The Value of Hand Crafted Products
How did we get from producing the world’s first seamless
metal globe in Kashmir and Lahore in the 16th C, to an inability to make plugs fit sockets ? Silver
workers feel disheartened that clients cannot differentiate between hand-made
and machine-made products. Jewelers bemoan the lack of appreciation of jarao or
stone setting , as not enough gold is visible. A craftsman needs the incentive of
appreciation.
One can say it’s the result of mass production, cost effectiveness,
lack of training, but at the end its because its accepted by the buyer. Nifasat
or finesse has been willingly replaced by the
chalay ga ( it will do )
philosophy. The product may work well enough as anticipated, but psychologists
note that being surrounded by ugliness leads to despondency, while beautiful objects generate a sense of calm
and wellbeing. Designer Ravi Sawhney
says a product must not be only functional, but create an emotional connection
with the user. It should have personality. You sell a story not just a product This is something Apple has built its success
upon.
Socrates believed that "all things are good and
beautiful in relation to those purposes for which they are well adapted, and
bad and ugly in relation to those for which they are ill adapted." This came to be known as functional beauty. However, if an object does not also look good,
its functionality may be questioned.
For a functional object to feel beautiful, it is not
necessary for it to be embellished. It could be the pleasing, balanced weight
of a hammer, the graceful curves of a suspension bridge. The Bauhaus design movement tried to remove
the boundaries between art and design. As early as 1932, the New York Museum of
Modern Art began its Architecture and Design collection, ranging from
appliances and table ware to sports cars.
There are as many avid collectors of beautiful utilitarian objects as
there are of Art.
Between 1850-1914, Britain, the birthplace of the Industrial
Revolution, was seen as the ‘workshop of the world’. The first world’s fair was held at the
especially constructed Crystal Palace in 1851, bringing together both craft and
industrial products from many countries. India ,the “Jewel in the Crown” .had
the largest floor space with its exquisite metalwork, carved furniture and
woven fabrics. The intention was not creating new business, but a statement of
national pride. Britain’s pride in its
manufacturing ability is evident in the exquisite designs of its pumping
stations. The Crossness Pumping Station in London looks more like a cathedral
than a sewage pumping system.
Since the 50s we have been
encouraged to become a throw-away society, to make opportunities for new sales,
benefitting industry but impoverishing our souls. Not the throw away systems of the east such
as banana leaf packaging, but mostly plastics that come back to haunt us with ocean
tides. Products are made that cannot be
loved, repaired, adapted or recycled. We become passive, dependent and
disconnected from our activities. Why make something that can be bought?
Designer, Tash Goswami , calls
mass production with its low prices, a false economy, as it depends on
manufacturing in poor countries with low wages, who then need loans and aid.
Handmade items are more sustainable. In Pakistan, the village is
self-sufficient in skilled labour, use local raw material, or agricultural
waste. 14 % of the country’s labour is engaged in the craft industry and 60 %
are self-employed – ideal conditions for reviving the economy of the hand-made,
instead of undervaluing it.
Soetsu Yanag, in her book ‘The Beauty of Everyday Things’,
honours zakki, or well-crafted ordinary,
everyday utensils and tools “made as naturally and thoughtlessly as walking”
which she believes is essential prerequisite to developing a sense of
beauty and ensuring quality industrial projects.
As Sociologist, Richard Sennett,
reminds us, humans are enriched by skills and dignified by craftsmanship.
Durriya Kazi
January 31, 2021
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