Art refers to a diverse range of human activities and artifacts. It has been defined as a vehicle for the expression or communication of
emotions and ideas, a means for exploring and appreciating formal elements for their own sake, and as representation. Leo Tolstoy and Benedetto
Croce advanced the view that art expresses emotions. Art as form has its roots in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, and was developed in the early twentieth
century by Roger Fry and Clive Bell. Art as representation has deep roots in the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. Traditionally the term art was used to
refer to any skill or mastery, a concept which altered during the Romantic period, when art came to be seen as "a special faculty of the human mind to be
classified with religion and science ".Something can be deemed art in totality, or as an element of some object. A painting may be a pure art,
and a chair, though designed to be sat in, may include artistic elements. Art that has a less functional value or intention may be referred to as fine art,
and objects of artistic merit which serve a functional purpose as craft. An object may be characterized by the intentions, or lack thereof, of its creator,
regardless of its apparent purpose. A cup, which ostensibly can be used as a container, may be considered art if intended solely as an ornament, while a
painting may be deemed craft if mass-produced.The most common usage of the word "art," which rose to prominence after 1750, is understood to denote
skill used to produce an aesthetic result. Britannica Online defines it as "the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects,
environments, or experiences that can be shared with others." By any of these definitions of the word, artistic works have existed for almost as long as
humankind: from early pre-historic art to contemporary art.
Fine art refers to arts that are concerned with a limited number of visual and performing art forms, including painting, sculpture, dance, theatre,
architecture and printmaking. Schools, institutes, and other organizations still use the term to indicate a traditional perspective on the art forms,
often implying an association with classic or academic art. Ultimately, the term fine in 'fine art' comes from the concept of final cause, or purpose, or
end, in the philosophy of Aristotle. Confusion often occurs when people mistakenly refer to the Fine Arts but mean the Performing Arts (Music,
Dance, Drama, etc). However, there is some disagreement here, as, for example, at York University, Fine Arts is a faculty that includes the
"traditional" fine arts, design, and the "Performing Arts".
A craft is a skill, especially involving practical arts. It may refer to a trade or particular art.The term is often used as part of a longer word
(and also in the plural). For example, a craft-brother is a fellow worker in a particular trade and a craft-guilds, historically, a guild of workers
in the same trade. A craft fair is an organized event to display crafts by a number of exhibitors. Folk art follows craft traditions, in contrast to fine
art or high art. Handicraft, also known as craftwork or simply craft, is a type of work where useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand
or using only simple tools. Usually the term is applied to traditional means of making goods. The individual artisanship of the items is a paramount
criterion, such items often have cultural and/or religious significance. Items made by mass production or machines are not handicrafts. Usually, what
distinguishes the term handicraft from the frequently used category arts and crafts is a matter of intent: handcrafted items are intended to be used,
worn, et cetera, having a purpose beyond simple decoration. Handicrafts are generally considered more traditional work, created as a necessary part of
daily life, while arts and crafts implies more of a hobby pursuit and a demonstration/perfection of a creative technique. Arts and crafts comprise a whole
host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's own hands and skill. These can be sub-divided into handicrafts or "traditional
crafts" (doing things the old way) and " the rest". Some crafts have been practiced for centuries, while others are modern inventions,
or popularizations of crafts which were originally practiced in a very small geographic area.
Most crafts require a combination of skill, speed, and patience, but they can also be learnt on a more basic level by virtually anyone. Many
community centers and schools run evening or day classes and workshops offering to teach basic craft skills in a short period of time. Many of
these crafts become extremely popular for brief periods of time (a few months, or a few years), spreading rapidly among the crafting
population as everyone emulates the first examples, then their popularity wanes until a later resurgence. The term craft also refers to the products of
artistic production or creation that require a high degree of tacit knowledge, are highly technical, require specialized equipment and/or
facilities to produce, involve manual labor or a blue-collar work ethic, are accessible to the general public and are constructed from materials with
histories that exceed the boundaries of western art history, such as brass, bronze, stone and wood. These products are produced within a specific community
of practice.
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