Over the next year, I will be heading quite squarely into what stands to be a very complicated dissertation on capitalism, consumption and forms of protest and resistance in art, media and politics.  So, in preparation for this exploration, I have been doing a good bit of soul searching about my relationship to craft and my diverse range of research interests and ultimately, I have been trying to find a way to amalgamate all of this into a new direction, that is, perhaps related but quite likely, unrelated, to this blog site. 

The main question for me in this process of transformation is what to with this blog site and as always, how to re-position myself as a philosopher, a craft theorist, a writer, a thinker and an academic who has a strong interest in engaging with popular culture.  To me, in today’s culture, a purposefully constructed identity is of tantamount importance and as such, I think much of craft’s problem has to do with outdated or strongly defined sets of identities that are in conflict.

As has been the case since I started this site, I remain engaged with the questions: Who am I?  Who do I want to be?  And: How should I position myself relative to these answers?  And similarly, since I started this site in 2004, the questions for the field(s) of craft remain: Who are we?  Who do we want to be?  And: How should we position ourselves relative to these answers?

As I see it, American Studio Craft remains in conflict with its modernistic roots and at the same time, DIY craft is struggling to come terms with its own inherent conflicts, in terms of an anti-consumptive, anti-consumerist revolution quite quickly becoming a consumerist institution.  Further, the two fields, who share a common name, seem to remain far from reconciling their differences and working together toward a common set of shared ideals.

As the struggle for a re-definition of craft continues, I still have many questions and few answers and to me… things are as they should be.

Penland holds a special place in my heart as this is where I was originally indoctrinated into the craft experience in 1995, having visited as a young and disgruntled, undergraduate sculpture major from Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL, where at the time, the utterance of the term “craft” was met with looks of contempt and disdain from the fine arts faculty and my fellow classmates.

Over the years, I have returned to Penland about five times for classes in ceramics, glass and kiln building as well as for several shorter visits and once for their annual auction. As I have mentioned before, I paid my dues scrubbing pots in Penland’s kitchen.

I have included below a video postcard from Penland which provides a pretty good overview of what one might expect at the school. In a sociocultural sense, I am always entertained by the manner in which the folks in upper-clay and upper-metals assert their superiority over the classes in lower studios; just kidding… Enjoy!

As a social experiment in Flash Mobbing, I put together a call-in talk show today at 1:00.

Although, no one was able to call in, I did get some things off my chest in light of Carmine Branagan’s recent departure from the American Craft Council and the future of the organization.

As always, I welcome your comments.

Correction: In this podcast, I mention that the ACC craft show in Baltimore was held recently; actually that show occurred February 23rd-25th, 2007. In fact, what I was referring to is The Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, which was held November 8-11th.

Carmine Branagan has resigned as Executive Director of the American Craft Council effective Friday, November 9th. Carmine served the Council with passion and dedication since 2002. Under her leadership the Council re-launched American Craft magazine, presented a national leadership conference in Houston, TX, revitalized the Council’s show program, and developed a strong, committed staff. Carmine believes many of the goals set during her directorship have been achieved and she looks forward to pursuing other interests.

We are grateful for her vision for the Council and for the critical role she has played to help secure the future of the field.

In my view, Carmine has served the Council well and has led the organization through some challenging times and ultimately to an interesting point of transition. Throughout her term as E.D., she navigated the highly political and passionate waters of American Craft with a great deal of poise, dignity and savvy. Further, for the record it should be mentioned that Carmine Branagan endured the pressures of this leadership position far longer than many, if not all, of the executive directors that preceded her. I would personally like to wish Carmine well, in whatever opportunity that she has chosen to pursue next.

In terms of the Council’s future, like many people within the field, I will be very interested to see what the Trustees’ next move will be; the ball is entirely in their court. Does the future of craft hang in the balance??? Stay tuned…

I will report further details, as I receive them. Also, feel free to forward me the scoop on this situation, if you have it. As always, anonymity will be fully respected, if requested.

