Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Design vs Art vs Craft

No idea if this is art or craft or design.
I'm still proud of it.
I was asked the other day what the difference between art and craft was. Being snarky, I answered "How snooty you are." It is an interesting question, however, and I'd like to get some of my thoughts on the subject down. Of course, this is all IMHO, and if you ask someone else you'll get a totally different answer - which is ok.

I think that there's a great deal of overlap between design, art, and craft. In their very pure forms, I believe that design is a process of planning and creating, art is a creation which doesn't necessarily have a purpose beyond itself, and craft is a creation with a function beyond just existing.

But there are so many fuzzy grey areas. Does this mean that a newspaper photograph (which ostensibly has the purpose of documenting an event) cannot be a piece of art? Or that a handmade, hand embroidered corset is just craft? Or how about the amazing bit of unasked for mural (sometimes called graffiti), is that art or craft or design or all or none? What is the stuff I make?

Who makes the rules about any of these things?

When it comes down to it: it doesn't friggin' matter. Did someone personally put work and thought and sweat and love into it? Then it is awesome.

1 comment :

Anonymous said...

I say that image is design first art second... I don't at all consider it craft. But... that being said I love the design.