What is "craft"? The English word "craft" has become the global standard for defining the products we make by hand. This word emerges from northern European culture, ranging from medieval craft guilds to the modern studio movement. With the dominance of the English language and Western culture generally, "craft" has been the term used to categorise techniques across the wider world, as evident in the title of the international body, World Crafts Council. One of the challenges faced across the humanities is the need to contextualise Western culture with a “global” framework. So “Global art theory”, for instance, needs to account of art practices that might exist outside the white cube gallery, particularly those associated with cultural practices such as festival. This is particularly pressing in the field of craft, which is more prevalent than the visual arts in the non-Western world. The situation today raises some important questions: - What is the value of a craft that is ephemeral, such as fragrances? - What do we see in the concepts of craft in other cultures that are excluded by the Western concept? - What concepts can add to our understanding and appreciation of handmade objects? - What is the appropriateness of alternative designations, such as “craftsperson”, “artisan”, “maker”, “designer-maker” and “artist”? We are calling for submissions for our dictionary. These are gathered in our [Trello board](https://trello.com/b/xffP8RGB/knowledge-mill) for entry here. There are two types of entry. ### Words What is another word for "craft" or person who practices "craft" in English or another language? The word entries should include the following: - etymology of the word - definition of its current meaning - at least one example of its use These will be used in gatherings to reflect on the diversity of crafts across the wider world. Thus far we have: - [[artesanato - Portuguese for craft]] - [[craft - English for craft]] - [[jiangqi - too much craft (China)]] - [[kôgei 工藝 (Japan)]] - [[shilp शिल्प - Sanskrit for craft]] - [[Iranian words for craft]] ### Working definitions How might activities be classified as "craft"? These offer principles for classification of craft: - [[skilled making at human scale]] - [[Making something well through hand skill]] - [[Any ‘hand’ worked artefact that self-consciously sets itself apart from mass production]] - [[skilful practice of people with materials towards the goal of producing an object]] Critical questions in such definitions include: - Must all crafts involve the hand? - What does it matter how we define craft? - Does craft involve only durable objects? Can it include consumables such as soap? Entries are often around 300 words. You can submit an entry by [email]([email protected] ). ## Entries ### Words %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: start ```dataview list summary from #craftWords where contains(file.path,"Warp") ``` %% - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/Jitda.md|Jitda]]: The Korean word for creatively engaging in the necessities of life. - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/shilp शिल्प - Sanskrit for craft.md|shilp शिल्प - Sanskrit for craft]]: The skill to create applied broadly. - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/Iranian words for craft.md|Iranian words for craft]]: In Iran, craft is applied, such as decoration, while art is autonomous. - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/duoji.md|duoji]]: Duodji refers to the crafts of the Sami peoples which are embedded in practical life. - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/craftsteader.md|craftsteader]]: A craftsteader embraces manual craft labour in a regional setting. - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/artesanato - Portuguese for craft.md|artesanato - Portuguese for craft]]: Because of Eurocentric hierarchy of art and craft, this is a negative term in Brazil. - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/craft - English for craft.md|craft - English for craft]]: In Old English, craft referred to the knowledge for doing things rather than a category of objects. - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/Arabic words for craft.md|Arabic words for craft]]: In Arabic, craft can be anything related to skill. - [[Warp/Talks/Craft – Radical or conservative - Lessons from French and Chinese history.md|Craft – Radical or conservative - Lessons from French and Chinese history]]: In the Ming dynasty, the word jiangqi, or “craftsman’s air" was used negatively to describe perfectionist copying. - [[Warp/Master artisan crafts and the takumi spirit (Japanese).md|Master artisan crafts and the takumi spirit (Japanese)]]: The takumi spirit involves masterly production in small quantities. - [[Warp/Craft in Semitic languages.md|Craft in Semitic languages]]: Like in Arabic, the Hebrew Bible does not distinguish between art and craft. - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/designer-craftsman.md|designer-craftsman]]: \- - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/craftsteader 1.md|craftsteader 1]]: An independent craftsperson in last 1950s USA. %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: end %% ### Definitions %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: start ```dataview list summary from #craftDefinitions where contains(file.path,"Warp") ``` %% - [[Warp/World Crafts Council - Award of Excellence.md|World Crafts Council - Award of Excellence]]: Entry criteria specify the "direct manual contribution of the maker". - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/UNESCO definition of craft.md|UNESCO definition of craft]]: Artisanal products are produced by artisans mostly by hand. - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/Signed objects.md|Signed objects]]: utility or artistic objects, signed, made by hand - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/Craft artist.md|Craft artist]]: Creative Export Canada defines craft as "artistic crafts". - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/Craft according to Ibn Khaldun.md|Craft according to Ibn Khaldun]]: For Ibd Khaldun, crafts (in Arabic, "صناعة", sanāʿah) in general refer to the practices that constitute a civilisation. - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/Any ‘hand’ worked artefact that self-consciously sets itself apart from mass production.md|Any ‘hand’ worked artefact that self-consciously sets itself apart from mass production]]: Tanya Harrod's definition used for the Journal of Modern Craft. - [[Warp/What is craft - The binary nature of objects and the single nature of humans.md|What is craft - The binary nature of objects and the single nature of humans]]: Craft definitions are politically determined. - [[Warp/skilful practice of people with materials towards the goal of producing an object.md|skilful practice of people with materials towards the goal of producing an object]]: Maikel Kujpers's definition for use in archeology - [[Warp/Making something well through hand skill.md|Making something well through hand skill]]: From Glenn Adamson's The Invention of Craft - [[Warp/World Craft Dictionary/Industrial craft.md|Industrial craft]]: Craft embraces manual work in factories and workshops as part of industrial manufacture. %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: end %%