Punctuated Equilibria and Indonesian Art

Excerpt

What defines the evolution of craft to an art form? Is it the length of time that a person puts into producing it? Probably not, for the cardboard cathedrals crafted by John Merrick (the Elephant Man) surely equate in time and effort to a typical sculpture; however, one is whimsy and the other is art. Is it an issue of quality, where a refined craft eventually becomes art? The Dürer woodcut, the carved burl, and the samurai sword are of undisputed quality—but art, not necessarily. Is it the level of abstraction or impressionism in figurative expression? If so, we might compare a tourist caricature painter to one of the Dutch masters. Perhaps the closest definition is this: craft is the basic repetition of a learned skill, whereas art suggests creative innovation even if applied to old technology. …