Quality part 2 — Crafting quality
“The beauty of anything made of wood depends on surface quality to such an extent that a bad coat of polish will ruin the best furniture as certainly as pocks and scabs will ruin the most beautiful faces.” - David Pye
In the practical arts, quality is often treated as evidence of skill. To a point, it is. All hand made things require skill to make. However, a closer look reveals craftspeople, particularly furniture makers have an obsession with quality — an ideology that reflects a desire for perfection. Interestingly though in many corners of the visual arts, quality is irrelevant. It is not really part of the contemporary narrative, especially when compared with the practical arts.
Naturally, craftspeople need to emphasise accuracy (quality), as accuracy facilitates the assembly of different physical parts. But beyond that the complicated relationship between craft and quality is a little peculiar.
Functional objects with good surface quality are everywhere. The close relationship between the practical arts and mass production intensifies the emphasis placed on appearance and surface finish. Obviously, comparison is part of the consumer experience impacting how quality is perceived. However, when high-quality surface finishes are typical at most price points, it is simply an expectation, rather than a differentiator between handmade and mass-produced.
Ego is always present too. Hand made things reflect the maker, predictably clouding the creative process with ego. With consistency, high-quality objects are celebrated, shaping the desire for external validation and the aspiration to have a reputation for creating high-quality work.
Moreover, there is an inherent pressure to make perfect work when you are a subject matter expert. On top of that, woodwork is accessible and a popular hobby. Repeatedly, quality becomes a vanity metric to divide the professionals from the amateurs.
Quality is also obviously process driven. There is a visceral joy in material transformation. The satisfaction of taking something raw and rough and transforming it into something of superb quality.
Finally, there is a sunk cost mentality. The high-quality focus required for accurate work tends to be hard to turn off, and bleeds into just about every other process of a project.
Quality is just one part of the practical arts, yet it occupies a disproportionate amount of time and energy. Though it starts as a physical necessity for craftspeople it often turns into singular focus. Handmade objects of good quality are already slow, hard and uneconomical to make. Yet the highest quality work is about perfection and not only is perfection expensive it is also fleeting.