back issue

In his book Thinking Through Craft (2007), the Victoria and Albert Museum's Glenn Adamson argues that craft in the twentieth century functioned as a repository for all that visual art defined itself against, such as amateurism, skill and pastoralism. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, we can now see craft beginning to come out of that closet. In 2001 Ricky Swallow's exhibition at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art introduced 'craft' into Australian visual art as a performative notion. Since then, craft has added a celebrated dimension to many artists' work, including that of Fiona Hall, Maria Fernanda Cardoso and Louise Weaver. The appropriation of knitting into do-it-yourself culture has also provided artists such as Renee So and Kate Just with a new context in which to work. Like a rabbit being swallowed by a python, craft is slowly being absorbed by visual art.

So while craft has been brought into the visual arts mainstream, what role remains for the specialist potters, jewellers, weavers, glass-blowers and woodcarvers? Many hold out in noble pursuit of their craft, but some seek a place in this new order. Others seem to have abandoned the workshop altogether in order to socialise their production, taking on the paradigm of relational art. In this way, the worlds of craft and visual art appear to converge; art seeks to ground itself more firmly in making, while craft divests itself of traditional materials and spaces.

Craft and relational art might seem an uneasy fit. In his manifesto Relational Aesthetics (1998) , for instance, Nicolas Bourriaud decries 'craftsmanship' as a means of excluding audience. But new possibilities can be found in the relational craft of Vipoo Srivilasa ...

Last year artist and curator Aaron Seeto, Director of Sydney's Asia-Australia Arts Centre, Gallery 4A, struck a deal with Srivilasa: he would show his suite of ceramic hands if Srivilasa could think of a way of directly engaging his audience. In response, Srivilasa included a clay exercise for visitors to contribute to an underwater sea of coral reefs and fish. Beyond the gallery, they programmed 'Roop – Rote – Ruang' ('Taste – Touch – Tell') , a series of dinners in the homes of private individuals where Srivilasa would serve Thai food in specially prepared crockery ...

In many ways, Srivilasa's work parallels that of his Thai compatriot Rirkrit Tiravanija, who became famous for Untitled, his 1992 work that transformed a New York art gallery into a restaurant providing free meals for visitors. But while both artists employ the kitchen, the two Thai dinners are quite different. Tiravanija offers meals in a gallery without rules or price. By contrast, Srivilasa's seems a more commodified experience, carefully controlled to focus on the things presented and their cultural context. Where the two artists have since taken their contrasting anarchist and programmed approaches reveals much about the alternative paths of relational art and craft ...

This article appears in excerpted form. You can read the entire article in Art & Australia's Summer 2009 issue.