point at the end of my response.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Craft is an accumulation of technical methods.
Art is the application of those methods to express oneself.

The quality of the methods is objective.
The quality of the art is subjective.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

This may be oversimplifying it, but the way I see it is that craft can exist without the art, whereas art cannot exist without the craft.

I disagree. One does not need to be adept in a medium to create something emotional and expressive.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I disagree. One does not need to be adept in a medium to create something emotional and expressive.

Good bonsai, and especially gooder bonsai, are not created in one felled swoop. There is a lineal relationship with how good a bonsai is and how long it has been cultured as a bonsai. An old plant, -even the best yamidori stock, is made better over the years and the more years, the better. Even the very best Master, maybe especially the very best Master needs to grow something, some feature, that can only be made better a little at a time. The big difference between the very experienced and the very inexperienced is exercising the patience necessary to wait for the tree to slowly gain the depth that comes in the last 5% of the design with clip & grow. Slash & crunch can establish the overall architecture, but the finer points require refinement that only time brings, if you can see it in your mind's eye, and be willing to wait for it.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I forgot fine detail wiring in the last 5%. Almost nothing grows exactly where you want it.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Several weeks back on Mirai Live Ryan co worked a tree with a visiting Japanese master. The master was asked by a student if Japanese Bonsai practitioners considered themselves "artists"? His answer (paraphrased) was that most in Japan considered that it would be too self aggrandizing. too prideful to call oneself an artist. It this area I agree the Japanese have it right.
In their arrogance most American and many other Bonsai growers consider themselves "artists". I say baloney. Claiming to be something you are not is nothing but hubris and arrogance. One of the chiefest things we SHOULD be learning from Bonsai is humility which is the exact opposite. You have none you deserve no respect and I want nothing to do with you!

 

[sorce]

You can put a f before crafts.
It's just not as fun.

Frrrrrrnt.

Sorce

 

[Woocash]

That was my point at the end of my response.

That’s probably where I got it from in the first place. I just turned it all proverbial

 

[Woocash]

I disagree. One does not need to be adept in a medium to create something emotional and expressive.

A concept, maybe, but a manifestation of a concept needs some physical skill to produce, even if that skill is limited. I didn’t say that you had to master the craft, just that it was necessary. However, I cant think of any notable artists, in any guise, that aren’t or weren’t also masters of their crafts.

 

[Anthony]

The head, the heart and the hand.
The intellect, the emotion and the craft.

Most Bonsai is Mannerism, copies of other bonsai trees, to the
point of being cookie cutters.

You have to continuously observe Nature ti get Naturalism
and ultimately Idealism.

Very few contemplate anything beyond Mannerism. [ K ]
Just relax and enjoy yourself it is a hobby.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Zach Smith]

Religion, politics and whether or not you're a bonsai artist. Sounds like good topics to steer clear of.

I think the best thing we can do is focus on craft. Guiding a living thing to the point where it evokes a response in the viewer beyond what it's representing while obviously not being that thing, is no mean feat - not to mention that you have to keep it alive the whole time. The art part just sort of happens (when it does at all), as near as I can tell.

 

[Matt H.]

Craft may be elevated to art with ability and vision. The difference is not in the medium but in the creater. This is a very old discussion but always relevant...

I would agree with the posted statement on art vs craft except for the final paragraph. Again, it is not defined by the material used.

For me, art is a creative process that evokes emotions in the viewer. A bonsai can do that but does not always...

 

[amcoffeegirl]

In my deep search of this question this is what I deciphered.