(Post inspired by a back episode of the Overthinking It PodcastHow do you define art? Where do you draw the line between art and craft
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I'm not sure I have a definition for art; I'm not sure what it is. I think I'd retreat to my childhood definition, which is paintings and sculptures in a museum.
As I said, I don't have a definition for "art" in the sense you're using it; I don't really know what it MEANS. Thus the reversion to childhood definitions.
I think movies and music can do more than paintings and sculptures, personally, because neither of those generally do too much for me at all. But whether that's "art" versus "craft"? Way out of my intellectual ballpark. I write stuff, but I don't think it's "art", nor would I call it "craft"...
The problem with this metaphor (for me) is that it isn't anything like writing in my experience.
Writing is... well, it happens. I sit down, I think a bit, and words come out. Sometimes I fiddle with the words a little to make sure they come out exactly the way I want them to. But there's no "craft" in it that I can see, sense, or describe.
"Crafts" like carpentry, painting, beading, whatever, they take work and skill that would require years of hard, very unpleasant effort for me to master. And even if I became a master of it, I'd remember how it was to be a beginner without the first clue as to what was involved in doing this job.
Art is. It doesn't have to be read, enjoyed, or criticized. It could be an accident. In common practice two or many more people have to agree that it's art.
Craft on the other hand I have always seen as "skilled" or good at working with a set of tools.
Artisan works. The connotations are a little bit more specific* that I was going for, but it's close enough.
*To my mind an artisan is someone who creates tangible things (like a wonderful dinner), as opposed to a craftswoman (or craftsman) who is someone who practices a craft which can result in either tangible or intangible things.
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I think movies and music can do more than paintings and sculptures, personally, because neither of those generally do too much for me at all. But whether that's "art" versus "craft"? Way out of my intellectual ballpark. I write stuff, but I don't think it's "art", nor would I call it "craft"...
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Writing is... well, it happens. I sit down, I think a bit, and words come out. Sometimes I fiddle with the words a little to make sure they come out exactly the way I want them to. But there's no "craft" in it that I can see, sense, or describe.
"Crafts" like carpentry, painting, beading, whatever, they take work and skill that would require years of hard, very unpleasant effort for me to master. And even if I became a master of it, I'd remember how it was to be a beginner without the first clue as to what was involved in doing this job.
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Craft on the other hand I have always seen as "skilled" or good at working with a set of tools.
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I'm personally pretty insistent that I am not an artist, I am an artisan.
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*To my mind an artisan is someone who creates tangible things (like a wonderful dinner), as opposed to a craftswoman (or craftsman) who is someone who practices a craft which can result in either tangible or intangible things.
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