西方手工艺的概念与内涵考析

On the Concept and Connotation of"Craft"in the West

西方手工艺概念Craft来源于撒克逊语Craeft,其原意为力量、体力和威力,与中国语境的手工艺相距甚远,后者通常被解释为“工艺美术”。由文艺复兴到工业革命,手工艺被局限于体力劳动的范畴中,与艺术相比处于低等的位置;在“工艺美术运动”思想领袖的理念中,手工艺是理想的劳动方式,它旨在改变劳动异化的现状并建立和谐的人际关系;伴随具身认知理论的发展,20世纪人类学家将手工艺解读为以身体结构和活动为基础的具身化知识(Embodied Knowledge),它成为反映整体社会文化的表征。由此可见,西方手工艺的内涵总是通过它的外在差异得以确立,随社会文化情境的变化而不断改变。

The western concept of craft originated from the Saxon language craeft,which originally meant power,physical strength and force.It is far away from the Chinese context of craft,which is usually interpreted as"Arts and Crafts".From the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution,craft was confined to the category of physical labor,which was in a lower and secondary position compared with intellectual labor;in concepts of"Arts and Crafts Movement"thought leaders,craft was an ideal way of labor,which aimed to change the social status of labor alienation and establish a harmonious and equal interpersonal relationship;with the development of theories of embodied cognition,the 20th century anthropologists interpreted craft as embodied knowledge based on body structure and activity,it becomes a representation of the whole social culture.It can be seen that the connotation of Western craft is always established through its external differences,that is,it changes with the changes of social and cultural situations.