Blurred lines: is it art or craft?

Craft-work was distilled to a pure form at this year’s RDS National Craft Awards, and a number of these works could have been transported across the hall to merge with the concurrent RDS Students Art Awards.

Both exhibitions are on display in Limerick, in deference to its status as the 2014 City of Culture. If art conveys an idea, or explores the human condition, or is (merely) aesthetics, then visitors to the show have plenty to mull over with the students.

But much of the craft challenges prescribed perceptions. RDS arts programme executive, Dara O’Leary, says: “Much craft work often features a strong artistic element. Previously, the majority of craft would have focused on functionality but, increasingly, we are seeing more decorative craft that is not necessarily functional, really breaking away from craft as viewed in the traditional sense.