24/10/2008

IMMEDIACY VERSUS PRE-PLANNING



"The critical characteristic that distinguishes one kind of workmanship from another is at what stage creative choice is introduced into manufacture." Peter Dormer

"In craft production, conception and realisation are linked and coordinated by the interplay of hand, eye and materials."John Heskett

This film shows Isaac Button, one of the last potters in the UK to practice as a tradesman rather than an artist. Although Button's pots were probably pre-planned, the film shows that design decisions can be made with instant effect upon the end result. The process allows ideas to be tried on the spot and the results considered, like the making of Martino Gamper's chairs below. This sets craft activities such as these apart from production processes that use pre-defined jigs, moulds, dies or presses.

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