I welcome everyone’s comments.

Enjoy…

MassArt has just officially changed their name from Massachusetts College of Art to Massachusetts College
of Art + Design (note the “plus” not “and”).

So I wonder why art schools are now succumbing to the market pressures of a quid pro quo relationship between learning and vocation. “I go to school, I get a better job” a maxim under which liberal arts colleges and universities have long suffered has now clearly entered the realm of “art school.”

What was wrong with the “love of learning” anyway? Art school was the place where you go to develop as an artist. To hone your skills in search of your own artistic voice. Art school was not about getting a
job, it was about establishing a way of life. It was a pursuit of certain ideals consistent with valuing the visual, contributing to culture through the visual, expressing one’s deepest sense of self, responding to
the world through image making etc.

And let’s just look at the words independent of the ideals; would worthy alternatives also include?

• Art + Design
• Art + Color
• Art + Scale
• Art + Craft
• Art + any term that is a detail of an artistic exploration

After all, is not design a facet of art? How is it that it has become its own thing? It seems to me that
it has become such because we are looking for the commercial promise of an artistic expression.

Well, this could go on forever, but why not simply label the new MassArt as:

Massachusetts College of Art + Design = Job

Perhaps that would put a finer point on it!

Thoughts?

~ Andrew

The name change letter follows:

Dear MassArt alumni, parents and friends,

I am pleased to announce that Governor Deval Patrick
has signed into law an act to make permanent the
special status of MassArt, officially changing its
formal name to Massachusetts College of Art + Design.

Since its founding, the college’s name has changed on
two previous occasions. Established in 1873 as
Massachusetts Normal School of Art, we were renamed in
1926 as Massachusetts School of Art, when we began
granting a Bachelor of Science degree in Education,
and again in 1959 as Massachusetts College of Art,
after receiving approval to offer a Bachelor of Fine
Arts degree. Today’s official announcement provides
an opportunity to reflect on MassArt’s distinguished
history, celebrate our dynamic evolution, and envision
our future.

Prior to proposing the name change, we undertook an
intensive study to measure public perception of the
college. The results show that many people do not
recognize the comprehensive nature of MassArt’s
programs, nor that design represents its largest
concentration of disciplines. Furthermore, Boston is
ranked second in North America as a center for design
employment, and with half of MassArt’s twenty-two
concentrations in design-related fields, it is the
primary educational institution preparing
professionals for that industry. As the college
enhances its national and international reach in all
areas of visual arts, including design, it is
appropriate that we embrace the name ” Massachusetts
College of Art + Design” as a true reflection of our
identity.

In an effort to fully integrate our new name
throughout the college, we have invited MOTH design
studio to develop a new graphic mark and visual
identity system. The design team - which will work
closely with members of the campus community - is
comprised of four MassArt alums: Tammy Dayton (BFA
‘98), Tony Leone (BFA ‘98), Dan Rukas (BFA ‘03), and
Kristen Paulson (Certificate ‘96). “MassArt” will
remain the primary component of our graphic identity
and continue to serve as our informal name. Evidence
of the new visual identity system, along with a
comprehensive overhaul of the college’s website, will
be evident beginning spring 2008.

These changes coincide with the creation of a new
marketing department responsible for promoting a
consistent message and visual identity across all
areas of the institution, increasing the college’s
visibility, and ultimately enhancing MassArt’s public
profile.

I extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has
championed this effort and to all those who strive
each day to keep MassArt in the forefront of art and
design around the world. As always, I welcome any
comments you may have on this new phase of success at
MassArt.

Sincerely,

Kay Sloan
President

I am hoping to return to New York renewed, refreshed and optimistic about the future of craft. As some of you may have gathered from the cynicism and ire in my most recent post and the frequency of my activity here lately, my frustration, in light of the apparent lack of willingness to embrace change within the field of craft, has been taking it’s toll on my ability to write.

