Is there a difference between art and craft? - Laura Morelli

藝術和工藝是否有所區別？－蘿拉‧莫瑞莉 (Laura Morelli)

譯者: Helen Chang 審譯者: Regina Chu

When you hear the word art,

當你聽到「藝術」這個詞

what comes to mind?

會想到什麼？

A painting, like the Mona Lisa,

一幅畫作？蒙娜麗莎的微笑？

or a famous sculpture or a building?

著名的雕像？或建築？

What about a vase or a quilt or a violin?

那花瓶？拼布？或一把小提琴呢？

Are those things art, too, or are they craft?

那也是藝術嗎？還是工藝呢？

又有什麼分別呢？

And what's the difference anyway?

It turns out that the answer is not so simple.

答案似乎不是這麼簡單。

A spoon or a saddle may be finely wrought,

一支湯匙或一副馬鞍 可能可以精心打造，

while a monument may be, well, uninspired.

而一座紀念碑可能就... 呃... 沒什麼特點。

Just as not every musical instrument is utilitarian,

就像： 不是每件樂器都只重視功能性，

not every painting or statue is made for its own sake.

不是每件畫作或雕像 都只為了自我滿足。

But if it's so tricky to separate art from craft,

但如果這麼難以分辨的話，

then why do we distinguish objects in this way?

我們為何還是要這樣區分呢？

You could say it's the result

你可以說這是來自

of a dramatic historical turn of events.

一個戲劇性歷史事件的結果。

It might seem obvious to us today

今天我們可能很清楚，

to view people, such as da Vinci or Michelangelo,

達文西或米開朗基羅

as legendary artists,

是傳奇性的藝術家，

and, of course, they possessed extraordinary talents,

當然，他們擁有超凡的天份，

but they also happened to live in the right place

但他們也剛好躬逢其盛，

at the right time,

生逢其時，

because shortly before their lifetimes

因為在他們之前的時代，

the concept of artists hardly existed.

幾乎沒有藝術家這個概念。

If you had chanced to step into a medieval European workshop,

若你有機會踏進一間 中世紀的歐洲工坊，

you would have witnessed a similar scene,

你會看到很相似的場景，

no matter whether the place belonged to

那地方不論是屬於

a stonemason, a goldsmith, a hatmaker,

石匠、金匠、製帽人、 或是壁畫師，

or a fresco painter.

石匠、金匠、製帽人、 或是壁畫師，

The master, following a strict set of guild statutes,

師傅們都會遵循一套嚴格的制度，

insured that apprentices and journeymen

確保學徒和職人

worked their way up the ranks

他們的晉升和等級

over many years of practice

是經過多年的練習

and well-defined stages of accomplishment,

並達到明確定義的 階段成果而來，

passing established traditions to the next generation.

並將這樣的多年建立的傳統 代代傳承。

Patrons regarded these makers

統治者將這些工匠 視為一個團體，

collectively rather than individually,

而非單獨的個人，

and their works from Murano glass goblets,

而他們的作品從 義大利手工琉璃高腳杯，

to Flemish lace,

到比利時的手工蕾絲等等，

were valued as symbols of social status,

都有作為社會地位的代表意義，

not only for their beauty,

不僅僅是因為優美而已，

but their adherence to a particular tradition.

也包含他們堅守的傳統。

And the customer who commissioned and paid for the work,

而願意掏錢購買的顧客，

whether it was a fine chair,

不論是一把完美的椅子，

a stone sculpture, a gold necklace,

一座石雕，一件金飾，

or an entire building,

或一整座建築物，

was more likely to get credit

更被視為品味的象徵，

than those who designed or constructed it.

由誰設計或打造的 則並不重要。

It wasn't until around 1400

直到西元 1400 年左右，

that people began to draw a line

人們開始劃分

between art and craft.

藝術品和工藝品的不同。

In Florence, Italy,

在義大利的佛羅倫斯，

a new cultural ideal that would later be called

一個新興的文化理想， 後來被稱作

Renaissance Humanism

文藝復興人文主義，

was beginning to take form.

開始發芽成長。

Florentine intellectuals began to spread the idea

佛羅倫斯的知識份子開始頌揚

of reformulating classical Greek and Roman works,

並重建希臘羅馬的古典作品，

while placing greater value on individual creativity

並強調獨立創造性的價值 高於集體製造。

than collective production.

並強調獨立創造性的價值 高於集體製造。

A few brave painters,

少數的幾位畫家勇於爭取，

who for many centuries,

因為多個世紀以來，

had been paid by the square foot,

畫作價值都是用面積來計算，

successfully petitioned their patrons

終於成功讓他們的金主

to pay them on the basis of merit instead.

