All book photos: M ark LaFavor
I D E A S
didn’t understand w h a t th ey
needed to keep. T h a t’s on the
w h o le w h at is happening w ith
this kin d o f w o rk .
S ee , th at’s fascinating.
I thought m aybe th ey didn’t
w a n t to reveal their sources.
T h e re w e re tw o or th ree p e o -
ple w h o said: I don’t w a n t to be
in the b o ok . O K , th at’s fine.
C ertain people can take that
position. B ut this book is, as
a w h o le , a v e ry positive book
th at’s lo o k in g at artists w h o
feel p e rfe ctly h appy w ith this.
T h e y sim ply m ay not have
th ou gh t, “ I need to take e v e ry -
b o d y ’s nam e d o w n .” W h ic h
I hope m ore and m ore people
w ill. I f som eone w o rk s on a
project th ey should have that
recogn ition . In a curious w ay,
I feel this b o o k is a start to a
larger discourse.
F or one o f y o u r Q & A s , you
sp oke to S am A d a m s, an artist
w h o also w o r k s as a fabricator
for oth er artists, including
J e ff K o o n s and R o n i H orn.
Y o u ask i f he w o u ld ever have
som ething m ade for him . H e
sa y s, y e s, in th eo ry, but that
for him , th ere’s a stron g link
b etw een th in k in g and m aking.
Is som ething lost w h e n artists
outsource touch?
It’s ju st a d ifferen t process for
m akin g w o rk . I m ake these
large w o o d sculptures. Y o u ’re
allo w ed to touch th em , and you
have to, o th erw ise you d on ’t
realize the finish on them ,
w h ich is lik e skin. B ut th ere’s a
lot o f labor in volved [in gettin g
to the finishing point] that is
not that interesting. A n d it just
has to be done. S o som etim es,
absolutely, touch is im portant.
It’s ju st not alw ays im portant
that I am m akin g, p u ttin g m y
hand to it at e v e ry stage.
W h a t w o rries m e is this
notion o f the touch o f the art-
ist. T h a t ’s the historical notion
o f the genius, w h ich has led to
this d ysfu n ctio n b e tw e e n “ the
m ak er” and “ the not-m aker,”
b e tw e e n cra ft and fine arts.
j
Michael He
t r y
Several artists told
P etry that their ideas
evo lve in the proecss o f
w o rk in g w ith craftspeo-
ple. “ I so w the seed and
then turn to other p eo-
ple to help g ro w the
crop ,” M aria R o o scn
said. She collaborates
w ith glass b low ers to
produce w o rk s such as
2008’s
Rosar)>
(below ).
She believes the process
helps her ideas mature.
aug/scpii
america craft
105
