Difference Between Arts and Crafts

Arts and crafts are usually referred to as creative activities but in some art circles, there is a notable difference between the two terms.  This difference arises from the traditions of European art history dating back hundreds of years. However, as the attitudes towards these two creative endeavors change, the gap between the two of them narrows.

The distinction between art and craft extends back several centuries to the 16th century. With the establishment of English, French and Italian art academies, the distinction between craft and art has also arrived. Craft, according to the rules set forth by these institutions, indicated an object that was made to be functional and decorative. Fine art, which includes painted portraits and sculptures of the human figure, was not useful, but rather made for beauty and visual consumption only.

Ceramic pottery, glass, fiber, metal works and jewelry have been traditionally called crafts because of their utilitarian purposes and qualities. New graphic forms like graphic and package design, posters, logos, industrial design, web design and urban design would fall into this category as well. The distinction between these types of crafts and fine arts has become vaguer over the course of time.

The differences between fine art and functional objects discover its roots in the historical and cultural contexts in which these works were created. Before 16th century artists created a distinction between the two, society held artists in very little esteem. For example, in ancient Greece, the seed civilization for all of Western art, Greek philosophers said that craftspeople fell in the social order somewhere between artists and philosophers. The implication was that crafts and therefore craftspeople were useful. Artists were not.

Crafts were traditionally about using a handmade process to achieve an end result, usually something practical, like a rug or chair or clothing.  Not to say that these items couldn’t also be decorative, but the main aim was function.  Contemporary crafts are less about practicality and function, and generally something a crafter chooses to do because they enjoy the crafting process itself.  It’s a leisure activity rather than a means to an end. 

Art, in both traditional and contemporary terms, is more about aesthetics rather than function. Whether the artist consciously or subconsciously has ‘something to say’, it is there within the finished piece.  A new wave of contemporary artists are using or adapting traditional craft techniques in the process of creating artwork; but in these terms the craft has become art because of the intentions of the creator — to whom crafting is simply another medium, in the same way they might apply paint to canvas.

Art and craft can both be executed well or badly or with mediocrity.  A design might be successful or sloppy.  The skill level of the creator raises the levels of artistry inherent in a piece, but ‘bad art’ is still art, just as ill-performed music is still music.  An artist uses craft techniques as a medium, and this is true of any crafter.  If you create your own unique designs, you are an artist whose medium happens to be a particular craft.