artist vs designer
Out of context: Reply #59
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Great thread. Some excellent points made. This is a subject dear to my heart so I'll just rant for a couple of paragraphs.
The idea of art and design as two seperate disciplines is very much a modern concept. Consider the origins of the word 'art'; it comes from the latin 'ars' which origionally meant 'craft'. This is where we get the word 'artisan' or 'craftsman'.
I believe that the split between art and design dates back to the end of the renaissance. It is then that we see the artistic cult of personality really start to develop, so we hear about the names of artists rather than the names of workshops, guilds or towns identified with a particular piece or style of work. Before Da Vinci and Michelangelo, painting, sculpture etc. were considered trades much like weaving or masonry.
'Art' was usually a collective enterprise and the master craftsman was rarely even involved in the actual hands-on production. Instead he acted like an overseer and manager (like the art directors or project managers of today). Products were rarely signed by an individual; they were usually stamped with a guildmark, a family crest or the coat of arms of the town in which it was made. In these days of Gucci and Warhol you certainly don't see that kind of humility.
From an historical point of view, I suppose 'art' as we understand it is really a product of the humanist movement, a philosophy that tended to prioritize the individual over the community and self-expression over collective perception. In this sense, one could say that 'design' is much older (and perhaps more mature) than 'art'. Design tends to be practical because it seeks to aesthetically enhance an object that already has a functional purpose (like clothes, toasters, literature or architecture). It also (usually) seeks a more general appeal.
Art, on the other hand, is pure aesthetics and (I'm sorry to say) serves no practical purpose other than self-expression, beautification or (at worst) propaganda.
Don't get me wrong, I love art. I do, however, believe that contemporary artists have tended to divorce themsleves from their roots (design) and have therefore lost their raison d'etre. The Arts and Crafts Movement (Morris and Ruskin) and the Bauhaus movement tried to remedy this trend decades ago by reconciling the two. Now in the 21st century we are seeing a kind of 'hand-made' post-modern folkart style becoming fashionable (a throw back to hippyism?).
I hope these trends catch on because I think both art and design need desparately to kiss and make up for the sake of our culture.