[:en]Peter Dormer explores the relevance of handcraft within our current society that is strongly structured around the use of technology. Within his book he presents a collection of strong arguments that surround this discussion answering questions such as; ‘Is the craft of design itself threatened with deskilling by technology?’, ‘What role does the craftsperson play in the professional life of the designer?’, ‘What are the cultural barriers that prevent the studio crafts from being regarded simply as either art or design?’ and ‘What are the values that encourage people to want to make things themselves despite the apparent marginality of craft?’
Within chapter 14, the language and practical philosophy of craft, there are two arguments that talk about the theory of craft. One argument is centered around the idea of craft being an activity that allows for self-exploration, meaning an individual can learn about themselves through the participation of the craft by bettering their skills when practicing. This is in cohesion with Aristotle’s moral theory that ‘as an exercise in self-clarification on the part of individuals who seek to live excellently’ meaning that those who choose to participate in the practice of craft, thus, become more knowledgeable about themselves and in within the ideals of Aristotle become ‘moral’. The opposing argument for this is that craft is a physical thing that you can put into words as nothing about craft is particularly important, meaning that craft would be labelled a ‘practical philosophy’. Due to this practicality it is questioned whether or not it can actually be called a philosophy but instead a body of knowledge with a collection of values, complex in overview, thus, making it difficult to talk about with clear clarity and/or meaning.
Peter Dormer highlights the issue with being able to call craft honest work but referring to his own experience of setting out with the intention of making a man holding a cat in clay to the change it into a figure of a woman with an over-sized coat on out of ease; highlighting that artists and creatives either continuously change their minds through-out the creative process or hiding one’s ignorance from one’s self. Meaning that it is far easier to change what you are doing instead of rectifying the situation. This is something that I find interesting as through this change you are able to invent and become creative, however, in terms of tacit knowledge you would not necessarily be able to easily put into words the stages you made to get to this point. Furthermore, to be able to get to this point in the first place an individual would need to know the basic fundamentals of their craft which are easily teachable.
Huxley Jones in his book ‘Modeled Portrait Heads’ he says ‘I would suggest that at first until, experience is gained and a personal technique evolved, the head should be built up by adding pellets of clay with the thumb. Obviously much bigger pieces can be used when starting that in later stages. At all stages it is important to make the clay ‘work’, that is the pieces are not just put on artirarity: they must mean something in relation to the form they are intended to express.’ Meaning to call your craft honest work you would need to put your own rules in place and stick to them, through a journey of self-clarification and being disciplined.
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