But if you make something that’s just “for art’s sake” and beautifully useless, then you’re an artist. The idea is that if you make something that can be useful (a vase or a house, for example) then you’re an artisan. Do only painters and sculptors count as artists ? What about poets and composers?Īnother distinction that’s habitually made is whether or not what you create is functional or not. Collins’ definition of an artist is “someone who draws or paints pictures or creates sculptures as a job or a hobby.” Collins’ list 'of activities that can be described as art is quite conservative. īoth artists and artisans can use their hands to make things. It doesn’t say whether music and sculpture are trades. Merriam-Webster defines an artist as “a person who creates art (such as painting, sculpture, music, or writing) using conscious skill and creative imagination” and an artisan as “a worker who practices a trade or handicraft”. When you look at definitions on the internet, it’s immediately clear that there’s a big overlap between the two concepts. Also I find that there are so many similarities between chiselling a text and carving wood, for example. I use material crafted by others to create something new.

But even when I work alone, I’m not really alone. In my work, I often collaborate with editorial teams. It’s more often a form of collective intelligence. Indeed artisans do share their know-how: transmission is an essential component of craftsmanship. It takes years to hone a valuable craft but it isn’t something inaccessible. It doesn’t apply only to people who make furniture, drapes and pottery, but also to those who create software, write texts or craft spreadsheets.īecause they have precious know-how, artisans can escape the commoditisation of work. The idea is that autonomy, creativity and responsibility are values that can influence the organisation of work in our digital age.

I even wrote a book to argue that the values of craftsmanship are the future of work. For years now I’ve been fascinated by craftsmanship as a concept.

Skilled artisan synonym