How can craft influence our relationship with objects?
A research work about crafts/wo/menship and societies connection to objects.
A project looking into our relationships with the material world and how craft can increase our understanding of what we consume. All this through the Lens of the multi talented Bob Casemir.
Our world has become complicated. The increasing industrialisation and technological advances have turned our planet into a man-made environment. This might imply that humans are in control of their surroundings and understand the world built around them. However, we believe that this is not true for the majority of the world‘s population. People feel alienated in today‘s society. We consume products without knowing how they are made, why they work, or what technological achievements preceded them; we use systems and are affected by them without the faintest idea of how they function. The truth is that most people can not comprehend today‘s complex world because we can only see the tip of the iceberg it has become. The most complex, seemingly endless part of this iceberg lies underwater, hidden from view beneath a wild and ever-changing current of immaculate surfaces, user interfaces, and advertising.
How can we counter this trend of increasing detachment from our material world? The world of craft seems to be the polar opposite of our modern society, representing a world of hand tools, deep knowledge of materials, and the skills necessary to design and create an object from start to finish.
Does craft have the ability to reconnect us with our industrialised world? According to Richard Sennett, craft possesses the unique capability of teaching us something about our environment; he believes that the “[...] dialogue of the maker with the tools and the material is a constant process of learning, of trying out new and better ways to handle our environment."
We want to explore how craft can influence our relationship with our objects and surroundings. Our goal is to answer our main research question: “How can the appreciation for objects increase through creating?“To achieve this, we will examine the life of a craftsman and his relationship with objects and perception of our world.