Sloppy Craft Postdisciplinarity and the Crafts

by Cheasley Paterson, Elaine; Surette, Susan

• ISBN13: 9781472534880
• ISBN10: 1472534883
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-09-24
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

Sloppy Craft: Postdisciplinarity and the Crafts brings together leading international artists and critics to explore the possibilities and limitations of the idea of 'sloppy craft' – craft that is messy or unfinished looking in its execution or appearance, or both. The contributors address 'sloppiness' in contemporary art and craft practices including painting, weaving, sewing and ceramics, consider the importance of traditional concepts of skill, and the implications of sloppiness for a new 21st century emphasis on inter- and postdisciplinarity, as well as for activist, performance, queer and Aboriginal practices.

In addition to critical essays, the book includes a 'conversation' section in which contemporary artists and practitioners discuss challenges and opportunities of 'sloppy craft' in their practice and teaching, and an afterword by Glenn Adamson.

Author Biography

Elaine Cheasley Paterson is Assistant Professor of Craft History at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
Susan Surette is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Art History at Concordia University, Canada and a professional artist and critic.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Anne Wilson, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA
Introduction: Elaine C. Paterson and Susan Surette, Concordia University, Canada

Section One – Explorations of Post-Disciplinarity through ‘Sloppy Craft’
Introduction
‘Male Trouble’: Sewing, Amateurism and Gender, Joseph McBrinn, University of Ulster, Ireland
Sloppiness Skilfully-done, As Craft Should Be, Denis Longchamps, Concordia University, Canada
Quantity Over Quality: The Interdisciplinary Possibilities and Lingering Phobias of ‘Sloppy Craft’, Stephanie Taylor, New Mexico State University, USA
Scribbled Stitch and Embroidered Text: ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ Sewing as Inscribed Resistance, Victoria Mitchell, Norwich University College of the Arts, UK
Chronological Distortions: Craft as Temporal Drag, Elissa Auther and Elyse Speaks, University of Colorado, USA

Section Two – The Implications of ‘Sloppy Craft’
Introduction
Doomed to Failure, Sandra Alfoldy, NSCAD University, USA
The Value of ‘Sloppy craft’: Creativity and Community, Juliette MacDonald, Edinburgh College of Art, UK
Why are Sloppy and Post-disciplinary Craft Meaningful, and What are the Historical Precedents?, Gloria Hickey, curator and writer, USA
Als Ich Kann Ceramics and Post-disciplinarity, Johanna Dahn, Bath Spa University, UK
From Maria Martinez to Kent Monkman: Performing ‘Sloppy Craft’ in Native America, Elizabeth Kalbfleisch, Concordia University, Canada
From Sleepy Craft to Sloppy Craft – what’s all the fuss about?, Pennina Barnett, Goldsmith’s University of London, UK

Section Three – ‘Sloppy Craft’ in Practice and Pedagogy: A Conversation
Introduction
Eliza Au, Ceramist, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, British Columbia, Canada
Jean Pierre Larocque, Ceramist, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Rory MacDonald, Ceramist, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Nova Scotia, Canada
Geoff Mann, artist and designer using craft-based materials, Edinburgh, Scotland
Allyson Mitchell, Multimedia, Fibres, Women’s Studies, York University, Ontario, Canada
Kelly Thompson, Fibres, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Peter Wilson, Ceramist, Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, Australia

Postscript - Reprint of Glenn Adamson’s text ‘When Craft gets Sloppy,’ from Crafts No 211 (March/April, 2008), 36-40

Conclusion: Elaine C. Paterson and Susan Surette, Concordia University, Canada