Comments on: Stone Theory: Art, craft & design

By: Casey

Casey — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 01:22:22 +0000

I have always thought that the label of “artist” should be bequeathed by others who critique the work, whether that be contemporaries, or historians. Someone who calls themselves an “artist” is kind of like a person calling himself a martyr. Perhaps that is true of crafts person as well, but designer has a finite quality to the title.

I disagree with your statement that the technique takes a lesser role than the idea- i have seen plenty of art where the idea was vapid, even pointless, but the technique pretty incredible, but your description of craftsman is dead on. The label has all to do with quality and longevity.

I think you underestimate the art within your work; yes, you build a set of stairs that go from A to B, but anyone can do that. You build it with a rhythm in the rocks, rhythm of shape, rhythm of pattern. You put it together so it’s not just functional, but has an aesthetic as well. I have never walked your steps, but I imagine there is an art to the spacing, the rise, as well.

By: Karl

Karl — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:49:42 +0000

Money has a rather vulgar and impolite air to it. I would not give it a circle either. And as for the word I prefer ‘cost’.
Not just the clients ‘money’ cost but the – do I pick this stone back up again and clean it off and re-cut it for the third time cost. The physical pain cost. The extra time cost. The ‘I already gave them a price’ on this losing proposition cost. Doing it right – finishing the job – and walking away knowing you did, brings a certain satisfaction that makes the money a cheap recompense, and maybe more so on the under bid jobs. Just don’t have too many in a row.

By: admin

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:58:03 +0000

T,
I know I have been denying the label, but I think this post is about coming to terms with it, in some modest way. “Are you an artist or a craftsman?”
“Yes.”

By: admin

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:57:06 +0000

Karl,
Interesting you would say; I had wondered if a circle should be devoted to money, but decided against it for now. I realize that your gorilla is the primary struggle most of the craftspeople/artists and even designers I know are facing in their working lives. I miss more bids than I’d care to admit to cheaper, shoddier work. But I don’t know how to compete with cheap crap, other than bringing the best work I can to every job and letting the work stand. And stand and stand and keep standing. So long as a few people care for quality, we should be able to keep on. I love though that’s it’s not always about the money. There are plenty of people of more modest means who choose quality over quantity. They are the best to work for, as they appreciate the work and care that went into it.

By: Karl

Karl — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:47:23 +0000

I think I’d like to add another circle to your three and title it “Prac-tologist” (if Sarah Palin can invent words so can I).
Every step in the decision making process (artistic, design or crafting) is dealing with the specter of moola, or in my son’s vernacular – it’s all about the Benjamin’s. That lurking gorilla in every scenario that inhabits the clients cage and ghosts into yours.
The ‘Practologist’ has to ‘BRING REALITY’ to the drawing/sketch/plan/design (despite gorilla breadth on the neck.) The practologist in effect makes it work, makes the dream – ‘practical.’

By: Tracey B

Tracey B — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 05:42:01 +0000

You have clearly put alot of thought into this process of denying the label of artist. As usual your eloquent and well reasoned discourse has completely won me over. I particularly like:
‘You can always find something cheaper than what I have on offer. You would be hard-pressed to find anything better.’
FTR my own walling icon over in the UK, a guy called Steven Allen is always anxious to stress that he does not consider himself to be an ‘artist’, although he probably has not examined the reasons why as profoundly as you have here.
It is maybe in part a question of humility. The word artist can sometimes indicate an egotistical claim of excellence when used in certain contexts and by a certain type if individual.
But Marc, at the end of the day, if other people are choosing to refer to you as ‘an artist’, I think it is because of their deep respect of and appreciation for your work, and you could also just choose to graciously accept it at face value as a sincere compliment.

By: admin

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 03:12:29 +0000

Thanks for the comment.
I like this idea of craft being an effective way of balancing resources. A future worth living in will be built by hand.

By: Atelier Anonymous

Atelier Anonymous — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:54:38 +0000

it is good that you observe these parts of yourself when they are present. i think it shows that you are in the moment when you are performing the tasks of the artisan. and that type of working meditation allows for creative energies to move through you as well. the artist part of me comes out in telling stories about the work or imbuing it with a timeless character. mythologizing the work. stone is an elemental medium that facilitates creativity, and just thinking through the cutting of it is very intuitive and organic. stone possesses the art of nature, and the mind inside it, and you are an artist when you endeavor to discover these things and refine them.

photography is such a great medium to practice when you build. before the work happens you are composing the outcome visually and/or conceptually. when the work is done you return to those mental compositions so they inform the composition of your photographs. often times i find that i return to the little congruences or random light patterns that had pleased my eye while i was working. seeking those images out is truly an emotional experience. it’s also proof that you put them there.

i think it’s art that balances the use of our resources as well. we are trying to engineer things to be quick and cheap. an artisan is forced to argue against that mentality through the merits and disciplines of art. we don’t spend time carefully embellishing and venerating things that are, in the long-term, useless to us and the Earth. we embellish the things we wish to treasure and with every effort add to the history of art. ideally, anyway.

btw, love your work!