Crossing the Divide between Art and Craft

Throughout history, various qualities of art have gone in and out of fashion, works declared high art being considered most important. However, there has always been a hierarchy of not only subjects of art but also of media used to create art. Some media, such as fibers, stained glass, mosaics, and even ceramics, are considered on the lower end of this scale, due to their associations with certain processes and function. I argue that it is illegitimate to maintain a hierarchy based on processes and function, for all works of art require some knowledge and skill of one\u27s craft, whether it is painting, sculpting, printmaking, photography, mosaics, ceramics, fibers or any other medium. The many debates over art and so-called craft date back as far as philosophers of Ancient Greece and show the apparent need to clearly define the two, to make everything distinctly fit either art or craft. There have been many artistic movements that have questioned this distinction. By exploring the debate around art and craft through the examination of the works of relevant philosophers, artists, and artistic periods I argue that this distinction needs to be refined, thus eliminating the negative connotation of craft