願意改以藝術觀點來衡量價值。

Within a single generation,

就在這個時代，

people's attitudes about objects and their makers

人們對物件以及製作者的態度，

would shift dramatically,

有大幅度的改觀。

such that in 1550,

例如西元 1550 年

Giorgio Vasari,

喬爾喬．瓦薩里，

not incidentally a friend of Michelangelo,

（不意外地，是米開朗基羅的友人，）

published an influential book called,

發表了一本深具影響力的書，

"Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects,"

書名為「最成功的畫家、 雕塑家與建築家的生活」，

elevating these types of creators

提昇這些藝術家的地位，

to rock star status by sharing juicy biographical details.

像明星一般，分享他們的 生活細節，讓大家津津樂道。

In the mind of the public,

從大眾的角度看來，

painting, sculpture and architecture

繪畫、雕塑、和建築

were now considered art,

自此被視為藝術，

and their makers creative masterminds: artists.

而擁有大師級靈感，創作出 這些作品的人，則是藝術家。

Meanwhile, those who maintained

同時，那些仍然遵循維持

guild traditions and faithfully produced

師徒傳承制並孜孜不倦地

candelsticks, ceramic vessels,

製作蠟燭、瓷器、

gold jewelery or wrought iron gates,

金飾珠寶，或鍛造華麗的鐵門，

would be known communally as artisans,

這些人則被公認為職人工匠，

and their works considered minor or decorative arts,

而他們的作品則較不受重視， 或是點綴性的裝飾，

connoting an inferior status

可以說是較次等的工作。

and solidifying the distinction

這確立了藝術和工藝的差別，

between art and craft that still persists

對西方世界而言， 直到現在還是如此。

in the Western world.

對西方世界而言， 直到現在還是如此。

So, if we consider a painting

所以，如果我們認為林布蘭 或是畢卡索的畫作是藝術，

by Rembrandt or Picasso art,

所以，如果我們認為林布蘭 或是畢卡索的畫作是藝術，

then where does that leave an African mask?

那麼非洲文化的面具呢？

A Chinese porclein vase?

或是中國的青花瓷呢？

A Navajo rug?

原住民的納瓦霍地毯是藝術嗎？

It turns out that in the history of art,

在藝術史中，

the value placed on innovation

較受重視的是創新，

is the exception rather than the rule.

是打破傳統的例外， 而非遵守規則。

In many cultures of the world,

世界上的很多其他文化中，

the distinction between art and craft

藝術和工藝

has never existed.

其實沒有區別，

In fact, some works that might be considered craft,

事實上，有些作品 可能被認為是工藝，

a Peruvian rug,

秘魯的地毯，

a Ming Dynasty vase,

明朝的花瓶，

a totem pole,

圖騰柱，

are considered the cultures' preeminent visual forms.

都是這些文化中 很卓越的視覺形式創作。

When art historians of the 19th Century

19 世紀的藝術史學家，

saw that the art of some non-Western cultures

看到一些非西方文化的藝術品，

did not change for thousands of years,

經過幾千年之後都沒有改變，

they classified the works as primitive,

他們將這些作品歸類為原始的，

suggesting that their makers were incapable of innovating

以為它們的作者不懂得創新，

and therefore were not really artists.

因此不算是真的藝術家。

What they didn't realize was that

但他們不知道的是，

these makers were not seeking to innovate at all.

這些作者根本不是在尋求創新。

The value of their works lay precisely

這些作品的價值在於

in preserving visual traditions,

保存他們的傳統視覺藝術，

rather than in changing them.

而非去改變它們。

In the last few decades, works such as

最近的幾十年來，

quilts, ceramics and wood carvings

這些拼布、陶瓷和木雕等作品

have become more prominently included

越來越受到重視，已記載到

in art history textbooks

藝術史的教科書中，

and displayed in museums

也在各個博物館展出，

alongside paintings and sculpture.

和繪畫、雕塑平起平坐。

So maybe it's time to dispense with vague terms

所以我們現在或許該拋棄 那些定義模糊的名詞，

like art and craft

藝術品和工藝品，

in favor of a word like visual arts

多用像視覺藝術這些字眼，

that encompasses a wider array of aesthetic production.

用更寬廣的眼光 囊括美學藝術創作。

After all, if our appreciation of objects

畢竟，如果我們欣賞作品

and their makers is so conditioned

和它們的創作者，需要那麼多

by our culture and history,

文化和歷史的限制或界定，

then art and its definition

那麼藝術就真的僅憑主觀了。

are truly in the eye of the beholder.