December 2017
Intermediate to advanced
208 pages
3h 39m
English
Craft is the physical skill and expertise developed to perform a particular task.
• From the ancient world onward, art making was inseparable from the mastery of crafts. With the arrival of the Romantic era, there was a growing recognition that art and craft were not synonymous.
• The matter came to a head when the American painter James Whistler (1834–1903) exhibited loosely sketched paintings in the 1870s. The critic John Ruskin (1819–1900) accused him of “flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face.” Whistler sued and prevailed.
• Ruskin felt that craftsmanship could play an integral role in an ideal society. Inspired by this philosophy, the Arts and Crafts movement was formed, centered on the talents of William Morris (1834-1896). ...