The Last Craftsmen
An Exploration of Crafts at Risk of Losing Their Essence
This exploration delves into crafts that face the threat of losing the very essence that makes each item special—the loss of the human touch. With the rise of AI and automated machinery, the creativity and conceptualisation that pioneers once championed are now often considered low-skilled labour or an expense that can easily be replaced. We find ourselves at the mercy of an industry overwhelmed by synthetic materials and unoriginal concepts.
Structured as an essay, each interview, photograph, and artist serves as an invitation to engage in a profound dialogue—one that I hope includes the essential question of "What does this mean?"
The aim of this exploration is to shed light on these crafts, serving as the last bastion against the onslaught of the tech revolution. While technology itself is not an enemy to the industry or society, it is the combination of laziness and greed that gives rise to the the product of the formulas draining the lifeblood that these art forms have relied on for centuries.
It is entirely too easy to be starstruck by the money and fame that is associated with it all, but when one attempts to bypass the necessary effort and the dues to be paid, we end up with a exhausted industry being headed by attention seekers and the pretentious. Crafts and the art world, in general, should be inclusive not because everyone can see their reflection in it, but because it triggers an introspective journey because of its very own.
Embracing the notion that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and true art is truly subjective and deeply personal. I believe that art is a form of expression. If you overlook the essential and integral part of the journey that teaches you the ‘how to’ - won’t that muddy the water in which you wash your brush?
The theory is just as significant as the physical. The emotion just as much as the intelligence. The human just as much as the craft.
If you find yourself disinterested in the intricate layers that contribute to the creation of any art type, I suggest you leave the art to the artists.
