Contemporary Crafts

(Paperback)

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Description

Contemporary Crafts explores craft practices in both North America and Britain, revealing an astonishingly rich and diverse picture of artisanal work today.

The book ranges across both urban and rural crafts and analyses how the country/city dichotomy creates differing approaches, practices and objects. Analysed in the context of their environment and its localised history, crafted objects are shown to embody or critique particular urban/rural myths and traditions.

Covering both traditional and cutting-edge crafts from the small-scale domestic to large outdoor works, Contemporary Crafts demonstrates how craftspeople today are responding to the changing creative contexts of culture and history.

Reviews

The author's knowledge of contemporary and recent makers is impressive and readers are likely to come across objects which are both fascinating and unfamiliar. * The Journal of William Morris *
The authors knowledge of contemporary and recent makers is impressive and readers are likely to come across objects which are both fascinating and unfamiliar ... The writing is lively and erudite. An enthusiasm for the subject and a conviction that contemporary craft is both significant and beneficial pervades the book allowing Racz to claim that craft is arguably now more important than at any time since the industrial revolution. -- Jim Cheshire, University of Lincoln, UK * The Journal of William Morris Studies *
Imogen Raczs book, Contemporary Crafts, offers an interesting and rounded discussion of most of the issues and ideas that have concerned us over the last period ... This is a good, terse and useful volume. -- Paul Greenhalgh, Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art and Design, USA * Journal of Design History (Vol 22.4) *

Author Bio

Dr Imogen Racz is Senior Lecturer at Coventry University, England, teaching contextual studies across the fine and applied arts.