Saturday, April 26, 2008

Alt-craft vs. Old Guard Craft

I have come across a great discussion about the DIY/alt-craft movement. The discussion began as a response to a presentation that Bruce Metcalf (jeweler and prolific writer of the arts and crafts) and Andrew Wagner (editor-in-chief of American Craft Magazine) gave at the SNAG Conference (society of north american goldsmiths). The discussion is blogged on a website imogene.com,
"imogene is a little family business run by me (annie), steve, and our muse, joey the pit bull bananas. from our little rowhome in baltimore, we communicate directly with the designers featured, maintain this website (designed and built by steve), and ship away all the goodies to you. "
There is a lot of back and forth discussion about this subject some of it pertinent, some unneeded digressions. Both Wagner and Metcalf enter the discussion to further clarify their presentations. Metcalf's speech has been transcribed at posted
Metcalf's Speech


the back and forth is posted here:
Blog posts