Hi Dewi...I'm still finding this a very confusing concept and maybe it doesn't matter! Maybe we could deliberate about this for hours, but when we exhibit our work, either in shops or in galleries, is the belief of 'Jo Public' just as important - he or she is just as likely to call it craftwork.
OK...I'm playing devil's advocate. Of course there's a difference, and at some point the work of the artisan becomes the work of the artist! No sane-minded person could argue that Binh Pho's work is anything but art, and fine art to boot, whether that's with an upper- or lower-case 'F'. When a local artist appraised my 'Steampunk Vase' he told me to take it to a gallery because it should be sold as a piece of art, not as a piece of woodturning. We argued about whether or not it could be both. After all, it was just plain woodturning up to the time when I started adding the silver and the stone, so why should it loose the word 'woodturning' from its description?
I'm beginning to understand the importance of woodturning as a basis for applied art and it's come as a bit of a shock that I've been such a Philistine in the past, believing that it didn't matter what was under the surface - would it have made any difference if Binh Pho had applied his colours to a plastic vase? Of course it would! Binh Pho has created the shape and engineered it to fit his needs. Those of us who turn, and those members of the public who have some feeling for the skills of the turner, will further appreciate Pho's work in the knowledge that he creates the whole piece.
We have been treated to some fine examples lately, by Tony and Diane, of collaborative art-work. There is often just as much 'art' in the form that Tony creates as there is in Diane's work as she applies her finishes to the shapes. This then poses another question. Tony tells us that Diane designs the shape that Tony turns for her, so, if Diane's input ended there, would her work be art? Can the designer who perceives such shapes, but does not turn the concept of the shape into the reality of the finished piece, earn the title 'artist'?
In summary, my opinion is that some of our work is art. Much of what I have seen in the gallery is applied art and just occasionally we break through into the field of fine art.
Les
