At 08:01 PM 7/1/2002 -0500, you wrote:
The definition of "craft" will differ depending on who you ask. For me,
it means the "science" of how to achieve different effects with light,
exposure, and composition. If one takes a reductionist view of a
photograph, it can be broken down into its elements, including everything
that was done to create it (DoF, object placement, light direction,
exposure, etc.). This is the "craft."
OTOH, the "art" requires an holistic view of the piece to examine the
"message" it conveys. What does it "say" or "mean?" Part of the
craftsmanship is understanding the intended viewer(s), their experiential
base, and how to use the "craft" to convey the message so the intended
viewers receive the intended message.
I have a slightly different set of notions on the second part (though I am
not expressing disagreement):
"Craft" is like the rules and technical elements of an activity.
"Art" is the ability in some medium (paints, photographs, poems, etc.) to
say what you mean. What is meant is expressed according to the logic of
human feeling. Art is in fact the only way to give any sort of
communicable expression to some kinds of human experience.
If I write a thesis on "Macbeth" or "Moonrise:Hernandez" about the meaning
of those works, full of insight and inspiration, it is not the thing that
art communicates, though it might help some people to the apprehension of
what is communicated. Other people will never get it. Not all people will
get the same thing. Some people get something that is dead wrong.
Craft is not necessary for art. Skill-less children produce art every
day. But craft is sort of the grammar of art and provides it more outlets
of expression. Photography is so highly craft-oriented that the craft
almost subsumes the entire activity. Photographers like to talk about the
craft, as farmers talk about rain and yields.
What attracts about art is that we are so utterly alone and mute in our
world of feeling. Our attempts to share or communicate about many elements
of human experience through normal communication fail. Art often
objectifies these meanings and allows others to share them and maybe even
gain some clarity of their own experience thereby.
Joel W.
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