Seminar 2 - Consumption, Production, and Ecology of Design (click to comment)
Wild, Lorraine - The Macramé of Resistance
Lorraine Wild’s essay ‘The Macramé of Resistance’ is a very brief comment regarding what craft truly means. Wild, who is a graphic design based in Los Angeles and studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art and at Yale University, “began taking apart the clear grids and reduced forms of postwar Modernism and creating collages that seemed more responsive to the fractured nature of our communications-saturated society” (biography on SFMOMA). In her essay, it is evident that she has a deep appreciation for craft, though has found difficulty defining it within the constraints of preconceived societal notions.
In her essay, Wild discusses the if there is a difference between craft and design. In many art schools, there are times where it feels as though the two are completely separate entities. Does ‘craft’ mean for one and ‘design’ mean for the masses? The two seem tied to one another to me, and I believe Wild would agree. Craft requires an understanding of how to create, but it utilizes a sense of aesthetic, of design.
Another point Wild mentions is the importance of studying color theory, composition, drawing, and typography in art schools, and I agree that they are crucial to any art, craft included. These concepts are the essential building blocks of creative invention. In order to grow in your art, whether it be illustration, graphic design, fashion, or ceramics, you need to grasp these basics.
Does theory take away from the art? This is one of the questions I felt Wild posed in her essay. Craft is expressive and exploratory, it must be experienced and practiced in order to be understood. Simplifying it to a theory removes the essence of how it came to life in the first place, though so much of the literature on art is theoretical. In some ways, this is perhaps the only way some humans are able to understand art, but art in many ways is still meant to be experienced, both in its creation and in its reception.
The idea of craft, in one regard, ties into the question I posed in my previous post ‘does creating art contribute to consumerism or counter ethical consumption.’ Could art and craft make use of the excess in the world us humans seem to collect and give it a new life? There are art exhibits all over the world which explore the use of recycled materials as a medium and the results can be not only visually beautiful, but also shine light on the issue of consumer ethics. Even Project Runway has asked designers to repurpose materials, whether it be cutting up their own or a fellow designer’s work, or use every scrap of fabric they have purchased. Although this has also created a friction between repurposing an old design and destroying the artistry of the garment.
Wild’s choice to research how other artists and designers define craft is something I think is important for all designers and illustrators to do. Sometimes even our own definitions of our arts can limit our creativity. For example, it wasn’t until after a talk from Phil Cleaver that I realized how design companies often relay and depend on the creative originality of illustrators for their commissions. Illustrations and graphic designs aren’t limited to books, they’re needed for pamphlets, company websites, menus, cookbooks… There was even a time when I was working at a performance venue that my manager asked me to draw on chalkboard bars. It felt good to put my art to use in a new way using new mediums.
art © victoria trentacoste
Just as Wild makes an effort to redefine “craft” for her reader, I think we too as illustrators and designers should work to expand the definition of these art forms for ourselves and others.
art © victoria trentacoste
art © victoria trentacoste
Reference:
Wild, Lorraine (1998), 'The Macramé of Resistance', pp.84-86.
Links:
https://www.jotform.com/blog/40-terrific-works-of-art-made-from-common-trash/