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The Invention of Craft
Glenn Adamson's last book, Thinking Through Craft, offered an influential account of craft's position within modern and contemporary art. Now, in his engaging sequel, The Invention of Craft, his theoretical discussion of skilled work is extended back in time and across numerous disciplines.
Adamson searches out the origins of modern craft, locating its emergence in the period of the industrial revolution. He demonstrates how craft was invented as industry's "other", a necessary counterpart to ideas of progress and upheaval. In the process, the magical and secretive culture of artisans was gradually dominated through division and explication. This left craft with an oppositional stance, a traditional or anti-modern position.
The Invention of Craft ranges widely across media, from lock-making, wood-carving and iron-casting to fashion, architecture and design. It also moves back and forth between periods, from the 18th century to the present day, demonstrating how contemporary practice can be informed through the study of modern craft in its moment of invention.
Adamson searches out the origins of modern craft, locating its emergence in the period of the industrial revolution. He demonstrates how craft was invented as industry's "other", a necessary counterpart to ideas of progress and upheaval. In the process, the magical and secretive culture of artisans was gradually dominated through division and explication. This left craft with an oppositional stance, a traditional or anti-modern position.
The Invention of Craft ranges widely across media, from lock-making, wood-carving and iron-casting to fashion, architecture and design. It also moves back and forth between periods, from the 18th century to the present day, demonstrating how contemporary practice can be informed through the study of modern craft in its moment of invention.
272 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 15, 2021
Great book!
December 12, 2014
In the 2006 film, The Illusionist, Edward Norton plays a nineteenth century magician, Eisenheim, who is challenged to reveal secrets of his craft by Crown Prince Leopold, played by Rufus Sewell. Prince Leopold is a clever, highly learned man with a scientific bent—he embodies what Adamson describes as ‘modernity.’ Until I had read Adamson’s book, The Invention of Craft, I had no idea that Eisenheim was based on an actual historical magician, Robert-Hodin. Robert-Hodin was so well regarded that later illusionist, Erik Weisz chose the stage name ‘Harry Houdini’ to honor him. Several of the illusions the audience sees in the film – an orange tree growing before their eyes, apparent ghosts walking among the living, and the trick that puts Eisenheim a odds with Leopold: taking the prince’s sword on stage and challenging anyone to lift it as King Arthur lifted Excalibur from the stone—are all based on the crafty performances of Robert-Hodin. “He is trying to trick you,” Leopold says, demanding that the lights are switched on during Eisenheim’s command performance at the prince’s palace. “I am trying to enlighten you. Who has the more noble pursuit?”
Robert-Hodin is an artisan, states Adamson. Artisans have been around for centuries. Artisans have different creative practices and diverse skills, from cabinetmakers to weavers of lace, from locksmiths to performers on stage. The artisans traditionally belonged to guilds that regulated how craft knowledge was disseminated through personal networks, following stages of apprenticeship, to journeyman and finally after years of dedicated hard work, to master. Going through each stage, one gained experience of the craft. The guilds protected artisan mysteries, allowing artisans to set the price on their own work. The guild system allowed artisans to be independent from outside control.
The guild system and this artisan process of slow emersion into life-long careers started breaking down prior to the Industrial Revolution, asserts Adamson. [review continues on my blog: http://mybooksfilmtv.blogspot.co.uk/2...)
Robert-Hodin is an artisan, states Adamson. Artisans have been around for centuries. Artisans have different creative practices and diverse skills, from cabinetmakers to weavers of lace, from locksmiths to performers on stage. The artisans traditionally belonged to guilds that regulated how craft knowledge was disseminated through personal networks, following stages of apprenticeship, to journeyman and finally after years of dedicated hard work, to master. Going through each stage, one gained experience of the craft. The guilds protected artisan mysteries, allowing artisans to set the price on their own work. The guild system allowed artisans to be independent from outside control.
The guild system and this artisan process of slow emersion into life-long careers started breaking down prior to the Industrial Revolution, asserts Adamson. [review continues on my blog: http://mybooksfilmtv.blogspot.co.uk/2...)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews