Dr. Richard Sennett
Dr. Sennett opened the American Craft Council’s Conference, Creating a New Craft Culture today with a lecture based on his seminal work, The Craftsman.
Dr. Sennett spoke of “Craft in Code”, meaning computer code. He says that Linux is craft. Monopolies buy up smaller competitors that squeeze out competitors. Cathedral (overlord) vs. market place/bazaar (individual owners/craftsmen). A bazaar is like a community of craftsman. Wikipedia is a bazaar’s example of using open source to build on the Linux open code that crowd sourced the world’s largest free resource for information.
“The programming community is working on reconciling quality and democracy. Open source programming, like Linux, struggles with quality. Problem solving leads to problem finding.”
Is a craftsman focused on technique? Is that a defining impulse? Craftsmanship is poorly understood when it is only attached to skill.
The head and hand are inextricably linked. Mental capacity is increased through daily practice of a specific task, i.e. painting, drawing, pottery, weaving, basket making, practicing the violin or writing computer code. Manual activities of this sort are highly intelligent. The increase in skill can also lead to an increase in intelligence. *However, a conundrum exists. As the skilled practitioner seeks ever-higher standards of excellence in their craft, perfectionism kills the creative impulse. The killing of creativity that results from an over developed dependence on perfected technique is the demise of a robust interest in “High Craft”. Fetishism arises and the craft community becomes a Cathedral instead of a Bazaar. * (My addition)
Closed knowledge systems have short life spans. Systems where problems are addressed and solved completely before releasing into the wild are like bureaucracies. The desire for “solution” is antithetical to craft, which is process oriented.
He mentions C. Wright Mills that I leave here as a link, although he did not elaborate his thoughts about this germinal thinker’s work.
The following are notes from his talk. Beware; fragmented sentences and thoughts ahead!:
“Work is connected to life. Why does mediocrity dominate over quality? Have standards in society fallen? Social forces are pushing craftsmanship aside. How does capitalism push craftsmanship aside? “The corrosion of character” Why is quality not preferred in the modern world? Nokia and Motorola are craft based enterprises. Modern business world is jealous, competitive owner based. New economy mid-level workers $$ has stagnated and top tier workers $$ has exploded. Rewards for quality in work is diminishing. Delivering quality is less important than delivering results. Culture of business. Related in education to standardized testing. Craft like vs. product?? We don’t reward craftsmanship because we don’t reward quality?? Craftsmanship and the dialectic of the machine. Machine eliminates subjective relationship of user?? NO!! ” (mine)
Machinery removes responsibility of user. We need to develop a new relationship with machines. The use of CAD software in architecture creates a disconnect between making and designing. We use technology to remove ourselves from the process of making. The promise of craftsmanship is political. SLOW DOWN. Product only with out an eye to quality is a capitalist activity.”
Dr. Sennett rambled on a bit although his overarching thesis of craft as a humanizing and important activity is an important idea in our current world. Please add your thoughts in the comments.
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by Whitney Couch on October 20, 2009
I really like David’s ideas about craft. His emphasis on cultivating skill and its importance in society. As well, creating a balance between skill set and creativity, so as not to kill the creativity. However, I have a hard time following his parallel btw. Computer programmers and craftsman. A computer programmer is a highly sought after and well paid skill. While I don’t see our society seeking out the hand made objects. I see consumers preferring the cheaper to the skillfully handmade. Computer Programmers are highly valued in a way that the craftsman is not. I wish that the craftsman were.
by Mary Anne Davis on October 21, 2009
I think Sennett’s parallel between coders and craftspeople is an interesting one. He argues that the coder is inclined to move on quickly from a task, also a quality inherent in business or enterprise, because the product of the coder’s effort is, well, virtual. A craftsperson is stuck in the real world. Coders may need to take a bit of knowledge from craftspeople in order to produce a higher quality virtual product. There is a fast track evolution at hand. I have a feeling craftspeople are at the gate of reverence.