Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1976 - 9

ART VERSUS CRAFT
JO MIELZINER

"Art Versus Craft" was the title of an article in the
October, 1973 bulletin of the Association of British
Theatre Technicians (ABTT).
I found this title very disturbing and the following
quotation from the text even more so.
ART VERSUS CRAFT

Stage scenery - particularly where repertoire is played has of necessity to be a compromise between the artistic
and the practical. To the technician responsible for putting
a production on the stage, it often seems that the require.
ments of the craft are completely ignored. Sets have become more and more elaborate and some of the new forms
of staging have not only not provided the proper facilities
required for handling scenery but, because of their design,
demand even larger sets - the major part of whose purpose
is merely that of masking. Is there indeed a growing reluctance to submit art to the discipline of time and money?

At first I thought that as a subscriber to that English
Journal, I should answer them directly. But in the interim,
I now think that the complete misunderstanding of both
"art" and "craft" in the theatre may be as common in
this country as it appears to be in parts of Great Britain.
Although almost two years have elapsed since I read
this A.B.T.T. article, I still feel the need to respond to the
statement. I reacted violently to the phrase "Art Versus
Craft" because every single contributor to the theatrical
performance must be both artisan and artist, not artist
versus craftsman! In a general sense, the practice of all
arts is a means of communication. The more abstract the
art form, the less need for concise communication.
But in the performing arts dealing with the living
verbal theatre, instant and clear communication between
the actor and the audience is mandatory. Mime may take
the place of dialogue but the need for instantly transmitted meaning is still unequivocal.
Even the most minor members of the performing arts
team must at least be professional craftsmen. As the
demands on the team grow more and more responsive,
these contributors become artist-craftsmen.
This is true even of the top echelon - the author, the
director and the leading players.
A playwright's unproduced work is categorized as a
script, but once it reaches the stage it becomes the focal
point of production and the elements of art and craft
(no less technology) become inseparable; no less than art
and science for without them, it is nothing.
Even a stagehand's work may be judged as craftsmanship, that of an electrician's execution of complex lighting cues rises beyond craftsmanship because it involves
smooth, accurate timing as does the coordination of
movement of the musician in a symphony orchestra.
Only in Gordon Craig's world would the dramatist
be totally sufficient unto himself - a super-marionette.
Craig envisioned one who would create theme, select

USITT

the location best suited, choose the ideal hour of the day,
create mood and atmosphere through lighting and speak
all the lines!
In reality, the performing arts require the combined
efforts of a producer and a creative director whose interpretive contribution heightens and enhances the word and
meaning of the playwright through the collaboration with
actors, scenic, costume and lighting artists. Their contributions bring not only beauty but a heightened meaning to
the playwright's work. In productions that encompass
music, lyrics and dancers, the creative team includes
these additional artists as well. Productions as complex as
these demand well coordinated teams to accomplish all
the visual and aural details of sight and sound.
As a scenic designer addressing the eye of his audience,
I deal with the elements that surround the actors; a total
environment within which the players perform. Every
designer carries the responsibility of all aspects relating
to the visual production. As an artist he brings imagination, excitement and true creation through his high ideals
of art.
The scenic designer is an engineer of space. All his
plans are carefully rendered in scale for final execution
by the builders and painters of scenery. These drawings
and renderings may include permanent multiple type sets
or a portable platform, a revolving turntable, a treadmill,
an architectural stage, inserts, drops, drapes - some operated manually, more frequently today by remotely controled electric motors.
The designer is a colorist employing color by the means
of paint as well as by the means of light.
Now the contemporary scene designer is learning to
utilize projection slides or films - all bringing into the
playa vital and powerful force as an additional tool.
The designer's renderings are visual guides for the
builder and the scenic painter of his production. In addition, the artist provides detailed schedules listing the number and type of lighting instruments, their location on the
stage and in the front of the house. A color sample on the
painting or rendering made for the scenic artist to copy
is subject to drastic distortion and change if the designer
has not pre-tested his original painting to the pre-organized color gelatins through which the stage lighting will
affect its value.
In conclusion, I would like to comment on the quotation entitled, "Art Versus Craft." In the theatre the work
of the artist and that of the craftsman are inescapably
interrelated. We have no room for the artist who rejects
craftsmanship and the craftsman insensitive to the arts for
he is of little value to any part of our theatre.
*

THEATRE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

SUMMER,1976

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