“Of course, big corporations are just as adept at manipulating the rhetoric of sustainability as young makers. But craft does have a special advantage. In the effort to promote more self-aware ways of living, the simple act of making by hand signifies direct engagement with an object, and therefore a degree of personal responsibility. Certainly, not every craft object is made sustainably; we have to get real about that. But the lesson of postmodernism is that the power of the image is not to be denied. It’s not enough to make things responsibly; we need to call on mass media to constantly remind the public of what responsibility might look like.” (023)
An excerpt from Glenn Adamson’s response to the questions: Is there a sustainability aesthetic? If so, how would you describe it, and which artists exemplify it?
“The Big Questions with Glenn Adamson: What Responsibility Might Look Like.” American Craft. Vol. 72, No. 02, April/May 2012. pg 023.
Thanks for putting that question out there! A good question to ask myself today!
Fantastic! I’m glad you liked the quote. Glenn Adamson’s full response is definitely worth reading! If you can get your hands on a copy, I definitely encourage you to do so. Thanks for commenting! Best, Kevin.
I like this post a lot. Thanks.
That’s always so great to hear (really!). Thank you! Best, Kevin.
Blimey, Kevin, another intriguing post.
I’ve heard Glenn speak as he’s based in London – and in conversation, and in response to questions he is always clear and to the point, always saying something you can understand and want to remember, more interested in the ideas than looking clever. So I persevere with his more academic writings like ‘thinking through craft”.
I worry about sustainability, sometimes I think I’m indulging myself being a maker instead of contributing somehow to the economy. But when I am in a gallery or craft fair, and someone thinks about buying one of my pots, which are always more expensive than one from IKEA or Crate and Barrel or whatever, I can see them doing the kind of thinking that’s needed for sustainability…. How long will I keep this? Do I really need it? Can I justify buying something that is ‘arty’ not purely functional? Maybe I’ll pass it on to my children? Maybe it can have more that one use? And so on…
The fact that my pots are in the shape of plates and beakers and so on make people think about the real price and value of everyday things that you can touch and use rather than putting them apart in the ‘art world’, I hope…
Not a really clear argument I’m afraid, something I’m still working through in the making!
carys
Nothing more to add to the insightful comments above except, thanks-terrific post.
Thanks for pointing to a thoughtful quote. And is there a sustainability aesthetic? I don’t know, but if there is I think that it would look like balance.
Good point! I’m not sure what it would look like either, but I think “balance” would definitely be a good bet. Thanks for commenting! Best, Kevin.
Thinking is the craft that subtracts nothing from the earth. Writing follows as a close second; especially now that we do it digitally.
Hi Waldo! Interesting points! Thank you for commenting! Best, Kevin.
It’s at the core of everything I do as an artist. I relish the parameters of creating sustainably. Thanks for this article, as always!
Hi Cass! Interesting point! I wonder if those parameters of creating sustainably can also serve as a liberating point from which the creative mind can explore from – rather than being a hindrance to one’s creativity. That would be my suspicion anyway. Thanks for sharing! Best, Kevin.
Absolutely–there’s a quote by somebody wonderful about the liberation found in limits, and of course I can’t remember who, but that’s the ticket. There’s an odd discipline to maintaining a direct relationship with one’s work…excellent article, Kevin, thanks!
Reblogged this on Wherefore Art thou? and commented:
Sustainable art making–reuse, recycle, rethink, recreate. Very nice post from OCAC Library blog.
Love it! Thought provoking … hmmm … “simple act of making by hand signifies direct engagement with an object, and therefore a degree of personal responsibility.”
A few thoughts. First, making things by hand isn’t necessarily a “simple act.” That phrase ignores skill and training. Think back to long arduous apprenticeships etc. that were common in crafts.
Also, this comment reminds me of Marx – it’s been years since I read Marx & Engels, but I remember something about the commodification of work product, removing it from the hands of the maker. People, then, become cogs in its making, not a maker. (Think Chaplin’s “Modern Times.”)
I better go get my first cup of coffee of the morning!
Hi Karen! Wow! Thank you for such a thoughtful comment! So so much to think about. It’s been a while since I read Marx & Engels too, but I love considering Adamson’s quote from their perspective. Thank you again! Best, Kevin.
Sustainability. THE issue of our time. I think Glenn Adamson totally hit the nail on the head … as usual. I just love the way that man’s mind works.
Some random thoughts inspired by this:
Personally I would choose a unique hand made item, or a well designed one, or a thrift store/estate sale/ found in a dumpster item, over a mass produced one any day. As William Morris said “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” To that I would add: or has meaning for you. But this is only part of the equation.
Whether we like it or not, we live in a capitalist society, and that governs most of the choices that most people make. The fashion system of trends that keep us wanting more, and discarding and replacing perfectly good stuff, drives our society. Some hand made objects transcend this system, by bringing meaning through use, or communicating with the user in some way. The finger indentations made by my friend on my morning tea cup springs to mind. I put my fingers where he put his, holding gently where he pressed the wet clay in.
I think we make a mistake, though, if we assume all hand made things do this. A lot of hand made objects also buy into the mass market. Just take a look on Etsy! You have to make a living, after all … and we live in a capitalist society …
Conversely, I think some mass produced objects can also take on meaning (the vase your mother gave you). I believe we are less likely to discard things that have meaning for us. Meaning in objects makes them more sustainable.
I recognize, however, that I am lucky to be able to afford to make the choice to spend a little more on things that I perceive to have value (or swap with fellow artists and makers), and give me joy through use. Not everyone is able to make that choice.
