The Craft Reader

by Glenn Adamson

From the canonical texts of the Arts and Crafts Movement to the radical thinking of today's "DIY" movement, from theoretical writings on the position of craft in distinction to Art and Design to how-to texts from renowned practitioners, from feminist histories of textiles to descriptions of the innovation born of necessity in Soviet factories and African auto-repair shops...The Craft Reader presents the first comprehensive anthology of writings on modern craft.

Covering the period from the Industrial Revolution to today, the Reader draws on craft practice and theory from America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The world of craft is considered in its full breadth -- from pottery and weaving, to couture and chocolate-making, to contemporary art, architecture and curation. The writings are themed into sections and all extracts are individually introduced, placing each in its historical, cultural and artistic context.

Bringing together an astonishing range of both classic and contemporary texts, The Craft Reader will be invaluable to any student or practitioner of Craft and also to readers in Art and Design.



AUTHORS
Theodor Adorno, Anni Albers, Amadou Hâmpaté Bâ, Charles Babbage, Roland Barthes, Andrea Branzi, Alison Britton, Rafael Cardoso, Johanna Drucker, Charles Eames, Salvatore Ferragamo, Kenneth Frampton, Alfred Gell, Walter Gropius, Tanya Harrod, Martin Heidegger, Patrick Heron, Bernard Leach, Esther Leslie, W. R. Lethaby, Lucy Lippard, Adolf Loos, Karl Marx, William Morris, Robert Morris, László Moholy-Nagy, Stefan Muthesius, George Nakashima, Octavio Paz, Grayson Perry, M. C. Richards, John Ruskin, Raphael Samuel, Ellen Gates Starr, Debbie Stoller, Alexis de Tocqueville, Lee Ufan, Frank Lloyd Wright

Genres: Crafts, Nonfiction, Design, Art, Essays, Art Design

672 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've actually read this reader a few times now. It has some notable essays in it (lippard, benjamin) and the round table discussion at the end is grand.It is however male dominated - re-enforcing an idea that craft is only worth discussing if it was made by men despite a long history of female craft workers. where Adamson had the power to challenge this (with more than just a nod to roszika parkers work) he fell short. There are many books and readers out there detailing the contribution of men to craft, but only a handful dedicated to women's contributions outside the domestic arena and that is a damned shame.

[Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent selection of pieces on craft from a refreshingly wide spectrum of sources - not just the usual suspects but writers talking about craft in ways that make it relevant to contemporary world

[Sue Kozlowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read one of the essays in this book in my quest to read a book written by an author from each of the 196 countries in the world. The author of this essay is from Mali.

Mali is a land-locked country in West Africa. The name of the essay is 'African Art: Where the Hand Has Ears', written by Amadou Hampate Ba. Amadou explains that African art is much more than the creation of physical objects. There was no "no division between the sacred and the profane". "Everything was interconnected, because everything was imbued with a profound feeling of the Unity of Life".

The art and rituals were performed so as to not upset the balance of the sacred forces. The functions of the blacksmiths and weavers were considered religiously significant. They performed rituals before and during the creation of their art. Theses traditions were passed down from generation to generation. In order not to mix or confuse these powers, these secrets were only communicated to those in their 'group'.

[Lindsay Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This thing is a behemoth, and I'm sure it doesn't cover everything, but it is definitely a good resource on craft, which I will refer to again and again. My favourite articles are Destiny World: About the use of reject printed fabrics from Disney in Nigeria, Lucy Lippard's Making Something From Nothing and Anthea Black and Nicole Burisch's Craft Hard, Die Free. I'd recommend it for its vast coverage of history and theory.