emiko-o reware

Creating a New Craft Culture SAT 3 PM
The Case for Conservatism with Garth Clark

I apologize for skipping over some of the weekend’s presenters; you can catch more on Natalie Chanin, Robin Petravic, Julie Lasky, and Lydia Matthews on Harriete’s blog. I may do a sound-bites post at the very end of my ACC conference reporting to include some of these folks.

Garth Clark

But time is of the essence and I’m sure you’re all chomping at the bit to hear the dirt on Garth Clark‘s presentation, the title of which is elusive and a bit dull. He admitted to being a bit confused as to why he chose “The Case for Conservatism” title 9 months ago.

If you’ve done your homework in listening to (or attended) Garth’s previous controversial talk at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, OR, “How Envy Killed the Crafts Movement” (hear the podcast on MCC‘s site in 2 parts, or order the transcription online through MCC), then you will have already heard the paper he read to us, “Palace and Cottage”. In the paper he urges craft makers to return to a cottage industry/grass roots model, to rebuild it from the bottom up and address social issues. He called out the classism and elitism that has been brewing between ACC and the “Craft Nation” as he refers to it. And calls out ACC on the conference’s theme, bemoaning, “Why are we looking for a NEW craft culture?” that it’s “ludicrous to be looking for something over the hill” or to “create a new Bubble” in today’s ecomony. No holds barred on accusing ACC of floundering purposeless and missionless for the last decade. I’ll admit that up until now I didn’t consider ACC anything more than a magazine, an archive, and craft shows; but there are glimmers now that it can have a new life and purpose if the desire and drive are there.

ON BURNING MAN

Burning Man

Garth cracked me up when he opened his talk about his trip to Burning Man and how he lost 10 lbs. of discarded cynicism towards craft. How incredible it was be there and experience the endless amount of amazing craft being made without [financial] agenda, from fire-breathing dragon cars to structures made from repurposed materials  (my favs have always been the Temples made from wooden puzzle refuse, see below). “I believe in a Craft Nation“, he said, but admitted that an idealized, anti-money, communal lifestyle is of course not realistic in a market-driven, capitalistic economy. He did relate BM to the DIY culture (naturally there are many cross-over groups in this comparison) in how both “take us back to the rituals of daily life; a life experience…we’ve turned craft into a gallery experience (he admits to playing a role in that during the 80s bubble).” Best to “keep the boundaries open and not be hostile“, for the DIY movement is “transient, a youth expression and certainly not a threat to the craft community at large“. Yes, maybe if we say this enough times, it will finally sink in….

Temple of Joy (photo: Maurice Fitzpatrick

THE SOLUTION
What is the next step, what can we do to Save Craft? Garth suggests Art Advocacy at the Federal level, and sooner rather than later before the federal monies are bled dry. Yes, lobbying is messy, expensive, and takes lots of organization and commitment, but we have to ask ourselves the greater question of “Can we afford to [continue to] go unrepresented [in government]?” Not only getting funding for organizations and communities, but for more protective legal rights, tax issues and ways to make running a craft studio a more viable lifestyle.

An effective advocacy model to study is what Western North Carolina and the Center for Craft, Creativity, & Design did to help save craft in that region and give craft a voice in state government. The power of the collective does work. A leader at CCCD suggest we “challenge others to step out of their studios and get involved in community.”

The great thing about Garth’s talks is that they get people riled up about something enough to continue the discussion in the outside world.  I’m a big believer in Tough Love; criticism may be painful while it’s happening, but if it’s coming from a place of genuine concern it is often just what the doctor ordered: a catalyst for change.

LEGO blog pin for conference

Well, almost Live from Minneapolis; heads up reware fans, it’s time for me to blog another amazing craft conference for SNAG starting this Friday for the American Craft Council’s “Creating a New Craft Culture.” A much shorter, but still as intensely packed line-up of speakers from Oct 16-17, culminating in a Saturday night banquet (we’ll see if the  ACC attendees are as fun as the SNAG conference folks….).

SNAG home page

Check out the SNAG home page and on the right hand column in “Announcements” is a link to the ACC Bloggers, meaning me and Harriete Estel Berman. We’ll try to keep it as live as possible, so stay tuned!

So what’s the big deal about the ACC conference, you ask? Well here’s just a few names in the lineup and see for yourself:
Garth Clark (craft critic and curator), Rob Walker (NY Times columnist & author of “Buying In”), Faythe Levine (director of “A Handmade Nation”), Panel discussion led by Namita Gupta Wiggers (Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland) on internet marketing, featuring CEOs Lisa Bayne of Artful Home and Maria Thomas of Etsy. Plus many more, but those are the ones that convinced me that flying to MN at the start of winter was a good idea. And this from a gal who’s sworn off snow…. Read more about the speakers, program and blog articles related to on the ACC site.

Just finished unpacking and repacking, having returned from a whirlwind month in NYC, London, and Greece. More next week about the cool UK jewelers, London exhibitions, as well as my talks at Syracuse University (my Top Ten Tips for Post Grad Success will be expanded upon here soon, promise) and at Museum of Arts & Design, NYC. I’m such a tease, I know.

Must go and pack my face mask for today’s many airplanes, and maybe nap….