Art or Craft?

I just found this Finnish artist, Anu Tuominen...you can see the entire portfolio here, it's worth a look. This particular piece appeals to me IMMENSELY. It's crocheted pot holders. But that doesn't really matter, does it? It's the whole that we take in...that creates the beauty. But what makes this art? Not craft? Or is it craft?

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Matt and I had been into NYC to the museum of Arts and Design (MAD) as they like to call themselves (interestingly, they used to be the American museum of craft; they moved building and changed their name...maybe they weren't being taken seriously enough before). And I mentioned that it had confused my understanding of the boundaries between ART and CRAFT. Well, to be honest, I don't think I ever had an understanding.

I consider myself an artist (an unsold, unrecognised artist, but an artist all the same- I once saw a fantastic quote along the lines of "I don't create because I enjoy it, I do it because not creating is torture" ). But I also see myself as a CRAFTIST. Not a word I know, but it should be. To me "craft" is a medium for expressing my art. When I make things, I take an original idea, and problem solve to bring it to fruition. I do this with painting, with pottery, with crochet, or quilting or knitting or whatever. The process is the same; it's the medium that changes. And I am sure for all artists/craftists it's the same. AND YET, one is taken more seriously than the other. One demands higher sale prices than the other. One is for galleries, one isn't.

My most recent pottery teacher was telling me about an art show she wanted to enter some of her pots into. She was told that she could only enter in ceramics that were not functional. And yet, the MAD is all about functionality and design. My pottery teacher I had before (I have posted about her here) I totally consider an artist; her angels are simply amazing. Yet she has to trawl the craft shows in our area to sell her work-she has to create functional things in order to earn a living. Some of my most favourite pieces in the Met, are ancient pieces that were entirely functional, but are stunningly beautiful. Were they craft in their time? Is it time that makes them art?

So what is the boundary between art and craft? It has been many years since I studied any art theory, and I don't recall us even mentioning craft. I'm interested in other's opinions on this matter. I read fantastic wonderfully creative blogs ever day written by (what I would consider) artists who have chosen craft as their medium. I truely am fascinated by what makes ART (deliberately in capital letters) art. And what enables the humble craft of crochet to be catapulted into the world of ART? Weigh in by all means. I'd love to hear your opinion.