A theory of craft : function and aesthetic expression / Howard Risatti ; foreword by Kenneth R. Trapp.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-316) and index.

pt. 1. Practical-functional arts and the uniqueness of craft: questions about terminology -- Purpose, use, and function -- Taxonomy of craft based on applied function -- Different applied functions: tools and craft objects -- Comparing machines, tools, and craft objects -- Purpose and physiological necessity in craft -- Nature and the origin of craft objects -- pt. 2. Craft and fine art -- What are the fine arts and what do they do? -- Social convention versus physical necessity -- Craft, fine art, and nature -- Technical knowledge and technical manual skill -- Hand and body in relation to craft -- Hand and body in relation to fine art -- Physicality versus opticality -- Thingness of the thing -- pt. 3. Issues of craft and design -- Material and manual skill -- Design, workmanship, and craftsmanship -- Craftsman versus designer -- Implications of craft and design -- Hand, machine, and material -- pt. 4. Aesthetic objects and aesthetic images -- A historical perspective of craft and aesthetic theory -- Aesthetics and the function/nonfunction dichotomy -- Kant and purpose in fine art -- Fine craft, fine art, fine design -- Intentionality, meaning, and the aesthetic -- Beauty, contemplation, and the aesthetic dimension -- How aesthetic contemplation operates -- Development of the critical objects of studio craft.

What is craft? How is it different from fine art or design? Risatti examines these issues by comparing handmade ceramics, glass, metalwork, weaving, and furniture to painting, sculpture, photography, and machine-made design from Bauhaus to the Memphis Group. He describes craft's unique qualities as functionality combined with an ability to express human values that transcend temporal, spatial, and social boundaries. Craft must articulate a role for itself in contemporary society, says Risatti; otherwise it will be absorbed by fine art or design and its singular approach to understanding the world will be lost.

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English.

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