Out of the Ordinary: Spectacular Craft

I went to see the Out of the Ordinary; Spectacular Craft Exhibition at the V&A a few days ago. I can't state how impressed I was at the level of skill within this exhibition. Furthermore all eight of the artists seemed to offer a different area of expertise; carving, welding, sewing, animation, even modern technologies such as laser etching, which first came to my attention after the October 2007 issue of Creative Review, which had laser etched the structure of a crystal into the black, glossy cover. Another reason why I believe the exhibition struck such a chord was because the artists had mostly used cheap materials, such as nails, paper, thread, dust- all very accessible to the average artist. The artists were also all highly imaginative, which in this modern art industy and artist-as-businessman role can sometimes can be lost. For instance, Susan Collis' work played with the idea of the mundane and familiar with paint-like splatters sewn onto a dust sheet and Yoshihiro Suda's hyper-realistic wooden flowers and weeds.

Susan Collis- 'Craft in my mind, has that 'good' label and that's what draws me to it. To make something look bad, dirty or stained using these processes that are usually deemed to be good and worthy, to jumble up the two.'

Better days (2006)
Dust sheet, embroidery thread

The oyster’s our world (2004)
81.3 x 38 x 58 cm
Wooden stepladder, mother of pearl, shell, coral, fresh water pearl, cultured pearls, white opal, diamond

Untitled, (Rawl plugs), (2007)
Jasper, black onyx, red carnelian, garnet, brown goldstone

Paint job (2004) 160 x 45 cm
Boiler suit, embroidery thread

'Paint Job' is typical of Collis' deceptive work, as the boiler suit initially looks like it has a collection of careless splashes and stains upon the fabric of the worker's overall. However, in fact, these splashes and stains have been meticulously stitched onto the material, replicating the typical accidental and spontaneous marks. Collis, similarly to Suda, also enjoys playfully positioning the works in overlooked areas of an exhibition space, which heightens the likelihood of the viewer misreading the works. The deception within her artworks constantly forces the viewer to recalculate and reconsider the work, which is something the modern day, 'culture vulture' doesn't do.

Yoshihiro Suda- 'Simply, I want to know how detailed I can make it, how real I can make it. This is an old-fashioned way of thinking, to make something so naturalistic that it looks like the original. It is not the fashion now, to observe something and make it very skilfully, the idea itself is very deep. To make this kind of copy, the technique is very important. There are no goals as such, just that I can make it better next time.'

Suda's work was incredible. I often work with a variety of different woods so I can only appreciate and envy the painstaking detail in the work. What I also liked about the Japanese artist is that he chooses native plants commonly found in the city where his work will be exhibited, so his webpage showed a great variety of plants! The idea seems so simple and almost unconsidered yet by placing the plants in unexpected areas of the gallery space, the viewer automatically reads more into the skilful work.

YOSHIHIRO SUDA, Palais de Tokyo, Paris 2004

It is such a shame that craft seems to be so dismissed within the art community and it is for this reason why I try to focus craft elements into my work. I absolutely love the Jerwood Metal and Wood exhibitions, as the artists seem to have such a connection with their materials, which I believe is necessary if the work is going to really promote the concept.