IB Philosophy 2.2.1 the Artist Notes

Artist and Craftsperson

1. The sub-theme of The Artist and the Artistic Process (2.2) shifts the focus of Unit 2 from the nature of art itself (explored in 2.1) to the person who creates it. This topic asks three interconnected questions: what distinguishes an artist from a craftsperson, whether the concept of "the artist" is culturally specific, and whether all human beings possess artistic capacity.
2. The IB syllabus asks: ‘Is there a difference between an artist and a craftsperson?’ This question connects directly to Collingwood’s distinction between art proper and craft (examined in 2.1.1): craft follows a predetermined plan, while art involves an exploratory process whose outcome is discovered through creation itself.
3. On this view, a craftsperson knows what they want to make before they begin, while an artist begins with an unclear impulse and clarifies it through the act of making. The artistic process is one of discovery, not execution.
4. However, this distinction has been challenged: many artists work with careful plans (architects, filmmakers), while many craftspeople exercise considerable creative judgement (a master potter adapting to the clay). The boundary may be a matter of degree rather than kind.
5. However, this distinction has been challenged from multiple directions. Many artists work with careful plans (architects, filmmakers, composers working to commission), while many craftspeople exercise considerable creative judgement (a master potter adapting to the clay, a weaver improvising patterns).
6. The boundary between art and craft may be a matter of degree rather than kind.
7. William Morris, the nineteenth-century designer and social reformer, rejected the art-craft distinction entirely. Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement argued that separating "fine art" from craft was a product of industrial capitalism that degraded both: it elevated the artist to a romantic genius while reducing the craftsperson to a mere labourer.
8. Morris advocated reuniting art and craft in meaningful, beautiful work.
9. If Morris is right, then the question 'Is there a difference between an artist and a craftsperson?' is itself a product of a particular economic system rather than a genuine philosophical distinction.
10. Dissolving the boundary means that the village weaver and the gallery painter are equally 'artists', a conclusion that challenges the assumption that making art requires formal training or a particular social role.
11. In many non-Western traditions, the distinction between art and craft does not exist in the same way. Japanese mingei (folk craft) philosophy, developed by Yanagi Soetsu, celebrates the beauty of everyday objects made by anonymous craftspeople.
12. In this tradition, the greatest beauty emerges not from individual genius but from communal practice and the discipline of traditional forms. Yanagi argued that the individual ego is the enemy of beauty: the self-conscious artist who strives for originality produces work that is merely clever, while the anonymous craftsperson, absorbed in traditional forms and freed from personal ambition, allows beauty to emerge naturally.

Non-Western Traditions and the Dissolution of the Distinction

1. This view draws on Zen Buddhist aesthetics, a Japanese philosophical tradition where simplicity and self-forgetting (putting aside your ego) are seen as the highest paths to genuine artistic achievement.
2. Here, the artist is defined not by physical skill but by the idea, the concept behind the work. This leads to a striking conclusion: if the idea is the artwork, then technical skill is not enough to make you an artist, and you do not need technical skill to be one.
3. A person who cannot draw, paint, or sculpt can be a great artist if their concepts are powerful enough, while a technically brilliant painter who merely executes others' ideas is a craftsperson, not an artist.
4. The contemporary art world has further blurred the boundary between art and craft.
5. Conceptual artists such as Sol LeWitt create works where the idea is the art and the physical execution can be carried out by anyone. LeWitt famously stated: "The idea becomes a machine that makes the art."
6. Conversely, movements such as hyperrealism and the resurgence of traditional atelier training reassert the importance of technical mastery in defining the artist. On this view, the artist is distinguished by exceptional skill, and the decline of craft in contemporary art represents a loss of standards rather than a liberation.
7. The question also has economic and social dimensions. In many societies, artists enjoy higher social status and economic rewards than craftspeople, even when the skill required for craft is equal or greater.
8. This status hierarchy reflects cultural values about originality versus tradition and individual expression versus functional service.
9. For IB students, the artist-craftsperson question is best approached by examining specific cases rather than seeking a universal answer. A calligrapher, a tattoo artist, a street muralist, and a gallery sculptor all create visual works, but their relationship to the art-craft distinction varies depending on cultural context, training, and intention.