Good Work and Aesthetic Education: William Morris, the Arts and Crafts Movement, and beyond

Autor/in	Petts, Jeffrey
Titel	Good Work and Aesthetic Education: William Morris, the Arts and Crafts Movement, and beyond
Quelle	In: Journal of Aesthetic Education, 42 (2008) 1, S.30-45 (16 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0021-8510
Schlagwörter	Stellungnahme; Handicrafts; Aesthetic Education; Aesthetics; Art Expression + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Handwerk; Ästhetische Bildung; Ästhetik
Abstract	A notion of "good work," derived from William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement but also part of a wider tradition in philosophy (associated with pragmatism and Everyday Aesthetics) understanding the global significance of, and opportunities for, aesthetic experience, grounds both art making and appreciation in the organization of labor generally. Only good work, which can be characterized as "authentic" or as unalienated conditions of production and reception, allows the arts to thrive. While Arts and Crafts sometimes promotes a limited aesthetic (both theoretically and stylistically) around handicraft, a good-work aesthetic theory encompasses a broader range of working methods and materials without compromising the core Arts and Crafts "authenticity" principles of control over production and creative autonomy. In this article, the author focuses on the Morrisian theory of art and the aesthetic and the emergent good-work thesis. He argues that an Arts and Crafts or Morrisian aesthetic theory is fundamentally one of good work rather than handicraft per se since it delivers insights into the nature of works as collaborative projects and the developmental courses, participatory and esoteric, open to the arts generally; and it is a robust counter to anti-aestheticism and intellectualism in the theory and practice of the arts. In arguing for the theoretic and historic significance of a Morrisian aesthetic, the author takes encouragement and a lead from Paul Guyer's recent acknowledgement of the neglect of Morris in accounts of the history of philosophical aesthetics. (Contains 64 notes.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	University of Illinois Press. 1325 South Oak Street, Champaign, IL 61820-6903. Tel: 217-244-0626; Fax: 217-244-8082; e-mail: journals@uillinois.edu; Web site: http://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals/main.html
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10