Craft Perception & Practice: A Canadian Discourse: Volume 3 (Craft Perception and Practice) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1553800524 ISBN 13: 9781553800521

Publisher: Ronsdale Press, 2007

Synopsis

This volume features 21 essays and critical commentaries by acclaimed Canadian practitioners, educators and curators, demonstrating the range of critical thought about craft as presented in symposiums, exhibition catalogues and art journals. Over 40 full-colour photographs of works in craft media including fibre, ceramics, metal, wood and 'new materials' accompany the essays. The texts in this volume explore the conceptual, social and cultural significance of craft practice today, and describe new initiatives in conceptualising craft practices in contemporary life. Essays by prominent academics and theorists such as Sandra Alfoldy, Paul Mathieu, Arlene Oak, and Kirsty Robertson discuss craft in terms of political and social activism, gender theory, semiotics and aesthetics, analysing shifting boundaries between craft, fine art and design. Artists Mackenzie Frere, Murray Gibson and Ruth Scheuing discuss their own work, providing insight into the relationship between skill, technology, history and personal expression. The diversity of contemporary craft practice is well-represented in essays by Mireille Perron, Shannon Stratton, Glenn Allison and others, whose thoughtful analyses raise challenging questions about craft practice today. This volume substantiates academic advancement of craft curricula and provides an authoritative springboard for debate and discussion among craft practitioners, educators, curators and collectors.

About this title

Synopsis

This volume features 21 essays and critical commentaries by acclaimed Canadian practitioners, educators and curators, demonstrating the range of critical thought about craft as presented in symposiums, exhibition catalogues and art journals. Over 40 full-colour photographs of works in craft media including fibre, ceramics, metal, wood and 'new materials' accompany the essays. The texts in this volume explore the conceptual, social and cultural significance of craft practice today, and describe new initiatives in conceptualising craft practices in contemporary life. Essays by prominent academics and theorists such as Sandra Alfoldy, Paul Mathieu, Arlene Oak, and Kirsty Robertson discuss craft in terms of political and social activism, gender theory, semiotics and aesthetics, analysing shifting boundaries between craft, fine art and design.Artists Mackenzie Frere, Murray Gibson and Ruth Scheuing discuss their own work, providing insight into the relationship between skill, technology, history and personal expression.

The diversity of contemporary craft practice is well-represented in essays by Mireille Perron, Shannon Stratton, Glenn Allison and others, whose thoughtful analyses raise challenging questions about craft practice today. This volume substantiates academic advancement of craft curricula and provides an authoritative springboard for debate and discussion among craft practitioners, educators, curators and collectors.

About the Author

Co-editors Paula Gustafson, Nisse Gustafson and Amy Gogarty are also contributors to this third volume. Paula Gustafson, who passed away in July 2006, was the editor of the previous two volumes of Craft Perception and Practice and was editor of Canada's award-winning magazine Artichoke: Writing about the Visual Arts. A life-long craft advocate and activist, she received the first Jean A. Chalmers Fund for the Crafts award for critical writing about contemporary Canadian crafts. Her daughter, Nisse Gustafson, is a writer, editor and professional fundraiser. She has previously contributed to Artichoke magazine as both a writer and editorial assistant. Amy Gogarty is an artist, writer, and educator who recently relocated to Vancouver after teaching for sixteen years at ACAD in Calgary. She recently co-edited the book Utopic Impulses: Contemporary Ceramics Practice, forthcoming from Ronsdale Press.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ronsdale Press
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1553800524
• ISBN 13: 9781553800521
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 213
• Editor: Gustafson Paula, Gustafson Nisse, Gogarty Amy