Comments for The Journal of Modern Craft

Comment on I Make, Therefore I Am by alison f bell

alison f bell — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:51:44 +0000

I agree whole-heartedly with this; as makers, we need to share our skills, pass on tacit knowledge and engender the sense of ‘wholeness’ which ‘making’ brings.

Comment on William Morris versus Steampunk, Steampunk versus William Morris? by robin wood

robin wood — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 10:47:34 +0000

Another thought provoking piece of writing Mila thanks. I often wonder if there should be some wise council of elders that look over new innovations in science, industry and technology and decide whether this will enhance our lives or not. I know the Amish have something along those lines. We do have some sort of regulation of scientific experimentation (eg limits on experimentation with human cloning) It’s not the scientists job to say we can do this but maybe we shouldn’t but I am not sure who’s job it should be. Our job should not be to fight all new development but to question what makes a good, healthy, fulfilling life and resist things which hinder that, I think this is what Morris was doing.

Comment on William Morris versus Steampunk, Steampunk versus William Morris? by Mila(da) Burcikova

Mila(da) Burcikova — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:38:24 +0000

Thank you, Kevin, for a brilliant point. Yes, I also agree with you in that it seems quite hard to think of William Morris as embracing the new. Could this have to do with the black and white picture of Morris I mentioned above again though? William Morris could hardly have done what he had without making the most of the technologies available. This started perhaps with the publishing of the Oxford and Cambridge Magazine, was then accentuated in the years of his political campaigning and involved even the experiments in the Kelmscott Press. The chapter ‘Virtual Morris’ in Philippa Bennett and Rosie Miles, eds William Morris in the Twenty-First Century (Bern: Peter Lang AG, 2010) touches upon this in an interesting way.

Comment on William Morris versus Steampunk, Steampunk versus William Morris? by Kevin Murray

Kevin Murray — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 03:20:53 +0000

This comment by Slavoj Zizek on westheavens.net seems relevant:

You know, Badiou taught me this lesson: when something new is emerging, the dialectical paradox of history, the only way to get it, is to try to be faithful to the old, and then you get what it is that is new… For example, Pascal did that with early modernity. There were all these stupid liberals who had just embraced the Enlightenment. Nobody reads them today. But Pascal. Ah, he is different. Pascal’s problem was how to remain Christian in modernity. We still read him more today because he saw much more.

This rings true, even though it’s hard to think of William Morris as embracing the new.

Comment on Craft and utopianism by robin wood

robin wood — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 11:59:40 +0000

Great piece of writing Mila and important.
I personally feel much of the contemporary craft scene has rather left its radical roots behind. Whenever there is an economic downturn people start to asses what they actually want out of life, what constitutes meaningful work etc. When the money is flowing it seems all these questions are on the backburner as everyone scrambles for their share of the consumerist orgy.
The time is undoubtedly right to look at these issues again and as you suggest not just as an alternative escapist thing but to question what it is about craft that is good and how that can be incorporated in mainstream life. I think our whole mode of production needs looking at critically and reassessing. The solution is not go back to some rose tinted vision of the middle ages but to go forward using the best of our knowledge of the past to make the best future we can for our grandchildren. This ties with climate change, the environmental agenda, the occupy movement even the Arab spring, all are about wanting a better world tomorrow. The world has suddenly become truly global as we individuals can communicate directly, memes become more important than genes, lets spread the meme of real craft utopianism.

Comment on Craft and utopianism by Mila(da) Burcikova

Mila(da) Burcikova — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:53:28 +0000

Thanks, Stephen. I dare to say many at this forum (me including) do undoubtedly share your “wishful thinking”. Yes, we are still fighting the very same battle that made William Morris become a man of many compromises. Is there, however, a light at the end of the tunnel in prospering small businesses like this – Ruskin inspired – one: http://www.untothislast.co.uk/index.html ?

Comment on Craft and utopianism by Stephen Swindells

Stephen Swindells — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 21:28:06 +0000

Hello Mila, I agree I think my comments are more wishful than a reality, in current climate I don’t see how local craft manufacture can compete against the might of global production and economies. I’m not an expert here so only expressing some thoughts but I do think local craft manufacture can reduce alienation and bring one into a sense of community and place by working alongside and with others. The coal mining communities I’ve been looking at recently seemed to have this interdependency on each other, above and below ground, that all trades and crafts jigsaw into each other, and (this might be pushing it too far) seemed to have respect for this interdependency. These thoughts do bring me back to something Simmel and the Frankfurt School were touching upon, and yes an economist view would be interesting on this.

Comment on Craft and utopianism by Mila(da) Burcikova

Mila(da) Burcikova — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:04:10 +0000

Stephen, thanks again for an inspiring comment. I would be very interested to know more about your thinking on this. Do you believe the comeback of local manufacturing and small specialised industries could really prepare a way to revive struggling economies, or is it (just) a wishful attempt to gain independence from these, creating of a world within a world? What role does nostalgia for good times past play in the emerging desire to know your butcher or in the fascination by the sight of your local dressmaker sewing at her/his house window? Are we finally building a ‘new and better world’ here or only tilting at windmills again? A view of an economist would be rather interesting too, perhaps.

Comment on Craft and utopianism by Mila(da) Burcikova

Mila(da) Burcikova — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:47:37 +0000

Thank you very much, Cate, Tanya and Stephen. A couple more posts on this topic shall follow in some next weeks, so it would be a great pleasure to see you back and hear your thoughts.

Comment on Craft and utopianism by Stephen Swindells

Stephen Swindells — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:27:27 +0000

Yes, beautifully written, congratulations! The relationship between craft and utopia is interesting in current times, particularly as their appears a desire for local manufacturing and small specialised industries to revive struggling economies. I’m interested in how the notion of local or regional crafts might be understood as a material expression of contemporary citizenship, where ideas and practices of craft may provide a common bond.