what comes to mind?

你的腦海會浮現出什麼？

A painting, like the Mona Lisa,

一幅畫作，像是蒙娜麗莎

or a famous sculpture or a building?

或是一個知名的雕塑或建築？

What about a vase or a quilt or a violin?

那麼一個花瓶、縫製品或是一把小提琴呢？

Are those things art, too, or are they craft?

那些東西也是藝術嗎？還是工藝？

And what's the difference anyway?

他們的差別是什麼呢？

It turns out that the answer is not so simple.

答案沒有那麼簡單

A spoon or a saddle may be finely wrought,

一個湯匙或馬鞍或許是被精心打造的

while a monument may be, well, uninspired.

而一個紀念碑卻可能沒那麼讓人感動

Just as not every musical instrument is utilitarian,

就像不是所有的樂器都是實用的

not every painting or statue is made for its own sake.

每一個畫作和雕塑也不一定有創作出來的理由

But if it's so tricky to separate art from craft,

但如果那麼難分辨藝術和工藝的差別

then why do we distinguish objects in this way?

那我們為什麼還要用這種方式去做分類呢？

You could say it's the result

這可以說是

of a dramatic historical turn of events.

幾個戲劇性的歷史事件演變出來的結果

It might seem obvious to us today

今天我們或許

to view people, such as da Vinci or Michelangelo,

很容易去審視像達文西或米開朗基羅

as legendary artists,

那些偉大的藝術家

and, of course, they possessed extraordinary talents,

他們的確是天賦異稟

but they also happened to live in the right place

但他們的成就也有部分

at the right time,

是拜他們生活的年代所賜

because shortly before their lifetimes

因為在他們生長年代前的不久

the concept of artists hardly existed.

「藝術家」這個概念根本不存在

If you had chanced to step into a medieval European workshop,

如果你有機會踏入歐洲中古世紀的工作室

you would have witnessed a similar scene,

你將會見到類似的畫面

no matter whether the place belonged to

不管這間工作室是屬於誰的

a stonemason, a goldsmith, a hatmaker,

工匠、金工、製帽師傅、

or a fresco painter.

或是壁畫家

The master, following a strict set of guild statutes,

師傅會遵循那些工會所訂的嚴格規範

insured that apprentices and journeymen

以確保徒弟和工人們

worked their way up the ranks

都從底層的工作開始做起

over many years of practice

透過多年的練習

and well-defined stages of accomplishment,

以及明確定義的技能階段

passing established traditions to the next generation.

師傅便能將傳統和技藝傳承給下一代

Patrons regarded these makers

贊助人和顧客視這些工匠

collectively rather than individually,

為一個群體

and their works from Murano glass goblets,

從穆拉諾玻璃(意大利穆拉諾小島上製造生產的玻璃)

to Flemish lace,

到法藍德斯的蕾絲

were valued as symbols of social status,

都被尊崇為一種社會地位的象徵

not only for their beauty,

不只是因為它們的美麗外觀

but their adherence to a particular tradition.

也是一種對傳統的堅持

And the customer who commissioned and paid for the work,

那些受到委託買工藝品的顧客

whether it was a fine chair,

不管是買一張精美的椅子

a stone sculpture, a gold necklace,

一塊石雕、一條金項鍊

or an entire building,

或是一整個建築

was more likely to get credit

相較於那些設計者和製造者，更受到推崇

than those who designed or constructed it.

相較於那些設計者和製造者，更受到推崇

It wasn't until around 1400

直到大約西元1400年

that people began to draw a line

人們開始分類出藝術和工藝的差別

between art and craft.

人們開始分類出藝術和工藝的差別

In Florence, Italy,

在義大利的佛羅倫斯

a new cultural ideal that would later be called

一個被後世稱做「文藝復興人本精神」的新文化主義

Renaissance Humanism

一個被後世稱做「文藝復興人本精神」的新文化主義

was beginning to take form.

開始形成了

Florentine intellectuals began to spread the idea

佛羅倫斯的知識份子開始傳播

of reformulating classical Greek and Roman works,

要復興古典希臘羅馬藝術的思想

while placing greater value on individual creativity

同時開始注重個人的創意

than collective production.

而非集體的成果

A few brave painters,

幾位充滿壯志的畫家

who for many centuries,

幾個世紀以來

had been paid by the square foot,

他們的作品都是以平方英呎為單位來做買賣

successfully petitioned their patrons

他們請願成功

to pay them on the basis of merit instead.

