ARTHI 6C Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Stoneware, Ellen Gates Starr, Jane Addams
The Arts and Crafts Movement
What is craft?
-Craft beer revival
-“hand crafted” surfboards
Craft Terms Today
-Artisanal
-Craft-brewed
-Hand crafted
-Handmade
-Small Batch
The idea of goods made by hand through skilled labor has become a value in American culture.
Craft vs. Design
Craft - By hand, Controls entire process of making start to finish. Craftsperson produces all of
the objects
Design - Manufactured, craftsperson designs a single object, which is then made by others in a
factory setting
Joseph Wright of Derby British
The Blacksmith’s Shop
-an example of skilled labor
Joseph Paxton
Interior of the Crystal Palace, 1851
-Great exhibition and and World’s Fairs
-Nationalist projects
-opportunities for countries to show off their technology and improvements in science and arts
-Industry, Science, Design, and Art
-Empire and Colonies
-People of all classes attended
Furnishing Fabric unknown
-roller printed and glazed cotton
-Considered a high quality chintz of mid nineteenth century Britain
Sari unknown
-draped garment worn by women in many parts of India
-Displayed to represent India
-Geometric abstract designs coming from India and other British colonies were seen as superior
to British design
Led to British Design Reform movement
British Design Reform and the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain
-William Morris - A british poet, novelist, architect, socialist thinker, and activist, translator, and
textile designer
-Founder of the arts and crafts movement, which spread from Britain to the US, and
throughout Europe
-Influenced by medieval guild system, sought to revive it, which would transfer power from
owner to worker
-Making things by hand could transform the labor force: useful and sense of pride in work,
instead of replaceable
-Influenced by the Gothic Revival and Revivalism
“It’s a shoddy age. Shoddy is King. From the statesman to the shoemaker all is shoddy”
-William Morris
Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain
-a British art movement that viewed the Industrial Revolution as detrimental to workers
-factory work was dirty repetitive and mindless
-Unskilled labor = replaceable “cog in the machine”
-skilled labor = “joy in labor”
-Karl Marx in London and Manchester - objects mediate social interaction
-Movement interested in Medival and Elizabethan culture - revivalism
-Stylistic focus on patterning, flatness, and vivid color
Goals of the Arts and Crafts Movement
-Improve the social and economic status of immigrants and the poor through craft: teaching
skilled labor
-Transform labor: handmade objects could be both beautiful and useful
-Design Reform: Teach manual hand skills in design and art schools rather than copying
models
-Utopian communities: communities of like minded craftspeople (artists): making art/living
aesthetically (personal fulfillment); self sufficiency; rural live/work situation (arcadia)
-Good design is affordable, useful, beautiful, and can improve quality of life
-Objects: furniture making, book binding, weaving, ceramics, metalwork, glass
Mug Comparison
White one -
-mass produced, machine made
-Economical
-Not worried about breaking the object
-better for quick, on the go, or when in a hurry
colorful one
-handmade
Document Summary
The idea of goods made by hand through skilled labor has become a value in american culture. Craft - by hand, controls entire process of making start to nish. Design - manufactured, craftsperson designs a single object, which is then made by others in a factory setting. Opportunities for countries to show off their technology and improvements in science and arts. Considered a high quality chintz of mid nineteenth century britain. Draped garment worn by women in many parts of india. Geometric abstract designs coming from india and other british colonies were seen as superior to british design. British design reform and the arts and crafts movement in britain. William morris - a british poet, novelist, architect, socialist thinker, and activist, translator, and textile designer. Founder of the arts and crafts movement, which spread from britain to the us, and throughout europe. In uenced by medieval guild system, sought to revive it, which would transfer power from owner to worker.
