ADDED VALUE CRAFTWORK
Craftwork was originally and essentially based on a culture of form
and its relations with function which left a considerable degree
of room for initiative, taste and the syntheses and personal variations
of the operator who was, at one and the same time, both the designer
and producer of his objects. Every object, made individually, constituted
an "exemplar" and had, even in specialising cultures,
production groups which for centuries (or, as in Japan, for thousands
of years) reproduced objects with the same form, distinguished from
other objects only in their specific details. Form was also determined
by the manual nature of the production process, ince the human hand
worked on it according to the ability, knowledge and talents of
the individuaI, making every object, in a certain sense, a "one-off",
and leading the purchaser to make a choice, an evaluation of quality,
a comparison.
Nowadays one can say that the specific connotations of craftwork,
regardless of the dimension of the company, can be indicated; in
summary form, in the following attributes: the use of special techniques
that require manual intervention; direct controI, on the part of
the operator of the entire process from design through to the final
product; adaptation to individuaI needs and requirements; "craft
quality" which exalts the concept of "handmade" and
"made to measure". It has been said that craftwork is
the master of the entire production process, even if it is able
to break it down and intervene in the control and modification of
the various operations, right up to the final determination of the
product. One can therefore define a typical "craft" product
as such if is made using a technical procedure that recomposes the
individuaI operational moments within a single project and executive
scheme. Today there is what has been defined as "new craftwork",
complementary to industriaI production. This enjoys administrative
and commerciaI autonomy only in part, since the latter depend on
the manufacturing company using the expertise of the craft workshop.
The new craftwork can use both traditional tools and highly modern
sophisticated machinery, together with traditional materials, such
as wood or straw and the very latest experimental materials, such
as plastics, new fabrics, new paints, glues, etc. This "new
craftwork" is today viewed with great interest by industry,
which tends to differentiate operational possibilities through "small
series" that can reflect variations in demand and also, given
the high cost of the work involved, maximise the automation of its
mechanical processes, recovering human creativity in the programming
and control phases. This also perhaps explains the fascination of
the craft object - derived as it is from work that has passed through
the hands of someone who has left his mark on it; i.e. the fascination
of what has been created as a "unique piece" since, as
Baudrillard has noted, "the creative moment is unique".
In industry the "perfection of the process" prevails with
respect to the programme i.e. the constancy of "quantity".
In craftwork, on the other hand, there is a prevalence of "perfection
of the product" with respect to the model i.e. the constancy
of "quality". In industry progress is often synonymous
with purchasing, from the outside, and prior to the start of production
i.e. a search for inventions which can then be introduced into the
process to improve performance. In craftwork, on the other hand,
progress can also mean an accumulation of the experience of operators
which can be transmitted, for example, from father to son, or from
master to apprentice, in a direct and global way. With regard to
the role of design, there are no significant differences between
operating in industriaI production or craft type production. What
is important is the fact that, in the current production situation,
design assumes an essential role in what is defined as "new
craftwork" i.e. that type of production that precedes the industrial
phase and which is, in essence, an integral part of it e.g. the
design and production of prototypes, masters, models etc. This integration,
therefore, of two operational modes traditionally and apparent!y
distant from each other today provides, for the designer an array
of intervention possibilities involving new and complex skills and
aptitudes, together with the possibility of interesting new creative
and technological directions.
In other words, there is a move towards the inclusion of the authentic
with values shifting, tendentially, towards modalities of object
fruition rather than being codified in the objects
themselves. The craft component of an object is fundamental: services
and technologies, value of use, design, creativity.
Craftwork is also the distinctive and unifying element for the new
millennium: however much it is conditioned by the economic dynamics
and globalisation of the markets, it is, and will probably remain,
a compartment of high value products. The production of so-called
luxury products will continue to be carried out in countries with
high production costs due to problems related to know-how quality
and the ability of the work force. Luxury
becomes synonymous with a perfect mix of comfort and functionality,
but also of art and elegance, in a continuaI search for an equilibrium
between desire for fashion and the need to express ones identity.
Life
styles are no longer a symbol of 'status' but are suggested, rather
than displayed, through other socialising channels such as for example:
travel souvenirs, furnishing accessories, cultural expenditures,
education and modes of behaviour. Craftwork and quality of details
are at one and the same time the distinctive and unitying elements
of new concepts for the home. Although this sector too is conditioned
by the dynamics of high finance and the globalisation of the markets,
it remains, and will probably continue to remain, a sector in which
products will tend to have high craftwork or at least semi-craftwork
content.
