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Project Update 2

 

 

 

 

As it turns out, I have developed a bad cold and chest infection, and have had to postpone interviews for my project. Consequently, as my subjects are rather far away and relatively difficult to get in contact with, I have decided that I will have to switch the subject of my documentary to something closer to home. Doing this will make organising interviews more manageable and time efficient.

Switching gears meant finding a new subject for my film, as I still hoped to create a documentary. As such, I revisited my initial portrait documentary for the course in hopes of being able to draw out an idea from those discussed in my first project. This proved successful, and I settled upon exploring the idea that had most intrigued and excited me when writing the essay for my previous film. Whilst researching the mechanisation of industry and craft, I discovered that, ‘in the late 19th Century, there was a great revival of traditional crafts, which came as a direct response to the increased mechanisation of production generated by the Industrial Revolution, and the subsequent alienation of the labour force, as well as the mass-manufactured products to which it gave rise.’ I compared this information to the great revival of traditional crafts that I was noticing around me and I realised that this was coming in response to the great commercialism and push to purchase of the 1990s and early 2000s and that, as in the late 19^th Century, we were now in the midst of a similar revolt. Upon reviewing this, I decided to make this realisation the basis for my project’s new direction. I have decided to create a documentary looking into this topic, asking different young modern craftspeople just why they have chosen to return to traditional crafts. I have many different ideas in mind, as Melbourne seems to be a mecca for traditional craft revival, however have settled upon interviewing three people: a traditional men’s barber, a potter, and a bespoke shoemaker, with a microbrewer and a handcrafting jeweller as backups.

 

I aim to ask what these craftspeople believe is the reason behind the return to traditional craftsmanship and handmade goods, and if such goods are beginning to take precedence over mass-manufactured items. I aim to investigate why the clients themselves enjoy handmade crafts and are willing to pay more for them – perhaps the personable nature that breeds human interaction, or perhaps the higher quality of handmade goods. I also want to discover just why these people, who are often university educated, have decided to pursue careers that take them away from what is now the traditional job market, to instead return to creating things, interacting with people, and doing physical, involved work. Is it the modern economy? Is it the product of the current job market? Is it a pushback against modern technology, or are they reinventing old crafts, incorporating new technology to enhance it? What is it that drives this return to traditional skills, craft, and physical labour? This is the topic that I am to investigate and document in the new direction for my film.

 

References

Luckman, S 2013, The Aura Of The Analogue In A Digital Age: Women’s Crafts, Creative Markets And Home-Based Labour After Etsy, Cultural Studies Review, vol. 19, no. 1, p. 249-270, Melbourne University Publishing.

 

McCracken, D 2017, Young men reinventing the tradition of trades, Weekend Australian, AUS.