Each week will have a theme or a question that relates to the course content.
Every student will contribute one blog post per week, due by 11:59 pm on the Monday night before class.

Your posts should include images, a short text, and your name.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Last Post

This is a carving done by one of my friends back home. He started out with a regular board of wood and carved away extracting the wood which caused negative space. He even worked on overlapping to give the carving some depth to it. After all the wood was extracted he worked on some finer details for texture. Although this is a 3D piece of artwork, the back in not meant to be seen since it the purpose of this carving to to be mounted to a backboard. After the carving was done my friend attempted to pain the carving as realistically as possible. There are different shadings of different colors to help the piece stand out a bit more.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

last blog post

I had taken this photo a long time ago because I believed that the fold of the material over the table looked like a woman leaning over.  If you squint and think about it, it does look like a person in a painful pose.  It is sort of an abstract thing that I wanted to capture at that moment because that sheet wouldn't be there for much longer. It was cool to see and to think about. It is ephemeral art and subjective.
- AnnMarie Pollock

Last Blog Entry

I saw this installation in person a couple years ago in the Natural History Museum, and i find it pretty interesting. It is a 94 foot life size model of a blue whale. It is definitely considered a installation because it's a one of a kind piece and its made for this specific room. The scale of this piece is life-size, even though it's pretty hard to believe. There is also a color gradient from the top to the stomach. It goes to dark blue, to light blue, to white. The emphasis in the room is certainly on this piece. Even though this piece is in a Museum, it is definitely considered art.
- John Marchetti

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Art or Craft?

 Though both may seem to be considered art, the table, to me, is more of a craft then art. The table can be massed produced and sold to anyone. The painting can be replicated and sold, but the original must stay in one place for people to only see. While, the table is always being created for the public to do as they please with it. Crafts have other purposes, for example, the table can have objects placed on them for display on it, for decoration in a household, used to play games on, place your feet on to rest, and so on.
The painting can only be hung on a wall and looked at. But, what makes art different then crafts is that art can have more value then most crafts. Both are similar in certain ways for instance, they can be hand crafted, both can have the artists signature on it or in the name, and, both use techniques like symmetry, space, texture, perspective, and more. Anyway, though arts and crafts have there similarities, they are two different categories.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Fine Art vs. Craft

There is a great debate about whether craft is fine art and vice versa. I believe it is all the same thing a craft no matter what it is can be viewed as art. This picture is of stained glass on a piece of marble, it is viewed as a craft, but the design and arrangement of it really displays it is art. There is no definition of each term that is set in stone, but the design and work no matter what the medium is can still be viewed as fine art.

craft vs. fine art


This ceramic plate is considered craft but in my opinion it can also be considered a fine art. It is technically a craft because someone took their time to create this individual piece and put the exact design on this piece but it can also be mass produced. Fine art is usually more expensive because it takes more time and more details are added but in my opinion this piece looks as though it took a lot of time to make and the artist put a alot of effort into it. This is why i believe this ceramic plate is a very interesting piece because although it is a craft is can be considered a fine art depending on who you are asking and their personal take on art.

crafts vs. fine arts


There's a very thin line between craft and art. Take these two pictures for example. The one on the left is a one of a kind piece done by an art student (i think), meanwhile the one on the right is the Regina gown by Maggie Sottero. Many say that to distinguish between the two, one rationalizes that a craft can be mass produced while a fine art can only be made once. However, I believe both are distinguished arts. I believe that it all pertains to how the viewer sees things. I believe in the saying that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." I also happen to love the Regina gown, while others may see it as hideous and prefer a different style for a wedding dress. I also love the watercolor work on the left because it's beautiful. Other may see it as a big mess done with watercolors, assuming that they just plain hate watercolor works.

-Tara A

Craft vs. Fine art

As previously stated by many of my classmates, there is a scarily fine line between crafts and fine art. I believe that although some people think there is clear distinction, I think it is simply a matter of opinion.  Since craft is originated from the German word, kraft which means "power or ability", I determine craft as a work of art that has ability to be useful or used in a way rather then simply being appreciated as fine art. Crafts are created by people who have a particular skill commonly known as craftsman. The picture I chose is a picture frame made from stones. Although very nice and artistic looking, in my opinion this is considered a craft because it has the ability to contain and display a memory for anyone who chooses.

Craft vs. Fine Art

This ceramic Christmas ornament is technically considered craft, but I see it as fine art. There are very intricate details on it. Most people do not have the time or talent to create something like this. However, ornaments can be mass produced. Fine art is more expensive and usually can't be replicated. Regardless, ceramics take time and are very beautiful took look at.

Craft or Fine Art?

When looking at this piece of art it may be confusing whether this is craft or fine art. Many believe that fine art has to be a serious piece or possibly antique like. This may seem like craft though because it is not made by usual and typical materials that a sculpture or installation would be made out of. I think this is in fact fine art. I think that the creativity used is awesome and so different. The combination of the craftiness of it and the impact of fine artistic portrayal is remarkable.
-Michelle Ketcham

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Craft vs. Fine Art


Based on our assignment to distinguish what is a craft vs. fine art, I chose to pick these two pieces of hand-blown glass objects.
The first one is an executive/board room table. The amber pedestals are hand blown and sit on top of acrylic bases. The top (surface) is cut glass.

The bottom picture are hand-blown garden crystals. Both of these projects, regardless of how big or small they are, take an experienced, trained artisan to create them. Both pieces of art are done under
the same extreme heat of 2,000 degrees and using the same types of
equipment. Each are meant to be used, meant to be touched and used in daily life - possibly by the same people. So, how can anyone say that one or the other should be categorized as fine art vs. a craft?

Blurring the Line Between Craft and Art

I think the distinction between craft and fine art is extremely interesting. When it comes down to it the two differ only slightly but society has a clear line where one ends and the other begins. When thinking about how these distinctions merge and blur, I immediately thought of Murano glass that originated in Italy. The glass is beautiful and coveted all over the world. To me, these pieces blur the line between fine art and craft because they can easily be considered both. There is much skill and craftsmanship involved in creating them yet they serve a primarily aesthetic purpose.

Fine Art Vs. Craft


Fine art and crafts are both pieces of art that can be absolutely beautiful. The difference between them is fine art is like a one shot deal, while crafts can be mass produced. For example Michelangelo's sculpture of David is considered to be fine art. It was produced once as an original piece of work. While on the other hand, the craft side, Michael Kors watches are absolutely stunning, and mass produced. This makes them fall under the category of craft, which I believe is under rated. Many people have made or tried to make duplicates of the statue of David, but it will never be of equal value to the original. This is also a difference. Most fine art is valued at a much higher value because it can not be duplicated, like crafts.

Craft

Craft and fine art are two forms of artistic expression that both present beautiful works but are viewed differently by those who buy them.  Fine art is viewed and purchased for its artistic qualities alone.  A beautiful painting is not bought because it serves some functional purpose but because it is pleasing to look at and would look good in a museum or home.  Fine art is made to be viewed and appreciated while craft is made for a functional purpose.  Craft art start out as something that will serve a purpose such as a chair or jewelry box.  It is then craved, painted, or altered to add some sort of pattern or design to it in order to turn it into art.  These designs and additions do not change the functional purpose of the craft but simply turn it into more of a piece of art.  The example of craft I chose is this wood carved jewelry box.  Before it was carved, this jewelry box was just a plain box with drawers and no design.  It served a functional purpose but was not necessarily anything spectacular to look at.  Once it was carved and had a design added to it, it became a piece of art but the functionality of it was not changed.  It still serves the purpose it was originally built for.