Since this "framebuilders are artists" thread has now died down I can jump in and spread some debate around. Art has been a central part of my life since birth and so I feel my words are important. My credentials are having a off and on professional artist as a mother and a wife finishing her PhD. in Art History, not to mention that I have a very strong photographic background though I did give it up. Anyway, I feel if I add that to 15 years as a bike mechanic and knowing many framebuilders and built a couple of my own bikes I am quite qualified to comment on this debate.
I feel framebuilders are not artists, they are craftspeople. The problem is that since the 60's "craft" has been a dirty word, meaning "hacked together" (the word "amateur" has undergone similar damage). This is false; the term artist has also become intermingled with the term professional. Professional means it's your livelihood or that you make money from it and has nothing to do with art or craft. I'll boil it down, though; the line is not as black-and-white as I present it. "Artists" are people to whom the aesthetic is the important part. People like Jim and Brian who do restoration are "artists" since during restoration "the look" is the important thing. Though they may replace a tube of fill a dent the final appearance is the important aspect of the finished product. Craft puts aesthetics second and function, or design, first. Next you must ask yourself the question would I buy a bike from someone who put looks before design or function, I wouldn't and I think I hear a resounding "no" from the aether. There is nothing wrong with being a craftsperson, and in no way is it less than an artist.
The "what is art?" debate has gone on since the beginning and will go on until the end of art. The favorite exclamation "if I say it's art, it is art" is 100% bull. This is a slippery-slope fallacy and argument since it destroys what it fails to define. If "everything" is art, what is art? A bike can be a work of art but it has little to do with the framebuilder, though most framebuilders do see aesthetics as important, it's not the most important. Within the next few years I will be making the transition to becoming a professional framebuilder, as I've wanted to be since I was 12 years old, but I won't call myself an artist because the design and build of the bikes will be paramount to the way they look. I know some of you are really annoyed right now but this is a subject that I've spent thousands of hours debating with hundreds of people. I'm willing to debate this more and I'm sure I'll debate it with Mitzi when she get's out of bed, but the debate is never over. Art is a very difficult thing to define, but if you don't try define it it becomes nothing. The line between artist and craftsperson is quite grey and "art" is as much about the viewer at it is about the creator. Some would say that "the object" is all about the artist, and others feel it's all about the viewer. So even this part is subject to debate. My words are not the end-all-be-all for art. It is just an attempt at giving the word craftsperson equal weight. In certin academic circles this called "the cult of the artist" vs. "reception theory."
Sorry, I've gotten a little off the track but an understanding of what is art is vital to what makes an artist a craftsperson of visa versa. Again, there is nothing wrong with being a craftsperson and I only seek to show that being and "artist" isn't the pinnacle of creators. Being an artist sits on a plane with craftspeople and other creators. For those that have made it this far and still care, read John Dewey's "Art as Experience" and Daniel Boorstin's "The Creators" to get another view of the topic. If you would like to debate this further please contact me off-list.
enjoy, Brandon"monkeyman"Ives
Brandon and Mitzi's-- "Wurld uv Wunder"
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/
Monkeyman's on going bicycle part garage sale <<<NEW LISTINGS>>>
http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/
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Nobody can do everything,
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-Gil Scott Heron-
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