Buzek and Stevens

BUZEK

My understanding is that art and craft started off as distinctly separate practices with separate skills sets. Craft required a skills set more focused on technique, while the skills of an artist were more focused on concepts. This separation was actually seen positively, each group was proud of their skills set. The paragraph on the top of page 3 explains this.

Throughout the 20th century, through the modern and postmodern eras, the worlds of art and craft began to interact more. The work produced required both conceptual and technical skills. This merge in its simplest form can be seen in the name changes of many museums, such as the Kentucky Foundation of Arts and Crafts to the Kentucky Museum of Art and Design (Buzek 8).

At the same time, craft maintains a distinct identity from art despite the more artistic elements. Works such as Afro Abe II use traditional craft mediums and techniques in a fresh, creative way- in this case the skill of sewing and the medium of thread are used to transform a five dollar bill. Had this been done with a different medium, such as a marker or a pen, this would be seen as art.

STEVENS

Stevens also believes that craft is more technique based and art is more concept based. He even compares craft to "blue collar" work. He sees a convergence of arts and crafts as well. As suggested by the title though, his main focus is on validity.

He does a lot of comparisons between generations, mainly the Baby Boomers and Generation X. A great point he makes is that the older generations have control over the institutions that influence the art world the most- the museums, the universities and the art journals. They are thought to have the most knowledge and prestige, and therefore have the voice that speaks the loudest.

With the rise of the internet and blogging though, a lot of that power is shifted to the younger generation. They can now have a voice via self publishing. This sub-culture no longer needs the validation of the mainstream art world, they can live, work and thrive in their own circles.