Richard Sennett: Craftsmanship

SUN, 9.10.2016, 4.00 PM
MAK LECTURE HALL
The American Richard Sennett, one of the most outstanding sociologists and cultural philosophers of the modern age, talks in his presentation about his deep-rooted interest in the complex topic of handicraft. For Sennett, handicraft and craft skills involve much more than mere manual dexterity; they encompass a fundamental human impulse-the urge to carry out a task as well as possible for its own sake. Whether goldsmith, cobbler, politician, pianist, app developer or educator-to practice a craft is to “know one’s job.”
Sennett’s book The Craftsman (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008) provided significant inspiration for the upcoming MAK exhibition handiCRAFT: Traditional Skills in the Digital Age, which may be seen at the MAK from 14 December 2016 to 9 April 2017 ( / 997999880318716 )
The exhibition reflects on the significance and status of handicraft as an integral component of material culture and cultural identity. In six sections, this comprehensive exposition encompasses handicraft from historical times to current European perspectives, examines how handicraft can help preserve natural resources, explores new developments on the interface to digital technologies, and presents masterpieces from a range of craft disciplines.