Folk Art
I've been thinking about this a bit as I came across this link http://www.tramp-art.com/folk_marquetry.htm . I'm not really sure whether there is a difference between Outsider art, folk art, tramp art or other definitions. I do think marquetry and this project have a relationship to it on several levels. Any amatuer craft could be deemed 'folk Art' I suppose although I wouldn't necessarily want to attach this label here. I do think a lack of artistic training can be used legitimately to differentiate artists but again that isn't that important really? How one approaches the craft and why is.
If a surge in craft movements was borne out of increasing Urbanisation and industrialisation this reaction is interesting. Artistic rules, academic traditions and aesthetics, would be progressing at an equally rapid rate, a rejection of which would automatically leave makers 'outside' of the progressive arts. A return to nature on the face of it denys the urban and the mechanisation of the industrial age.
There are inconsistencies though. Marquetry really draws on a global resource with materials originating from all over the world. Global development can be see to expand upon the craft with the introduction of all kinds of exotic materials for the artist to work with. In a way more than other art forms marquetry makes global connections in a way others don't. An accessible craft which potentially allows anyone the privilege of working with an enormous range of natural yet unfamiliar materials. I think this is worth thinking about.
Another thing that the lack of a formal training allows is more creative freedom. In understanding how those involved with marquetry work it is a lot of the time about the discovery of new techniques and methods. These can be shared and developed by others and I think it is this is what makes something like marquetry so interesting for those involved. There is a gentleman in the Staffordshire group who converted a sewing machine to cut veneer- a sort of concocted fret saw- this demonstrates wonderful creativity and invention which is what for me essentially defines so called 'folk Art'
Collection of woody vocabulary and a literary reference
Lots of wonderful words and phrases jump out of thinking around wood. I mentioned the veneer metaphor before but more than this many words connect to trees and wood in their origins. i’ll compile a little list…
Snedding, Barking, Snigged
Tug, Twigged, branching out, borker, janker, stumped,
Apparently Evelyn Waughs writing can be linked to marquetry, his interest in the craft being reflected in his intricately inlaid sub plots!
Paper Cuts
One of the things Marquetry seems more akin to at the moment is the Art of paper cuts. This seems to have become quite trendy recently with Artists like Peter Callesen, Richard Sweeney and Jen Stark. The fragility of the material and the actual ‘cut’ itself as the critical action. Both techniques require precision and a slip of the blade could cause an irreversible error.
Peter Callesen particularly makes some interesting work both pictorial and sculptural. The varying scale in this work jumps from the standard A4 sheet to massive installations, the material proving no obstacle for the ideas. I saw the fairytale castle that the artist made in the ‘Art and Enchanment’ exhibition that toured to Walsall earlier this year. There wasn’t much I found enchanting about the exhibition but I did enjoy the castle, cut and constructed from an enourmous sheet of paper, the cuts and holes exposed revealing the process of its construction.
Infact discarded pieces of veneer that have had pieces removed for pictures are fascinating to me. Perfect shapes hover in the middle of a carefully selected sheet, having provided a piece for a picture these incomplete sheets lie in wait for the next time they may be of use.
There are endless connections between paper and veneer- obviously products of wood. Also historically and culturally both among the most accessible and familiar of primitive art materials. Papercutting has its origins in East Asia- China and Japan where the craft is still very important- and reading of it’s rural origins is interesting- like work with wood it has developed within the countryside and developed in a more sophisticated manner, transferred to the workshop as a higher form of art.
Play with Parquetry
Parquetry is the use of geometric design in marquetry. Games boards and furniture typically finding use for the technique. I like the simplicity of making up chequered sheets. Slicing straight edges and worrying less about the holes in between joins.
I’ve tried to play about with this considering geometry in nature, using the monkey puzzle branch which is a beautiful object in itself.
Notes about the woodworker
I’ve been trying in my mind to get to grips with wood and began to read ‘Woodland Crafts in Britain’ by Herbert Eldin. Putting into context the cultural importance wood Eldin outlines how many industries have unquestionably relied on wood and woodworkers over the centuries. This is sort of aside from a central discussion of marquetry but something I think is really important. As links to the countryside are imprtant to me anyway it made sense to see the connections made with rural life in this book. Tools, fuel and construction simply could not have existed without wood for so many traditional industries and rural operations. Everything began with the woodsman.
Only the day before photographing a tumble-down old farm cart this became more significant when looking at the relationship of woodman to wheelwright to farmer etc and similar chains all dependent on a source of wood. It seemsed quite apt to have been drawn to this relic of a woodworking age for this project.
It seems the old ‘craft/ Art’ debate re appears here again. Marquetry doesn’t immediately sit easily as a ‘woodland craft’ owing to its less functional applications and associations with cabinet making and ‘fine applied Arts’. Eldins book avoids these crafts and concentrates on those linked more to forestry, trade and agriculture and particularly woodworking that has been practiced in Britain but has now died out.
Eldins exploration however has a lot that I find I can link to Marquetry and which is both relevant and interesting. Primarily appreciating the versatility and rewards to be found in working with wood.
