The Nature and Art of Workmanship

David Pye, Ezra Shales (Massachusetts College of Art and Design, USA)

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English

A & C BLACK
01 April 2008

Art & Architecture; Theory of art; Decorative arts; Furniture & furnishings manufacture; DIY: carpentry & woodworking

A must-read book on David Pye's theory of craftsmanship and design.

In this thoroughly mechanised age, what is the point of craft? Does it make any sense to work with hand tools when machines can do the same job faster, and in many cases better? What visual richness do we lose by embracing a mass-produced world?

The Nature and Art of Workmanship explores the meaning of skill and its relationship to design and manufacture. Cutting through a century of fuzzy thinking, David Pye proposes a new theory of making based on the concepts of ‘workmanship of risk’ and ‘workmanship of certainty’. And he shows how good workmanship imparts all-important diversity to our visual environment.

No-one who works with tools and materials, or who designs things for others to make, can afford to be without this penetrating book. This newly revised edition includes an illustrated foreword by John Kelsey, former editor of Fine Woodworking magazine, on David Pye’s own turned and carved vessels of wood – beautiful, insightful pieces that embody the truth of Pye’s ideas.

By: David Pye
Volume editor: Ezra Shales (Massachusetts College of Art and Design USA)
Imprint: A & C BLACK
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 280mm, Width: 210mm, Spine: 14mm
Weight: 374g
ISBN: 9780713689310
ISBN 10: 0713689315
Pages: 144
Publication Date: 01 April 2008
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Foreword: Apostle of workmanship 1. Design proposes. Workmanship disposes 2. The workmanship of risk, the workmanship of certainty 3. Is anything done by hand? 4. Quality in workmanship 5. The designer's power to communicate his intentions 6. The natural order reflected in the work of a man 7. Diversity 8. Durability 9. Equivocality 10. Critique of 'On the Nature of Gothic' 11. The aesthetic importance of workmanship, and its future Index

David Pye, who died in 1993, was an architect, industrial designer andcraftsman. For many years he was also Professor of FurnitureDesign at the Royal College of Art, London. He is also the authorof Ships and The Nature and Aesthetics of Design.