Pete Moncrieff-Jury contemplates woodturning as an art form
I have recently had the privilege of going to a private collection and a public exhibition of some of the best work by woodturners from the UK and some international ones. The work I saw has made me stop and think about the way turning has and is still evolving. Whereas turning, for much of its history, has been a part of furniture and cabinet making, architecture and other practical crafts, it has become more of an art form in its own right over a relatively short period. So much so that we could legitimately ask whether the turning is the important thing or is it just a means of providing a blank canvas?
Looking in particular at much of the work at the exhibition I found myself asking the question: ‘Is it the turning that attracts attention or the decorative work it supports?’ Does it matter? We see turned work that is coloured to a point where the wood can’t be seen at all, segmented work that consists of many pieces carefully and skilfully pieced together, there are the pieces that are cut up and put back together in different shapes and forms. All are valid works of art. Often incredibly skilful in their execution and worthy of note, but in many cases they make me wonder what role the turning provides. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against this type of work. I admire those who create such pieces, just a question comes to mind. How many of us looking at a piece of pierced work or a coloured, highly decorated item stop to think about the actual turning? A similar example of what I am thinking is perhaps going to an art gallery and seeing a beautiful old painting but not giving a second thought to the skill involved in mixing the paints, creating and preparing the surface the painting is on, or perhaps the ornate, beautifully carved frame holding the work.
As I looked at the work in the collection and the exhibition, I realised that the woodturning is, for many practitioners, secondary to the work done afterwards. One ‘artist’ I know told me that it takes him perhaps an hour, maybe two, to create the piece itself to his satisfaction, but then the rest of the work, the ornamentation, can take several months at times.
While there is nothing wrong with this, it does beg the question that I have posed before. Has woodturning now evolved into an art form as opposed to a craft and where does one draw the line? For me, even that doesn’t answer all the questions. I see some of the segmented pieces and think of them as engineering feats of excellence – the planning, design and construction are beyond just being a piece of turning or work of art. To me they are more akin to some of the modern architecture we see. Woodturning has evolved far beyond the craft that I learned at school and many who practice it are as much, perhaps more akin to, artists than turners.
There is no doubt there are those who are not happy with the modern take and prefer the wood to be the main attraction with the shape and finish the important things. To some covering the wood totally is akin to a sin and cutting the piece up after turning and piecing back together in different ways is not acceptable. Fortunately, there is room in any art form or craft for all tastes and ideas, and seeing the way woodturning has changed just in the past 50 years is, to me, something to be excited by. No longer can woodturning be seen just as treen, though that still has a valuable place in its expression, but as a separate, identifiable art form.
