Is there a difference between art and craft? - Laura Morelli

Was da Vinci an artistic genius? Sure, but he was also born in the right place at the right time -- pre-Renaissance, Western artists got little individual credit for their work. And in many non-Western cultures, traditional forms have always been prized over innovation. So, where do we get our notions of art vs. craft? Laura Morelli traces the history of how we assign value to the visual arts.

Lesson by Laura Morelli, animation by Sandro Katamashvili.

[marymckenney]

I don't know who said this, but I think it's very insightful. "There is art in craft and craft in art. But craft aims for perfection, and art aims for full expression."

[JATMA]

Great guestion! The ability to mass produce something has, to some extent, help create this distinction. Whether someone is making a piece for some utilitarian purpose or not, the design of the object or placed on an object is the art. It is the uniqueness of a work that is the art and makes someone an artist. A craftsperson may be someone who can reproduce a lovely object that they did not design.

[armandoballoni]

Craft = series production / mass production
Art = paralel production / unique production

[BenavidesJorge]

Art is the expression, craft is the technique 

[xxxqwertxxx]

I always figured that "art" was objects like paintings and artisan crafts were simply objects of art that also had a practical function -- like a vase or beautifully woven basket. The fine vase is a work of art that also serves a practical function, so it's an artistic "craft". Well, that's always been my take on it

[TheBoglodite]

I think "Creativity" is a great word to encompass them both

[acatssoftnose]

I prefer for there to be no distinction between artists and artisans. We're both craftsman, seeking to create what is practically necessary to fulfill human desires. Whether that manifest in beautiful cups or paintings, people want them, and are satisfied in them in ways other objects can't provide.

[rammyg]

Ted Ed talaga is malaking tulong ang ayos ng explanation ❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏🙏

[brycenew]

Excellent! And in just 5 1/2 mins! Thank you Laura and TED-Ed :D
(I do agree with the suggestion that 'art and craft' could well be replaced with 'visual arts'. )

[Chibiicap]

I've always considered anything original created by someone to be a form of art.

[samivayajd]

I am Native American and come from the Hopi pueblo tribe in northeastern Arizona. In the Southwest archaeologists have actually discovered the transformation of pottery making throughout the years people have settled here. They now date prehistoric sties based on the types of pottery they and even call the time periods Pueblo I, II, and III. It's a mixture of the way the clay is fired and the types of designs people painted on them. 

[alessandramacedo]

Very useful discution. I think the  characteristic of originality and inovation is what realy defines art.

[TheHelleri]

Generally, the distinction I make between an artwork and a craftwork; Is if their value lies in their aesthetic alone, or if their value is in their practical application. There are of course points at which the lines blur. Where Artwork can be practical. And, where a Craft can be Artful. But, typically I find they are still mostly on one side of it or the other.

I think the best of both worlds comes when one fully transitions to the other over time: If a painting becomes utterly ruined, but the canvas is repurposed for book bindings; Or if a farm implement becomes froze up with rust and broken to such a degree that the cost of repair isn't justified and it then becomes a lawn ornament.

[MrZXCV]

A few years ago(1976) at the Denver Colorado USA Art Museum someone suggested to have a showing of the local area art work and skills and talent. I think that students from the many high schools and colleges and local art galleries and a handful of individual artists submitted their work. It was an exhibition that we will never forget because of the verity of different works of art... There was one that was made from a large number of clothes that were sewn together with a large number colors and textures in great detail. There were so many great works of art and so different. Maybe we'll start showing local artist works of art at our cafe and other shops and sell them to the highest Let's make money, Honey.

[VertigoDrake]

The body of work that is considered to be "art" may grow and change, but it doesn't mean that "craft" won't have a place in it either.

There was a critical distinction drawn in the video that I think is important: Art is a product of individual innovation and creativity, while a craft is a carefully refined process that is preserved and adapted by groups of people. There are two essential elements in this contrast: first, the distinction of product vs. process, and second, individual vs. group. An artist makes art, but teaches and hones a craft.

This expands far beyond mere "visual art." I'm a medical student. While a large part of my education has been geared toward understanding science, I am also being taught many skills: diagnosis, examination, history-taking, and others. These collectively form the craft of medicine. There's room for "art" in this as well; I may do an impressive job suturing a cut — that alone is a work of art.

[deltaxcd]

Modern definition of art is something what inspires thought and changes status quo.
So art must be something new and it does not matter if it is painting or prototype of iPhone.

[feremuz]

Muy buen video aunque discrepo de la frase final "El arte y su definición depende de la perspectiva que se mire" pues según esto el concepto se convierte en algo subjetivo y visto desde ahí todo podría ser arte, por consiguiente si todo es arte, el concepto mismo se ve afectado pues pierde completamente su valor, como lo vemos en nuestros tiempos.

[husnayn]

We make art through craft (Art is destination craft is a journey to that destination )
Art is Mirror and the way we hold the mirror is craft.

[gabriellewarburton]

Art is a picture weather using colour or drawing or painting craft is an actual object that is physical. So you can have an artistic crafted vase but you know that vase has designs and or colour which either been moulded into the design or been drawn or painted on

[ValeriaFranco]

Very interesting and precise documentary. About the art which doesn't evolve much in time, one of the greatest example is Bizantine art with its derivation, like the famous Russian Icons. They are almost the same in centuries. The reason was in the message they wanted the art to carry, and that was that God and the saints were powerful and somewhat the centre of the universe, while in Europe, more attention was starting to be given to the mankind and art developed somewherelse. But nobody would ever dream to say that bizantine art is primitive or that it isn't art.