In any case, we begin anew today and with this new beginning, I offer you a new post which finally came together for me last night after incubating for about three months. I have been meaning to post the following videos but I just haven’t been able to figure out quite how to frame it all but I now think that I have it. So here it goes….

Today, I offer two constrasting video examples which I hope will help more clearly articulate the differences between second-wave and third-wave feminism, as I think there is an important distinction to be made here in terms of understanding where the DIY craft energy is coming from. Of particular concern is the manner in which the third-wave (if there really is such a thing) represents it’s cause and purpose for being. In contrast to the second-wave, the third-wave doesn’t seem to care what other people think, they are just going to do what they do regardless of what anyone says, whereas, the second wave seems to be much more self-conscious and concerned with “changing the system” via direct confrontation.

I think this is an important concept to understand because:

1. This suggests how the future is going to be played out and also where craft is headed
2. the roots of our motivation for making objects (and often how they are designed) lies within our identity and serves a function which is related to how we interface with the world. Our choices concerning how we interact with the world and even our occupations and our hobbies often speak volumes about our inner beliefs and ultimately, our values.

These shared values, such as a concern for equality in perspectives unites feminists while a concern for functional objects that are unique, handmade and well designed unite crafters. In my view, the differences here have a great deal to do with the way in which Baby Boomers seek to change the world confrontationally, whereas the Gen-xers are much more cynical and accepting of the “way that things are” and seek change through a more subversive use of the system (example: Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show).

Another reason why I think this is important has to do with our growing concern with professionalism within art practice, which has been in place really since the 1950’s (see Singerman, 1999, pp. 189-192). In my view, a great deal of the hierarchical distinctions, perceived value and relative status of working with certain materials in art making in the twentieth century had a great deal to do with a socio-cultural need to be confirmed as a professional. Clearly, it is more difficult to assert your professionalism if you are working with materials that semiotically read “hobby” within the culture. So, the way around this, we have found is to work within the context of humor, irony, parody and satire in a effort to snidely comment upon the misguided values within our culture. Perhaps the entire DIY movement is a rebellious reaction against what “the culture” has suggested defines a professional artist and designer in the twenty-first century.

Take a look at the following two videos in light of the ideas outlined above and I look forward to your comments:

–

Reference

Singerman, H. (1999). Art subjects: the Making of Artists in the American University. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Feel free to shop the file around… let’s see what happens.

I look forward to your comments!

Sunday, April 8th, 2007 at 2:30-3:30 P.M. EST.

As a starting point, we will pursue the following questions:

• What does it mean to study craft in the twenty-first century?
• How are academic study programs for craft within higher education preparing students for the “real world”?
• Is craft within higher education transferring a form of valuable knowledge which is in danger of being lost in our technologically advanced society or is its study merely a form of escapism from the rigors of academia?

As a primer to this conversation, I suggest looking through the NASAD Handbook, particularly page 88 which addresses undergraduate B.F.A. craft studies programs. As a whole, this document is intended to clarify and outline the standards for art and design education in the United States.

This talk show endeavor will inevitably prove to be a technological feat, (assuming, of course, that I can pull it off), as I will be using no less than four programs simultaneously to make it work the way that I want. There may be a few wrinkles along the way but we’ll just consider this the test run and a learning experience for us all.

I look forward to hearing from everyone on Sunday!

Sunday, April 8th, 2007 at 2:30-3:30 P.M. EST.

I am looking for interested parties to converse with, after all what good is it if I just talk at you? Anyone can listen in, but if you want to call in and make a comment or ask a question, you will have to register with the hosting company in advance of the scheduled show.

If you have any questions about the procedure or the protocol, please send me an email, use the contact form here or post a comment below.

I am hoping that this method will be a way to invigorate the national level conversation on the future of craft.

Lastly, here’s a short commercial that I hope will convince you to participate in this upcoming event:

Download middle.mp3

Stay tuned!