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What exactly is the 'decorative arts?'

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Is it art made for decoration?

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Like things that decorate the walls of your[br]house?

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Well, not exactly.

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Because a painting can decorate the walls[br]of your house but painting are usually considered

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fine art.

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In general, the decorative arts is defined[br]as “the design and aesthetics of functional

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and utilitarian objects, often with an emphasis[br]on unique and hand-crafted forms.

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Examples are furniture, pottery, basketry,[br]textiles, metalworks, and stained glass.

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As opposed to most Fine Arts objects which[br]usually have no other purpose than to be viewed

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and appreciated, like paintings and sculptures.

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But as you can tell with my use of words like[br]"in general", "mostly", and "usually" that

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there are many fuzzy edges to this definition.

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And in my opinion, also sometimes many problems[br]with this definition.

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The fuzzy edges often come from question like[br]“well what exactly do you mean by functional

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and utilitarian?”

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Are embroideries that are not meant to be[br]used in clothing or furniture, but only meant

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to be appreciated for their beauty considered[br]decorative arts or fine arts?

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Wood carvings and woodworking pieces are usually[br]considered to be decorative arts, but what

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exactly is the utilitarian function of a ceremonial[br]wood carving?

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Unless you consider religious devotion to[br]be "utilitarian."

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But by this definition, paintings used in[br]church altar pieces are also used for religious

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devotion, but those paintings are usually[br]considered to be fine art.

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One of the problems is that historically,[br]in Western European cultures, objects that

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were considered to be "decorative art" were[br]considered distinctively different from the

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fine arts, and in many cases also less worthy[br]of appreciation and academic study.

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This separation of the definitions doesn’t[br]apply to every cultures in the world.

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For instance East Asian, Islamic and Indigenous[br]American cultures historically did not make

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a separation between decorative and fine arts.

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Chinese lacquer works, jade carvings, and[br]Ming dynasty vases were considered just as

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artistically sophisticated as ink wash paintings.

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Japanese origami would be considered a decorative[br]art by western standards, but most East Asian

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cultures consider paper cuttings and paper[br]folding to be a sophisticated form of fine art.

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Many Islamic periods were dominated by works[br]like rug weavings, embroidery, ceramics and mosaics.

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However, in the context of Western European[br]categorization, works made by entire cultures

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were categorized as decorative arts, often[br]viewed through the lens of utilitarian objects

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rather than sophisticated works of fine arts,[br]which offers some insight into these cultures

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but are not always the best way to view these[br]objects.

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Another issue is that things like basket weaving,[br]textile, and pottery making were historically

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artistic realms that women actually had an[br]opportunity to excel in, as opposed to disciplines

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like painting and sculpture, which women were[br]essentially restricted from participating in.

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But because practices like pottery, basketry[br]and textiles were not considered to be fine

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art, and thus not considered worthy of being[br]displayed, sold on the art market, studied,

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or appreciated.

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And thus, this perspective further marginalized,[br]diminished, and even erased women's accomplishments

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throughout history.

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Nowadays, many contemporary artists no longer[br]subscribe to this distinction between the

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fine arts and the decorative arts.

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Many artists work in a mixture of media that[br]include traditional practices such as painting,

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drawing and sculpting, but also things like[br]woodwork, textiles, metalwork and ceramics.

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For example the artist Carl Beam was known[br]for his mixed media paintings composed of

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oil, acrylic and photo transfers, but he also[br]produced works in woodworking and ceramic pottery.

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The artist Christi Belcourt also often plays[br]with viewers' expectations by producing works

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that are inspired by Indigenous American bandolier[br]bags, but are made with acrylic on canvas.

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So, in this instance, similar to many other[br]instances when studying history and culture,

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broad and generalizing terms can be helpful[br]in aiding our understanding, but it can also

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be limiting.

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I find it interesting to consider how artistic[br]expressions can be interwoven through everyday

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life and every day objects, and doesn’t[br]have to be limited to those things we make

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in art class or those displayed in galleries.

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In the comments please let me know of an artwork,[br]or type of artwork that you enjoy but would

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be considered "decorative arts” based on[br]the aforementioned definition, and tell me

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why you like it.

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And if you enjoyed this video and would like[br]to see more please hit the subscribe button

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so you can see more in the future.

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[snaps fingers] Bye!