In The Persistence of Craft, contributors discuss the development of not only six specific crafts (glass, ceramics, jewelry, wood, textiles, and metal) but also the trends and movements that have helped shape their development. These trends range from philosophical considerations and issues such as ethnicity, tradition, and post modernism, to practicalities such as the development of new techniques and equipment.

All of these topics reveal one over-arching concern: the function of the crafts within modernist culture. A great number of significant works are being made in all types of media, with all media types gaining scope and ambition. The underlying cultural position of the crafts, however, remains a tense and unresolved matter. In this collection, artists, historians, and philosophers around the world examine here the complex issues confronting this vital area of visual culture.

Richly illustrated, The Persistence of Craft presents an overview of the studio crafts movement as it developed in the twentieth century and sets the scene for its further development as we move into the new millennium.

Paul Greenhalgh is the president of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. He was head of Research at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. His books include The Essential Art Nouveau, Modernism in Design, and Ephemeral Vistas: A History of Expositions Universalles, Great Exhibitions and World Fairs, 1851-1939

Craft in a Changing World

Art Manufacturers of the 21^st Century

Re-Inventing the Wheel-The Origins of Studio Pottery

Glassmaking and the Evolution of the Craft Process

Major Themes in Late 20^th Century Ceramic Art

Site- Specific Metalwork: An Architectural Dialogue

Studio Jewelry

Poor Materials Imaginatively Applied: New Approaches to Furniture

The Transformation of Textile Art

Intellectual Colonialism: Post-war Avant-garde Jewelry