Difference Between Artist and Craftsman

What is an Artist?

The name of artist is that person who practices or exercises professionally, any of the various areas of art such as painting, drawing, music, dance, poetry, sculpture, among others. The artist has particular abilities and skills that allow him to create or express through his art, his vision of the world or a representation of reality based on his inspiration.

The word art is related by its concept with skills and techniques in its most literal sense, but the artist is seen as the one who reflects in his work originality and beauty of everyday life. Of course, every artist must possess and master the appropriate techniques for the art he develops, which allows experts in the area to judge its aesthetic value.

However, the perception of an artist’s work can be subjective, since not all the public will be in favor of considering each creative expression as a transcendental piece of aesthetic value, and that is because the culture that is handled in it strongly influences this. the society.

What is an Artisan?

It is a person who works with skills and manual abilities without the support of machinery for the elaboration of their products. In general, the pieces are very similar to each other, but many times it is the client who requests to make a modification to the work so that it better suits their tastes and preferences, which is possible since, being handmade, they are can be modified to please the buyer, without the need to vary the essence of the elaborated object.

Artisans develop these faculties from an early age, and in some cases their knowledge is passed down from generation to generation. For the elaboration of handicrafts, they usually use the resources of the area in which they are located and their inspiration or reasons are given by the use they have in the community, their works being a kind of sample of the native virtues of the place, making their crafts part of the folklore of a region.

The sale of the products offered by the craftsman is in a particular way, without the use of intermediaries; because they do not work with mass production but the work is manual and in many cases it is done more out of true passion for art itself, than in expectation of a monetary reward for it. Those who exercise it as a trade, appreciate his work as part of the regional tradition that they must continue.

Difference Between Artist and Craftsman

• The artist creates unique and unrepeatable works of art in any of the areas in which he stands out, since they are the product of his imagination; while the craftsman makes pieces with a specific material and specializes in them, so he reproduces the models in limited quantity.
• The craftsman uses his manual skills and the materials offered by his environment for the elaboration of his crafts, instead the artist applies his skill and dexterity, under techniques and aesthetic principles, that give value to his art.
• The artist usually has studies or specializations that accredit him as a performer of an art. On the other hand, the craftsman can develop his skills through family or community tradition.
• The artist through his work expresses very particular feelings, emotions and ideas about his vision of the world or imaginary situations. The craftsman performs his work as a trade that generates a monetary income and at the same time allows him to keep the tradition of the region alive.