A practice called craft in a country called New Zealand : readings of Craft New Zealand, 1982-1993

Abstract

Craft has been an important social and cultural movement in New Zealand, but over the past decade there has been considerable confusion about the perimeters, purposes and futures of craft practices. The relationship between craft and fine art has been particularly unclear. Confusion has been exacerbated by the dearth of published research that addresses New Zealand craft. This thesis is a response to that situation. Drawing on poststructural theorising, this thesis foregrounds and investigates the shifting meanings of contemporary New Zealand craft. Two key arguments stem from the poststructural framework: first, that craft is constructed through discourses, and second, that craft discourses are enacted within specific geographic, historic, and social locations. Hence this thesis explores what has gone on in the name of craft in one specific site: Craft New Zealand, the only multi-media national New Zealand craft magazine, published 19821993. The readings of Craft New Zealand are organised around the axes of culture, class, gender, and race. It is argued that within Craft New Zealand a discourse of professionalism dominates that constructs craft as a creative, skilful, market-orientated, middle class occupation. While this discourse enables certain definitions and practices of craft, it excludes others, especially amateur and domestic making. The implications of this discourse are investigated, with specific attention given to the intersection between feminism and the professional craft discourse. It is also argued that the construction of craft in Craft New Zealand is shaped by wider social relations and especially by the consequences of New Zealand's history of colonisation and the subsequent development of a settler dominated society. EuroAmerican derived concepts of fine art and handmaking, and their translation into the New Zealand context, have significantly shaped the representation of craft in Craft New Zealand. This thesis concludes however, that Maori demands for self-determination are altering the local cultural landscape and may create new cultural spaces for the practice called craft in the country that is known as both New Zealand and Aotearoa.