Unit Two

Lesson Four

Craft

While art is considered intuitive and visionary, craft is seen to be a practical application of certain skills for producing objects of everyday use that are often beautiful to look at, such as pottery, metal and wood work, cane and bamboo items, jewelry, musical instruments like ektara, dhol or flute and textile items. People who practice a craft are called crafts persons or artisans who pick up their skills under the guidance of older and more experienced artisans. The training they receive is thus on-the-job, and artisans often come from the same family.

Bangladesh has a rich tradition of craft as the country has been, until very recently, dependent on agriculture, and most people lived in villages. Rural communities relied on artisans to supply them with necessary household items. But communities also needed objects to help them with social occasions such as weddings, religious rituals, festivals and personal use. They also needed items for use in trade and commerce. Craftworks thus range from winnowing baskets to clay oil lamps, from hand held fans to metal coins. As artisans worked with their hands to produce domestic and decorative objects, these came to be known as handicrafts.

An artwork bears the signature of its creator, and the value of a painting, graphic art or sculpture depends on the stature of the artist. No such thing happens in case of craftwork. The maker of a terracotta doll or a shatranji (cotton floor mat) remains anonymous but the work retains a personal touch. When we look at a thirty year old nakshikantha we wonder at its motifs and designs that point to the artistic talent of its maker. The fact that we don’t know her name or any other details about her doesn’t take anything away from our appreciation of the maker’s skill. Indeed, the intimate nature of the kantha and the tactile feeling it generates animate the work and make it very inviting.

A craftwork is a dynamic object–always evolving and always abreast of changing tastes and needs. Changes in lifestyle and material conditions have an impact on craftworks and their production. But certain forms, motifs, styles and aesthetic preferences change little over time, suggesting that a craftwork can function as a stable signifier of community values and preferences over time.

Essential Vocabularies

Word	Bangla Meaning	Synonym	Antonym
Intuitive	স্বজ্ঞাত / প্রবৃত্তিগত	Instinctive, Spontaneous	Calculated, Reasoned
Visionary	স্বপ্নদর্শী	Imaginative, Creative	Practical, Mundane
Artisan	কারিগর	Craftsperson, Maker	Unskilled laborer
Domestic	গৃহস্থালী	Household, Familial	Public, Industrial
Anonymous	নামহীন	Unnamed, Unknown	Named, Famous
Tactile	স্পর্শগ্রাহ্য	Tangible, Palpable	Intangible, Abstract
Motif	নকশা	Pattern, Design	Plainness
Dynamic	গতিশীল	Active, Evolving	Static, Stagnant
Abreast	অবহিত / আপ-টু-ডেট	Up-to-date, Informed	Unaware, Outdated
Aesthetic	নান্দনিক	Artistic, Beautiful	Unattractive, Ugly
Signifier	নির্দেশক	Symbol, Indicator	N/A
Intimate	ঘনিষ্ঠ	Close, Personal	Distant, Formal

Part B: More Difficult / Critical Thinking Questions

15. By saying craftwork functions as a "stable signifier of community values," the author implies that:

a) Craftworks are used as currency in the community.

b) Craftworks are rigid and never change at all.

c) Certain aesthetic preferences in crafts reflect the enduring values of the people.

d) The community values money more than art.