Study Task 3: Visual Analysis Essay

Notes from a theory of craft : functional and aesthetic expression by Howard Risatti

-        Aristotle theory of knowledge – theoria which is theoretical or cognitive knowledge – praxis which is practical knowledge – poiesis which is knowledge involved in making, producing and creating something

-        The designer conceives the idea and a worker realises the design through workmanship – entails a rote process of making

-        Workmanship of certainty – quality is predetermined

-        No workmanship in automated production – workmanship is only when the hand comes into contact with the material

-        Designs are abstractions of things that exist in theory not reality

-        Workmanship is practical manual skill – a person who brings a design to life

-        Craftsmanship combines the abstract and practical aspect – includes the designing and production of something

-        Craftsman conceives and executes an idea

-        The designer does not encounter the physical world of matter – creates an instructional design plan which is notational

-        It is then realized by someone else

-        Workman uses imagination to bring it to life

-        Designers compelled to conceive objects for mass production – design may be original but the results will not be

-        Designers experience becomes divorced from the material and skill used to make the object

-        Machines efficient so the designer makes the design fit these restrictions – don’t understand the qualities of the material – instead focus on what lends itself to machine processes

-        When you experience a handmade object, it is individual reflects the makers autonomy

-        When you experience a machine made object the experience is the same for everyone