What exactly is the 'decorative arts?'
Is it art made for decoration?
Like things that decorate the walls of your house?
Well, not exactly.
Because a painting can decorate the walls of your house but painting are usually considered
fine art.
In general, the decorative arts is defined as “the design and aesthetics of functional
and utilitarian objects, often with an emphasis on unique and hand-crafted forms.
Examples are furniture, pottery, basketry, textiles, metalworks, and stained glass.
As opposed to most Fine Arts objects which usually have no other purpose than to be viewed
and appreciated, like paintings and sculptures.
But as you can tell with my use of words like "in general", "mostly", and "usually" that
there are many fuzzy edges to this definition.
And in my opinion, also sometimes many problems with this definition.
The fuzzy edges often come from question like “well what exactly do you mean by functional
and utilitarian?”
Are embroideries that are not meant to be used in clothing or furniture, but only meant
to be appreciated for their beauty considered decorative arts or fine arts?
Wood carvings and woodworking pieces are usually considered to be decorative arts, but what
exactly is the utilitarian function of a ceremonial wood carving?
Unless you consider religious devotion to be "utilitarian."
But by this definition, paintings used in church altar pieces are also used for religious
devotion, but those paintings are usually considered to be fine art.
One of the problems is that historically, in Western European cultures, objects that
were considered to be "decorative art" were considered distinctively different from the
fine arts, and in many cases also less worthy of appreciation and academic study.
This separation of the definitions doesn’t apply to every cultures in the world.
For instance East Asian, Islamic and Indigenous American cultures historically did not make
a separation between decorative and fine arts.
Chinese lacquer works, jade carvings, and Ming dynasty vases were considered just as
artistically sophisticated as ink wash paintings.
Japanese origami would be considered a decorative art by western standards, but most East Asian
cultures consider paper cuttings and paper folding to be a sophisticated form of fine art.
Many Islamic periods were dominated by works like rug weavings, embroidery, ceramics and mosaics.
However, in the context of Western European categorization, works made by entire cultures
were categorized as decorative arts, often viewed through the lens of utilitarian objects
rather than sophisticated works of fine arts, which offers some insight into these cultures
but are not always the best way to view these objects.
Another issue is that things like basket weaving, textile, and pottery making were historically
artistic realms that women actually had an opportunity to excel in, as opposed to disciplines
like painting and sculpture, which women were essentially restricted from participating in.
But because practices like pottery, basketry and textiles were not considered to be fine
art, and thus not considered worthy of being displayed, sold on the art market, studied,
or appreciated.
And thus, this perspective further marginalized, diminished, and even erased women's accomplishments
throughout history.
Nowadays, many contemporary artists no longer subscribe to this distinction between the
fine arts and the decorative arts.
Many artists work in a mixture of media that include traditional practices such as painting,
drawing and sculpting, but also things like woodwork, textiles, metalwork and ceramics.
For example the artist Carl Beam was known for his mixed media paintings composed of
oil, acrylic and photo transfers, but he also produced works in woodworking and ceramic pottery.
The artist Christi Belcourt also often plays with viewers' expectations by producing works
that are inspired by Indigenous American bandolier bags, but are made with acrylic on canvas.
So, in this instance, similar to many other instances when studying history and culture,
broad and generalizing terms can be helpful in aiding our understanding, but it can also
be limiting.
I find it interesting to consider how artistic expressions can be interwoven through everyday
life and every day objects, and doesn’t have to be limited to those things we make
in art class or those displayed in galleries.
In the comments please let me know of an artwork, or type of artwork that you enjoy but would
be considered "decorative arts” based on the aforementioned definition, and tell me
why you like it.
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[snaps fingers] Bye!