Artist and Craftsman
Many believe that whether or not one is considered an artist or artistic often depends on the medium they use. Musicians are often considered artistic and engineers are not. This is because musicians use traditionally “artistic” mediums and engineers don’t. Contrary to this idea, I’d like to propose that artistry is not defined by the medium used, but instead by the artist’s will to create something new, and achieve self-expression. To illustrate this point I’d like to juxtapose an artist to a craftsman.
The Craftsman
A craftsman is someone who is highly skilled at a particular craft. They develop mastery over their craft and the tools of their trade to reliably produce the desired outcome. For example, carpenters, electricians, and plumbers master a collection of tools that help them solve problems for their customers. In certain professions, individuals are required to become experts in a domain of knowledge so that they themselves become the tool. For example, medical doctors, lawyers, and psychologists. Depending on the craft, some of the tools used by craftsmen are very tangible (carpenters, electricians, and plumbers) and some of the tools are abstract (medical doctors, lawyers, and psychologists), nonetheless the expertise of these professions lies in their ability to manipulate their tools with precision to achieve a specific outcome.
In the final analysis, a craftsman’s work is judged by the end-user on its effectiveness i.e., how the craftsman accomplished the task asked of them. For example, if a carpenter designs a chair that nobody uses, they have failed at their job. Or if a medical doctor treats you, but you’re still suffering the same symptoms, they too have failed at their job. As a result, a craftsman must always prioritize the end-user experience; sometimes, anticipating what the end-user will need and want even before they have articulated it. This makes feedback from the end-user imperative for the craftsmen, as it informs them of what modifications/adjustments are needed to achieve success.
When a customer goes to a craftsman they know exactly what they want and hope the craftsman can help manifest the end they have in mind, e.g., a table or resolution to a legal issue. The craftsman’s expertise is the ability to combine skill and knowledge to recreate a variant of a former solution for their clientele. Consequently, a craftsman is often reproducing a version of something that already exists. Customers have increased confidence in a craftsman the more experience they have with the task asked of them; we’re most at ease when in the care of medical doctors who have cured in other patients the same illness we may be currently experiencing.
Craftsmen are the heroes of day-to-day life and the bedrock to functioning society. The more master craftsmen we can groom, the better. To pass on knowledge from one generation of craftsmen to the next, we need competent institutions and comprehensive apprenticeships. As a result, accreditation is increasingly important (especially early in the craftsman’s career) as it’s what informs the public about the quality of their training.
The necessity of craftsmen cannot be overstated, and though societies need many craftsmen we also need their counterparts — the artists.
The Artist
We most commonly use “artist” to describe people who use traditional artistic mediums to create and express. I’d like to suggest that being an artist has more to do with an approach than it does a medium.
Artists create things for themselves that they see as valid self-expressions. They find the process of self-expression/creation rewarding in and of itself. Like a craftsman, an artist must learn to use a medium to achieve their goals. However, the difference is that, to the artist, the medium is a means that ultimately serves their self-expression. As a result, an artist will use any suitable medium. This is evident in artists like Michaelangelo, Andy Warhol, and Kanye West who’ve felt the need to express themselves through a variety of mediums. An artist might use traditional artistic mediums, such as music, poetry, and painting but can also use things we don’t often consider to be artistic mediums, such as engineering or comedy. Without a medium, an artist will render themselves latent — carrying a strong desire to create but no practiced means of self-expression. To prevent this stifling, artists need to either master a medium (i.e. Picasso) or surround themselves with craftsmen who can help manifest their vision (i.e Steve Jobs).
The artist’s thought process is something along the lines of “how can I create something that I think is perfect” and the mediums are means to that end. An artist focuses on what they want to create — not what anyone else wants them to create. This commitment to their self-expression catalyzes their creativity. This creativity can be compromised if the artist focuses too much on the feedback of others, as they’ll find themselves trying to create things that others like instead of work that is authentic to the artist.
How artists judge their work is largely what distinguishes them from craftsmen. In the final analysis, the ultimate judge of an artist’s work is the artist themselves. They judge whether or not the final product captures what they wanted it to. As a result, accreditation is less important to the artist than it is the craftsmen because the artists ultimately are serving themselves. To reference the previous example, whether or not a doctor thinks they did a perfect job is irrelevant — what matters is that the patient isn’t suffering from their symptoms. Now if an artist finishes a poem and says, I’ve written the perfect poem, that is fine because the poem was created for the artist and therefore they are the final judge.
Given how subjective the work of artists is, most creative endeavors don’t find commercial success and most artists are not economically successful. Occasionally an artist will create something that resonates with many people, which leads to commercial success. In these instances, fame and success are unintended consequences of the artist’s work, not its priority.
Comparing Craftsman and Artist
Craftsmen are oftentimes confused for artists, and counter-intuitively, most of the time when we think we’re looking for an artist we are actually looking for craftsmen who are using traditional artistic mediums. This confusion is easily seen with classical musicians: we often listen to classical musicians who play songs that already exist. The task of these musicians is to use their instrument as a tool to reproduce the song as close to the original as possible. For example, when one goes to listen to a choir sing Christmas hymns during the holiday season, they’re generally not looking to find something new, but rather a variant of the songs they’ve come to enjoy. Artists can also be confused for craftsmen. For example, an artist can become so concerned with commercial success that they abandon self-expression in favor of catering to a particular audience. That being said, there is room for self-expression in a craftsman’s work, it’s just not of primary concern, whereas for the artist it is.
The lines can be blurry when trying to distinguish whether a final product was the work of a craftsman or an artist. When evaluating one’s work, most of the time all we have left to judge is the final product, not the process. And the final product will almost always be judged on its craftsmanship. Therefore even artists are judged on their craftsmanship, but this isn’t the only measure by which artists judge themselves.
The key question for the craftsmen is “does this work for my audience?” The key question for the artist is “what do I want to convey/express.” Craftsmen are committed to the medium, not to self-expression. Artists are committed to their self-expression, not the medium. A great craftsman creates exactly what you wanted. A great artist creates things that you didn’t know you wanted. When we compliment someone on their craftsmanship, we’re complimenting them on the precision of their work. When we compliment an artist, we’re complimenting how well they’ve captured a sentiment we can relate to.
To recap, what makes one a craftsman or an artist is not the medium they use, but how they approach their work. If you build it for others, you’re a craftsman. If you build it for yourself, you’re an artist. In light of this, there are musicians who are not artistic and engineers who are. And similarly, in any group of painters, you’ll likely find both craftsmen and artists.
To maximize our talents, it’s in our best interest to identify whether our individual proclivities lean toward craftsmanship or artistry. Awareness of our proclivities allows us to 1) better appreciate people for their talents and 2) help us find others who complement our skillsets. The world needs both great craftsmen and great artists; the combination of both approaches is the making for an excellent final product.
Notes
- There are certainly other ways that people define art and artistry, but for the sake of this essay, I want to argue against this particular view.
- I don’t think all art is equal and I do believe there is a distinction between artist and standards of art, but that’s a conversation for another day.
- The task of many fine artists in the past was to use their skills as tools to reproduce a visual reality as close to the original as possible.
- Founders who start companies are often artists. Executives at long-standing companies are often craftsmen.
Thanks to Alejandra Castillo, Clifford Allen, Ivan Ruiz-Knott, Josh Faehner, and Reginald Desrosiers for reading drafts of this.
