Brief Reflection of Blog so far.
After looking through my entire blog i felt i could understand what i have done and what i am doing more now than when i started my project. I had noticed while reading that i ahd left many open ended questions in my blog in several posts. I now feel that i can answer some of these questions to an extent.
Do i need my work to feel uncomfortable for it to be seen as art and not craft?
No, i dont think so, because in my eyes it is both. I am using craft and aesthetic beauty to represent something precious that is abused. For my work i am not entirely sure the context changes things too much. The craft object is still just that in my eyes. However i do see it as Fine Art aswell. (That may be a contradiction.) My work does not need to make myself or my audience feel a sense of unease; it just needs to situated in a white cuube envirinment to be seen as art and not craft for my degree.
Does my work have a border territory?
Yes of course it does. I am putting craft and art together in a confrontational environment of questionability and different values in stead of a country market stall.
Can you represent something serious using craft?
I would say you can. I am least trying to do so in my work. Marianne Jorgensen did this with her Tank piece; covering a threatening object of war with a homely knitted blanket. On another note Rosemarie Trockel’s Balaclavas are symbols of war, sex and terror to name but a few. These contexts however, do not hide the fact that a balaclava is and has been a traditional item of clothing knitted by mothers and grandmothers to keep their loved ones warm.
I guess Fine Art works that involve a craft in the making of it can not completely escape the fact that its roots are craft. Serious things can be potrayed by craft materials but i feel the craft can soften and disarm the object or the context behind the artwork. This therefore makes the artwork less threatening and invasive. Now i am wondering whether my craft materials will make my work too soft and fluffy or whether people will see it for the context it holds. I hope that i can still portray what i need to without my work just being seen as a lot of crochet granny squares that should be used for a blanket. I guess it will just depend on my audience and their class, tatse, values and social upbringing. I see my art for the context; craft is just my chosen method of making the art.