I am lucky to understand that buying things at thrift stores, and putting the perfectly good stainless steel sink I found next to a skip in my kitchen, or installing the bathroom vanity top I got from the salvage yard, help the planet. (FYI I gave the old ones away on Craigslist so they were re-used as well).
Use is only one part of the equation, though. How things are made and what they are made out of also matters. I make these choices in my every day life. I am highly conscious that not everyone makes the same decisions.
I think as makers we need to think about how we make what we make. I don’t know that it justification enough to say: my work has value and meaning, therefore it is ok to do what I want. It is a dilemma I ponder frequently.
I think Adamson is partly right, we do need to keep informing people, but at the same time, nothing is going to really change until the big corporations take this on, and they wont do it until it affects their bottom line, or they forced to do so through legilation. Reality.
Thomas Thwaites ‘Toaster Project’ sums it up beautifully.
Anyway, apologies for the super long response! Thank you if you read all of it, and thank you Kevin for the thought-provoking quote. Now I need to find and read the rest of the article.
Wow!!! No apologies necessary! Thank you so much for such interesting comment! You’ve given me (and our readers) a lot to think about. And, in part, I think that is the point that Adamson is making: trying to be responsible practitioners and consumers (as you’ve demonstrated), but also, as makers, we can make a greater effort to raise people’s consciousness on this issue. So much food for thought. Thank you for sharing! Best, Kevin.
Thank you Kevin. I think you are absolutely right, as makers we must consider what we do to the planet when we make things.
At the same time, it is a dilemma because without artists, designers and craft practitioners making the things they are driven to make then the world would be a much duller place. Denis Dutton argues in ‘The Art Instinct’ that the creativity of artists is central to our development as a species. There is a part of me that rebels against putting limits on what creative people do. Within reason.
At the same time I am not sure how far we can continue to push the ‘my work has inherent value and meaning, therefore I can cut down these rare species of tree and use the wood’ argument.
The line lies somewhere between those two points. It is a moral dilemma I continue to ponder as an artist.
Excellent points! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. This post has stirred up quite an interesting conversation! Thank you again. Best, Kevin.
I will admit that I don’t have time to read all the reactions to this post. So you will get my instant reaction based on my interpretation of aesthetic sustainability.
Timeless pieces which can stand the test of time. For instance, when I buy wool for my shop, I don’t buy for the immediate in-fashion crowd. There are some useless fluffy yarns here to appease the minority of shopper’s who need fluff and sparkle. However, the on-going, timeless trend is to purchase yarn which will stand the test of time. We want yarn that can be washed, handled, and loved for at least two generations. I look at every project I knit as something to give to the next generation for their use. Then if the wool is good enough they can deconstruct to reconstruct. This is how you would do it in weaker economic times. When the sock is no longer of use, then you pull it apart and knit something else for someone else.
Naturally I would love it if people would always have their Chico bag or something to carry away their goodies. So I opted for Kraft bags which are not coated. My logic is that when the bag is no longer pretty then the customer can recycle them for the garden. The red worms love to eat paper and it goes back to my tomato and pumpkin garden. I just emphasize this to my customers as much as I can so that they rethink how they use what they have. Earth day is every day.
So I love that this was brought up because up until this morning I had not pondered the question of aesthetic sustainability nor would I have put those two words together. The bigger question is if our kids will know how to spell those words. The media does have a responsibility to show what this means, but to also use those exact words in large enough font. I love a good dollar word now and then
Wow! Thank you for such a thoughtful comment! I absolutely agree with you: “earth day is every day”. There’s a lot to think about here. Thank you again. Best, Kevin.
Cass Nevada took the words right out of my mouth….Art can be practical too!!!, I like recycling or making something pretty that is also useful in my everyday life…great post!!!
Thanks for commenting, daniellajoe! Art can definitely be practical too, and, it can also speak about what is practical and the concept of sustainability that other modes of communication can’t (at least not in the same way). Thanks again! Best, Kevin.
Kevin, I found the comments here the most thought-provokong of any blog I have read. It’s a great community to be part of. One thing occurred to me as I read, and I apologise that it is almost completely off-topic: art as the realm of the thinker. The avante-garde artist is the one who takes the next thought-step and this now is sustainability in production and also content. I suppose, by definition, this is a movement. I would be glad to hear what you and your readers have to say on this as I am a neophyte in the field of art.
Thanks for the kind words about our blog. The comments on this post really ARE thought-provoking! It’s such a pleasant surprise and a lot of fun to follow! I wish all our posts triggered this kind of response! Best, Kevin.
I remember the first time I watched this toaster being made – great post
Hi Schwarzie! So glad you enjoyed Adamson’s quote! He is an extremely interesting figure and thinker within the art and craft world. Definitely someone to follow. He’s also authored/edited several great books. Thanks again! Best, Kevin.
Sustainability and responsibility are thoughts that have been crossing my mind a lot in the past several months, but I’ve been pushing them aside and resisting quite a bit. It’s so easy to either ignore or justify our less-than-sustainable choices as consumers and also as artists, but giving up the current lifestyle of convenience is a scary thought indeed. Thanks for bringing these considerations to the forefront of my thoughts again; I hope to find a copy of the mag so I can read the entire article soon! I really enjoyed reading the post and the insightful comments from your other readers.
Hi Adrienne! I think most people nowadays are struggling with these issues of sustainability and responsibility and how to actually incorporate them in our daily lives as well as practice. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I often feel the same way. Best, Kevin.