Craft and The Mainstream Art World

Bringing Context to The Ongoing Crafts Revitalization

Arts media organization and database, Artsy, brings us an article titled: Why the Art World is Embracing Craft . The word craft is defined as a tradition of hand-making objects and materials which are often but not always functional. With the rise of conceptual art in the mid 1900’s and the focus on intellectual and abstract art, craftspeople and their work have often been extremely undervalued. This article touches on several artists, Shiela Hicks, Jeffrey Gibson, Liza Lou and Rosie Lee Tompkins (to name a few) who have played major roles in bringing craft to center stage in the 21st century. The article only begins to touch on the vast and complicated history of this subject but it provides a much needed reminder of the beauty in the reunion of these two not so separate worlds.