DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ART AND CRAFT

 Unit-5: 

Local Craft and their place in SUPW

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ART AND CRAFT

 

BASIS FOR COMPARISON	ART	CRAFT
Meaning of	art’ is an expression and application of imagination, feelings, thoughts, ideas or any other human creativity, in a visual form, having aesthetic and emotional value	Craft refers to an activity, which involves creation of tangible objects with the use of hands and brain.
Based on	It is based on emotional value	It is based on creative value
Purpose	Aesthetic purpose	Decorative or functional purpose
Emphasizes on	Ideas, feelings and visual qualities.	Right use of tools and materials.
Assessment	It is difficult to assess	Easy
Emergence from	Heart and soul	Mind
Result of	Innate talent	Skill and experience
Application	art is an expression and application of imagination, feelings, thoughts, ideas or any other human creativity, in a visual form, having aesthetic and emotional value	Craft’ implies an activity involving skill and experience in the creation handmade tangible objects that fulfill particular purpose.
Skill	It does not based on learned skill	It is learned skill
Requirement	A person needs natural or god gifted talent to make an art.	A person with skill and talent, who has been properly groomed and has some level of experience, can make a craft.

 

 

Craft- an activity involving skill in making things by hand.

 

 

Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW) is a "purposive productive work and services related to the needs of the child and the community will be proved meaningful to the learner.

Such work must not be performed mechanically but must include planning, analysis and detailed preparation, at every stage so that it is educational in essence.

Adoption of improved tools and materials, where available and the adoption of modern techniques will lead to an appreciation of the needs of a progressive society based on technology." Students learn to work as a team and to work with skill and deftness.

 It was introduced in 1978, by the Ministry of Education to promote Gandhian values and educational ideas of Mahatma Gandhi

Clay

Being one of the most basic materials found in every corner of the country, clay has been used for making earthen ware, figurines, bricks, tiles, beads etc.

Stone work

Another basic material that does not need much processing and technology is stone. Different types of stones from the most common ones to region specific ones to precious gems have been used in different ways from architectural construction, to sculptures, to making jewelry and so on. One would need to discuss different aspects of stone works that have existed through thousands of years

 Metal Crafts

Metal has a wide variety where technology plays an important role. A number of crafts communities have been sustaining on age old practices of making objects from metal which involves the knowledge of technology/ indigenous technology among artisans, from processing the metal, to casting, polishing and finishing the objects.

Jewelry

Jewelry, whether made from precious stones, beads and metals or bell metal or terracotta, from most intricate and delicate forms to the bold and traditional motifs, Indian traditional jewelry is one most cherished items in the international market, among tourists,  foreigners and Indians are the biggest buyers of jewelry in the world!

Natural Fiber weaving

Natural fibers such as grass, bamboo, cane, jute, leaves etc. have varied usages from making/ weaving baskets, mats, brooms, rooftops, clothing etc. which provided shelter and income to many communities in India. Many communities have a practice where women themselves weave household objects for their daily use whereas many industries survive on production of materials from jute. All north-eastern states have rich traditions of handicrafts manufactured from cane and bamboo. By and large weaving from natural fibres is part and parcel of every region/ state.

Textile Crafts

Clothing and textile being one of the three basic needs of human beings, apart from food and shelter, finds place almost everywhere from the most common material of cotton to the expensive silk and wool. Most of the textile crafts are self sufficient systems where the process starts right from acquiring raw materials to making them worthy to be woven, dyeing, printing, painting, embroidery, etc. Some of these traditions are hundreds of years old. While textile exports are high, new experiments with jute, banana fibre etc. are also underway.   

Painting

Painting is one of the first expressions which makes manifest different emotions and deeds of the earliest human settlements. Whether painted on walls, floor, roof, paper, palm leaf, wood, cloth or any other surface, paintings have a pictorial communication/ a visual language narrating traditional practices, folklores, folktales etc.

Paper and paper crafts

Handicraft traditions where different products are made from paper and paper machine have been prevalent from Jammu and Kashmir to Kerala for preparing various objects. The process of making these objects, vary from place to place. To study them from the point of view of resources available in the region and the opportunity to market their products are some of the aspects which needs attention.

Theatre crafts

Theatre has many crafts which make them a successful performance tradition, be it stage-crafts where carpentry, carvings, paintings etc. are involved or costume design and jewelry, facial masks and depending on the tradition, many other crafts may be involved.