Indian Craft : Ingredients, Decadence and Future Prospects
SEPTEMBER 2020
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What we call crafts today has historically been utilitarian products for local consumption. Craft, through its generative learning and systematic distribution of work entails a volume of non- vocalised ethics within a craftsman guild. These very utilitarian products have currently become pieces of curio in today’s living room walls and exhibition spaces. Epistemology of crafts has explicit associations to the daily livelihoods, socio-economic backgrounds, utilitarian aspects, history and anthropology of local sustenance. From the perspective of design, there is a story of creative utilitarianism which provides a deep understanding of an ethical and philosophical theory stating that ‘the best action is the one that maximises utility and produces the greatest well-being of people though one’s creativity’ [1].
The craft sector provides livelihood and employment to 20 million people of India [2], which constitutes 15% of the country’s population. Craft communities of India survive on a lifestyle-based framework which includes handing down knowledge from one generation to the next. There is a synergy of execution and hierarchy of labour and more so, a deeper philosophy of ‘work being sustenance’ within the community. It is an incredible identity of the Indian solitude and provides a platform for the creativity of Indian designers to develop their indigenous identity.
Analysing Craft Ingredients
Craft when viewed though a holistic lens is a mode of knowledge, education, design and livelihood integrated with sustainability through environment friendly products. Factors associated with crafts which make it a purposeful integrated enterprise can be explained through the following determinants.
SOCIETY
Craft is a family execution which has a close connection to India’s caste system.
Specific lower caste communities of the society involve themselves in making crafts. The prevailing higher castes consider it to be a non-elite chore. But simultaneously, due to the quality of the product, these very items of craft become the community curio in which the elites take pride in as items of respect, adorned and distributed in prestigious or ceremonial occasions.
EDUCATION
Craft education in communities is transferred through generations informally. The generation next visually learns from their family members in household courtyards and eventually takes part as they grow older. The low caste community stays in remote locations and has minimal access to formal education, thus depending on vernacular education for survival.
SKILL BASED LEARNING
Craft is exceptionally a skill-based learning which focuses on the development of muscle memory for hand execution. This is developed through apprenticeship via many hours of practice over cumulated years. The decentralised system allows the breakdown of the manufacturing process, for craftsmen to find and pursue their individual expertise.
MARKET
The market which their products cater to, are of various kinds. The products fall under the category of Traditional, Modern, Curative and Functional. The craftsmen keep working on their products out of expertise, irrespective of category. They are taken forward either by middlemen or entrepreneurs for their respective markets.
TECHNOLOGY
As time has passed and crafts have evolved, newer techniques for easier disposal have been on demand, so that the numbers of produce come at par in competition with the ever expanding industrial market. Also, the same condition applies for the quality of products. This has called for new material processes and technological inputs.
PRODUCT DESIGN
The validity of crafts in today’s modern scenario challenges the delivery of utilitarian products which conform to urban lifestyle. This requires the need for diversification of products by understanding the design along the perspectives of form, function and society. This happens to be a fundamental aspect for the survival of crafts in the modern world.
AESTHETICS
Apart from utilitarian design expected by the middle-class urban crowd, there is a lot of scope for crafts amongst modern elite buyers. They have the time, money and exposure to understand exquisiteness in Contemporary, Retro, Ethnic and Preservative Designs. To deliver such aesthetics to satiate the elite crowd, one requires an elaborate study of evolution and must be able to identify and differentiate their elements for ultimate execution.
KNOWLEDGE
The knowledge regarding crafts, its epistemology, techniques, work ethics etc stays amongst the communities as a non-vocalised comprehension. Majority of this knowledge has not been documented and remains oblivious to the corresponding design communities. Apart from recognition, the documentation and propagation of this knowledge shall provide a base for future expeditions. If not, entrepreneurs venturing into this domain would have to start from the very basics, which would be an extensive research in itself.
Decadence of Craft
When industrialisation took over the modes of production in the mid-20th century in India, handmade products fell out of preference and were extremely neglected till late 20th century [3]. Crafts went from the forefront of a rising economy to a point where it required preservation. There are many reasons which led to this drastic devastation of crafts. A few of them are mentioned below:
Crafts remained exclusively within the crafts community. The integrity of the teaching methods prohibited its understanding from any other group of the society. There was no appropriate propagation of their techniques and teachings outside their own community due to craftsmen humbleness. This distanced people from empathising with their crisis, post industrialisation.
Industrialisation produced products made out of materials which could stand longer than the durability of materials used in crafts. This led to the replication of craft products in materials of mass production. This eventually led to the shifting of production houses from the original vernacular craft locations to industrial centres where the craft experienced loss of local embossing patterns and original utilitarian designs. The industrially replicated craft products were more favoured by the modern public and gradually reduced the sale of the original craft produce.
Craft started to be seen in a manner in which its existence seemed delusional to the ever-growing industrial products. The people who adorned craft wished beauty out of it rather than utilitarian use. So, the craftsmen shifted their focus to making ‘pretty’ products, rather than utilitarian, which could at least be a curio, all in order to guarantee their income and their livelihoods.
In order to enhance the demand for craft products, there was a dire need to understand design though perspectives of form, function and society. Since the craftsmen of India have very less exposure to existing design and the needs and demands of the urban society, they were not able to create fresh ideas which could be integrated with their skills to improve their sale.
With the loss of economic edge and income potential, the newer generation of craftsmen remained sceptical about accepting the profession as a lifelong commitment and thus learned the craft insignificantly. With the loss of techniques after passing of generations, the advocating in offspring was also weak.
Simultaneously, Modern design with its emphasis on industrial production prevailed. A new aesthetics based on industrial processes emerged forming the base of modern industrial design. Quest for new forms based on machine production led to the discovery of machine aesthetics nurtured by movements in modern art with traits of functionality and simplicity. Craft was excluded from the aesthetic domain though it preserved its decorative character.
Future Prospects of Craft
Post modernism saw a call out to go back to one’s roots to obscure local identities and revive the cultural diversities destroyed by the modern industrialist mindset. Disillusion with the concepts of ‘Progress and better life’ promised by modern industry lead to a new thinking. Designers were frustrated by the limited product expressions controlled by economy of production and distribution as well as concerns of marketing for mass consumption. A new need for post-modern design to discover and assert meaningful design is on the anvil [4].
In the post-modern world, creative utilitarianism allows designers to be creative for themselves rather than the industry. This eventually proliferates exposure of modern design to fresh ideation. This understanding is highly required today for young upcoming designers to venture beyond form and figure explorations and infuse content into design. Integration of wholesome craft knowledge into design education will open a portal for fresh post-modern content. It shall teach the students mass customisation alongside a knowledge to work with Indigenous communities and identities.
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References
[1] Bentham J. An Introduction to the Principals of Morals and Legislation, 2009 (Dover Publications, Mineola).
[2] Viswanath B. Enumeration of Crafts Persons in India. Madras School of Economics, 2013, 19-42.
[3] Bhat J.A. and Yadav P. The Sector of Handicrafts and its Share in Indian Economy. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, S3, 2016.
[4] Rao A.G. Craft as a Post-Modern Venture: Experience in Bamboo Craft. In PD2008 8th Brazilian International Conference, Sao Paolo, October 2008.
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MONIKUNTALA DAS
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