讓顧客以作品的價值為價格的考量

Within a single generation,

在那個時代

people's attitudes about objects and their makers

人們對物品和工匠的態度

would shift dramatically,

有了戲劇性的轉變

such that in 1550,

像是1550年

Giorgio Vasari,

喬爾喬·瓦薩里(義大利畫家和建築師)

not incidentally a friend of Michelangelo,

也是米開朗基羅的朋友

published an influential book called,

出了一本極有影響力的書

"Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects,"

叫「藝苑名人傳」

elevating these types of creators

透過書中分享的生平故事，將這些創造者變成明星

to rock star status by sharing juicy biographical details.

透過書中分享的生平故事，將這些創造者變成明星

In the mind of the public,

在民眾的心裡

painting, sculpture and architecture

圖畫、雕像和建築

were now considered art,

被視為藝術

and their makers' creative masterminds: artists.

藝術家則是富有創意的策畫者

Meanwhile, those who maintained

同時，那些還維持著

guild traditions and faithfully produced

公會傳統並如實製造

candlesticks, ceramic vessels,

燭台、陶罐

gold jewelery or wrought iron gates,

金飾或是鍛鋼的門飾的人

would be known communally as artisans,

則被視為工匠，

and their works considered minor or decorative arts,

他們的作品被視為價值較低或是裝飾性的藝術

connoting an inferior status

也暗示著次等的地位

and solidifying the distinction

並鞏固了

between art and craft that still persists

在西方世界中現在仍然存在的藝術和工藝的差別特徵

in the Western world.

在西方世界中現在仍然存在的藝術和工藝的差別特徵

So, if we consider a painting

那麼，當我們在看林布蘭或畢卡索的畫時

by Rembrandt or Picasso art,

那麼，當我們在看林布蘭或畢卡索的畫時

then where does that leave an African mask?

非洲面具又被定位在哪呢？

A Chinese porclein vase?

中國花瓶呢？

A Navajo rug?

納瓦霍地毯呢？

It turns out that in the history of art,

事實上，在藝術史裡

the value placed on innovation

著重「創新」而非「傳統」的概念

is the exception rather than the rule.

實為例外

In many cultures of the world,

在世界上的許多文化當中

the distinction between art and craft

區別藝術和工藝的想法

has never existed.

從來就沒存在過

In fact, some works that might be considered craft,

事實上，有一些作品或許被視為工藝

a Peruvian rug,

像是秘魯地毯、

a Ming Dynasty vase,

明朝的花瓶

a totem pole,

或是圖騰柱

are considered the cultures' preeminent visual forms.

其實是那些文化最卓越的藝術型態

When art historians of the 19th Century

當一個19世紀的藝術史學家

saw that the art of some non-Western cultures

看到一些非西方文化的藝術

did not change for thousands of years,

幾千年來都沒有變化

they classified the works as primitive,

他們會將這些作品分類為早期的藝術

suggesting that their makers were incapable of innovating

表明了那些創作者缺乏創新的能力

and therefore were not really artists.

因此他們不是真正的藝術家

What they didn't realize was that

他們不了解的

these makers were not seeking to innovate at all.

那些創作者根本沒有要創新

The value of their works lay precisely

他們作品的價值在於

in preserving visual traditions,

完整保留那些傳統

rather than in changing them.

而不是去改變它們

In the last few decades, works such as

近幾十年

quilts, ceramics and wood carvings

一些像是縫製品、陶藝品和木雕的作品

have become more prominently included

漸漸受到大家的注意

in art history textbooks

包括在藝術史的教科書當中

and displayed in museums

並且在博物館中展示

alongside paintings and sculpture.

和畫作及雕塑並排

So maybe it's time to dispense with vague terms

或許，是我們拋棄藝術和工藝

like art and craft

的區別的時候了

in favor of a word like visual arts

有個貼切的詞: 視覺藝術

that encompasses a wider array of aesthetic production.

可以涵蓋更廣泛的視覺產物

After all, if our appreciation of objects

畢竟，當我們對於物件

and their makers is so conditioned

和創作者的鑑賞力

by our culture and history,

受到我們文化歷史的影響

then art and its definition

那麼藝術和其定義

are truly in the eye of the beholder.

便是真實呈現在觀看者的眼裡。