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Review
The scope of the Craft Reader is breathtaking. Finally, here is a text that successfully contextualizes the diverse range of writings on craft. By gathering these thoughts into a clearly articulated set of arguments Adamson has helped to shape the field of craft discourse. This book will stand as an invaluable tool for craft scholars. Sandra Alfoldy, Nova Scotia College of Art & Design A much needed outline history of 19th and 20th century crafts within a wide social and cultural context, as well as an overview of the most important issues in crafts today. Stefan Muthesius, University of East Anglia This anthology confirms, in multiple ways across a century and a half of continual practice and debate, that the presence of craftsmanship is virtually inseparable from the design and realization of the material world. Kenneth Frampton, Columbia University Glenn Adamson's Craft Reader is the rarest of anthologies: at once an excellent and wide-reaching compilation of craft scholarship, and a provocative challenge to the same. Maria Elena Buszek, Kansas City Art Institute The idea of craft has jumped to the forefront of creative work. The many young artisans now engaged in digital fabrication, tangible interfaces, and do-it yourself electronics may enjoy reflecting on the few who kept craft alive through the industrial night, and on those whose theories and practices belong in any technological age. This astute collection gives rich context to all such thought. Malcolm McCullough, University of Michigan Thought-provoking, revealing, opinionated, intelligent, accessible and comprehensive ... a huge achievement. Grant Gibson, Crafts Magazine
Product Description
From the canonical texts of the Arts and Crafts Movement to the radical thinking of today's "DIY" movement, from theoretical writings on the position of craft in distinction to Art and Design to how-to texts from renowned practitioners, from feminist histories of textiles to descriptions of the innovation born of necessity in Soviet factories and African auto-repair shops...The Craft Reader presents the first comprehensive anthology of writings on modern craft. Covering the period from the Industrial Revolution to today, the Reader draws on craft practice and theory from America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The world of craft is considered in its full breadth -- from pottery and weaving, to couture and chocolate-making, to contemporary art, architecture and curation. The writings are themed into sections and all extracts are individually introduced, placing each in its historical, cultural and artistic context. Bringing together an astonishing range of both classic and contemporary texts, The Craft Reader will be invaluable to any student or practitioner of Craft and also to readers in Art and Design. AUTHORS INCLUDE: Theodor Adorno, Anni Albers, Amadou Hampate Ba, Charles Babbage, Roland Barthes, Andrea Branzi, Alison Britton, Rafael Cardoso, Johanna Drucker, Charles Eames, Salvatore Ferragamo, Kenneth Frampton, Alfred Gell, Walter Gropius, Tanya Harrod, Martin Heidegger, Patrick Heron, Bernard Leach, Esther Leslie, W. R. Lethaby, Lucy Lippard, Adolf Loos, Karl Marx, William Morris, Robert Morris, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Stefan Muthesius, George Nakashima, Octavio Paz, Grayson Perry, M. C. Richards, John Ruskin, Raphael Samuel, Ellen Gates Starr, Debbie Stoller, Alexis de Tocqueville, Lee Ufan, Frank Lloyd Wright
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4 reviews
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Thorough and satisfying
4 Mar 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I found this reader excellent: it contains a very wide range of writings, which are grouped together well, stimulate thought, and illuminate the nature of craft, its development, and its place in our world.
It covers a wide range of media, including ceramics, wood carving, metalwork etc, and a large amount on fiber and textile crafts, including home dressmaking and embroidery. I found this particularly satisfying, as many books on craft theory, such as Risatti's 'A Theory of Craft', specifically choose to exclude textiles from their discussions.
The book is divided into seven sections:
1. How-to (examining the strange dichotomy where craft is often considered "something learned with the body rather than the mind" (p.1) yet its skills have come to often be communicated in written form.
2. Craft and the industrial revolution
3. Modern craft: Idealism and reform
4. The persistence of craft in the age of mass production
5. Craft in theory: Aesthetics, essence, status
6. Craft in action: Life, art, design
7. Contemporary approaches
Many seminal texts are included, such as Anni Albers, 'On Weaving'; Karl Marx, 'Capital'; William Morris, 'The Revival of Handicraft'; George Nakashima, 'The Soul of a Tree'; David Pye, 'The Nature and Art of Workmanship'; Theodor Adorno, 'Functionalism Today'. The original source and date of the texts is given so the reader can follow these up and quote from the original source. There are also excellent contemporary pieces, such as Anthea Black and Nicole Burisch's 'Craft hard, die free: Radical curatorial strategies for craftivism in unruly contexts'.
