Craftsmanship: a socio-economic study of material culture in New Zealand

Abstract

The principle focus of this study is the work of the individual skilled craftsman in its social and economic context. A wide range of craftsmen were interviewed and many workshops and retail outlets visited. All the established organisations of craftsmen in New Zealand were examined and a sample of maraes studied. This information forms a major basis of the research, together with an extensive review of historical and contemporary literature concerned with the formative influences on contemporary craftsmanship in New Zealand. Contrary to popular belief that New Zealand, as a 'young country' lacks a tradition, the influences upon the development of craftsmanship are deeply rooted in a wide range of traditional, historical and contemporary influences. These are examined and documented. Similarly the cultural interface between the fine arts and crafts is studied, as is the distinction between the functional, domestic tradition and the decorative, aesthetic forms in crafts. Craftsmanship is then examined as a dominant element in the aesthetic of our material culture, both Maori and pakeha, and then delineated in some detail as a source and focus of significant and integrative forms of both social and economic organisation. The social organisation of crafts has been achieved essentially through institutionalisation. This study looks at the medieval guild model in New Zealand - the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute - plus the national associations including the Crafts Council of New Zealand, Society of Potters, and the Spinning, Weaving and Woolcrafts Society. The widespread and serious participation in the crafts is of vital significance socially and New Zealand supports a great number of craftsmen in proportion to the population. It is seen in this study that professional craftsmen and craft teachers are largely responsible for this recent development. Seven differing production levels of craft and craftsmanship are identified in the New Zealand context and they influence the quality and character of the articles produced: the non-functional aesthetic artist-craftsman; the individual craftsman; the commercial craftsman; the educational-leisure ethos; the therapeutic-occupational therapy approach; the ethnic-cultural ideal and the craftsman as industrial designer. This categorisation achieves an analytical perspective on the degree of occupational specialisation and of professionalisation amongst craftsmen. The study reveals that the selling of the crafts produced is an integral part of the craftsman's work, and forward linkages prevail in the crafts for the reason they are economic and their value lies in exchange. The economic organisation of crafts revolves about the framework of craft distribution. Six categories are identified in New Zealand. The marketing and selling occurs through: crafts shops, galleries, individual private studios, craftsmarkets and centres; co-operatively run markets; and rural crafts centres. These categories of craft distribution are related to the different levels of craft production. This study also reveals that crafts participation is essentially an environment of non-structured time and that time becomes immaterial in the end, in terms of the craft's money worth. The pursuit of crafts is carried out for two reasons: pleasure and use. The pleasure is normally associated with the creation of craft. If the craft is admired by others, it may become property for exchange and a means of earning. This creates two divisions in the field: craft for pleasure and leisure; craft as work and money. Thus craft participation becomes either an end in itself or a means to an end. The thesis concludes with a consideration of the position of the individual craftsman in the culture, society and economy of New Zealand today.