Anthony Bourdain says that "a good cook is a craftsman - not an artist." He draws a stark distinction between the two. He says that a cook's work suffers when they start to think of themselves as an artist instead of as a craft practitioner.
"Line cooking", Bourdain says, "is...about consistency, about mindless, unvarying repetition, the same series of tasks performed over and over and over again in exactly the same way". The magic isn't what sits finished on the plate, but everything it took to get it there. The discipline, the iteration, the prowess, the mastery. The unconscious choreography. The economy of motion. The religion of mise en place and the meditative monotony. The thing crafted is always second to the crafting.
I can't help but wonder if it's a distinction that we creatives need. The realisation that we are makers before we are artists. That we are first and foremost craftspeople. The 'art' is in the regimented practice of a craft. In the 'how' of the making not in the 'what' of the made. That it is not in our job description to create a masterpiece, nor to be precious about anything, but instead to show up and do the work, again and again and again. With consistency, commitment, precision, and skill. Endlessly. "Practicing your craft", Bourdain says, "in expert fashion is noble, honorable, and satisfying." The discipline is the goal.
P.S. - ICAD Day 27-30
P.P.S. - Since making the A4 collage that I showed you earlier this week. I’ve been making more attempts to scale up my work. Like this one here. Let me know what you think.
There’s an ageless debate around Art vs Craft and I think it ends up simply creating labels and structures where there don’t need to be any.
There’s a similar schism between Artist and Designer that rages in some circles.
Artists have to inherently be craftspeople but each artist’s craft can vary wildly and one artist’s established mise en place is another’s version of chaos.
So I think it is valuable to understand that art making and the artifacts of that process (the work) are unique elements but they exist as part of a broader understanding of art and artist.
Love the work! Be well.