My favourite aspect of this reader is that every single text is followed by a list of books and articles for further reading. So, for example, if you enjoy reading Esther Leslie's 'Walter Benjamin: Traces of Craft', then you are recommended to try Benjamin's Illuminations, Buck-Morss' Dialectics of Seeing, Frisby's Fragments of Modernity: Theories of Modernity in the Work of Simmel, Kracauer and Benjamin, Lehmann's Tigersprung, and Steinberg's Walter Benjamin and the Demands of History.
In addition to this, there is a recommended bibliography in the back, listing still more books on different aspects of craft.
I'd say the reader is aimed at undergraduates, however this would be a welcome addition to graduate students' libraries, or lecturers' resources, as it provides a large number of essential texts in one convenient volume. Although the reader is no doubt designed for university students it would be enjoyable reading for any one interested in intellectual aspects of craft.
If you already have an extensive library of writing on craft then you probably don't need to add this, as you will have much of its contents in other books. However if you haven't assembled one yet, I would call this a must-buy book if you are interested in the philosophy of craft.
It covers a wide range of media, including ceramics, wood carving, metalwork etc, and a large amount on fiber and textile crafts, including home dressmaking and embroidery. I found this particularly satisfying, as many books on craft theory, such as Risatti's 'A Theory of Craft', specifically choose to exclude textiles from their discussions.
The book is divided into seven sections:
1. How-to (examining the strange dichotomy where craft is often considered "something learned with the body rather than the mind" (p.1) yet its skills have come to often be communicated in written form.
2. Craft and the industrial revolution
3. Modern craft: Idealism and reform
4. The persistence of craft in the age of mass production
5. Craft in theory: Aesthetics, essence, status
6. Craft in action: Life, art, design
7. Contemporary approaches
Many seminal texts are included, such as Anni Albers, 'On Weaving'; Karl Marx, 'Capital'; William Morris, 'The Revival of Handicraft'; George Nakashima, 'The Soul of a Tree'; David Pye, 'The Nature and Art of Workmanship'; Theodor Adorno, 'Functionalism Today'. The original source and date of the texts is given so the reader can follow these up and quote from the original source. There are also excellent contemporary pieces, such as Anthea Black and Nicole Burisch's 'Craft hard, die free: Radical curatorial strategies for craftivism in unruly contexts'.
My favourite aspect of this reader is that every single text is followed by a list of books and articles for further reading. So, for example, if you enjoy reading Esther Leslie's 'Walter Benjamin: Traces of Craft', then you are recommended to try Benjamin's Illuminations, Buck-Morss' Dialectics of Seeing, Frisby's Fragments of Modernity: Theories of Modernity in the Work of Simmel, Kracauer and Benjamin, Lehmann's Tigersprung, and Steinberg's Walter Benjamin and the Demands of History.
In addition to this, there is a recommended bibliography in the back, listing still more books on different aspects of craft.
I'd say the reader is aimed at undergraduates, however this would be a welcome addition to graduate students' libraries, or lecturers' resources, as it provides a large number of essential texts in one convenient volume. Although the reader is no doubt designed for university students it would be enjoyable reading for any one interested in intellectual aspects of craft.
If you already have an extensive library of writing on craft then you probably don't need to add this, as you will have much of its contents in other books. However if you haven't assembled one yet, I would call this a must-buy book if you are interested in the philosophy of craft.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
It is an indispensable sourcebook.
18 Nov 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Best to be read along with "Thinking through craft"Thinking Through Craft, but if you have to choose one, definitely have this one. The Craft Reader provides a series of individual texts from a diverse range of authors, perspectives and cultures. Most important are the bibliographical references in the end of each individual text, which provides lots of further readings, indispensable for researchers and alike.
You will surely finish this book with the sensation of new horizons to explore.
You will surely finish this book with the sensation of new horizons to explore.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Must Own
13 Jan 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a must own. Simple as that. Anyone interested in craft or is in the field should own this book.
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