1
of
1
Thinking through Craft
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 117 ratings, 7 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$6099
Unit price
/
Unavailable
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks
Found a better price? Request a price match
Thinking through Craft
$6099
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Ideal for readers interested in crafts, visual arts, art history, and cultural criticism, especially those seeking a deeper understanding of craftsmanship’s evolving role within contemporary and modern art contexts.
Latest News
Shirl and Lizzy Review The Starving Bride
Catherine Chidgey does it again with another incredible novel that will have people talking for...
Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reads for the Spooky Season
We asked our Sci-Fi and Fantasy reader, Edd, to share his recs for Spooky Season...
Review: In the Room
An emotional and authentic retelling of an extraordinary chapter in our country’s history. Andrew Campbell’s...
An Evening with Ryan Holiday: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life
I was lucky enough to see Ryan Holiday speak in Auckland on Tuesday night. I've...
Emma Galloway visits Book Hero
We we delighted to have chef and author, Emma Galloway, visit Hero HQ to promote...
See more
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
Co-published in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
This book is a timely and engaging introduction to the way that artists working in all media think about craft. Workmanship is key to today's visual arts, when high ‘production values’ are becoming increasingly commonplace. Yet craft’s centrality to contemporary art has received little serious attention from critics and historians.
Dispensing with clichéd arguments that craft is art, Adamson persuasively makes a case for defining craft in a more nuanced fashion. The interesting thing about craft, he argues, is that it is perceived to be 'inferior' to art.
Thinking through Craft consists of an overview of various aspects of this second-class identity - supplementarity, sensuality, skill, the pastoral, and the amateur. It also provides historical case studies analysing craft's role in a variety of disciplines, including architecture, design, contemporary art, and the crafts themselves.
Thinking through Craft will be essential reading for anyone interested in craft or the broader visual arts.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
'Adamson offers a fresh and sophisticated perspective on hand-crafted objects, reinvigorating post-war art history,' praises Thomas Crow from NYU. Pennina Barnett of Goldsmiths College highlights his engaging and lucid writing, while Modern Painters commends the book as a highly original and thoughtful contribution. Elissa Auther calls it 'pathbreaking,' and Maria notes its potential to inspire radical new thinking about craft and fine art.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781350092631
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 01 October 2018
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Illustration: 44 bw and 16 colour illustrations, biblio, index
Audience: Tertiary education
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 14.0mm
Width: 168.0mm
Height: 242.0mm
Weight: 480g
Pages: 224
About the Author
Glenn Adamson is Deputy Head of Research and Head of Graduate Studies at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where he leads a graduate program in the History of Design. He holds degrees in Art History from Cornell University (BA) and from Yale University (PhD).
Dr. Adamson was previously curator at the Chipstone Foundation, and in that capacity prepared exhibitions at the Milwaukee Art Museum and taught Art History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the co-editor (with Tanya Harrod and Edward S. Cooke, Jr.) of the Journal of Modern Craft, the only academic journal in the subject area, which will launch in March 2008.
Also by Glenn Adamson
View all-
Nike: Form Follows Motion
An unprecedented look at the design archives of the iconic sportswear brand. In Autumn 2024, the Vitra Design Museum will present the first ever museum exhibition about Nike, the world's most revered sport brand. The exhibition, together with this accompanying catalogue, marks the milestones in Nike's six-decade history and explores its ascent into a global brand that holds a central...Hardback$12000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Lino Tagliapietra
The most comprehensive monograph available on the greatest living glassblower, Lino Tagliapietra. Lino Tagliapietra has been described as the world’s greatest glassblower, a figure born from the five-hundred-year-old culture of Venetian glass, but one who also revolutionised glass as a discipline, inventing new techniques to create his masterful works. Even more astonishing, as Tagliapietra hit his full stride, he has...Hardback$9000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Gaetano Pesce
The definitive volume on Gaetano Pesce's incomparable life and career, as told in the artist-designer’s own words. In a category all his own, Gaetano Pesce is widely considered one of the most important and elusive creative figures of the last half century. Bridging numerous key art and design movements, while never belonging to any of them, Pesce's singular practice has...Hardback$18000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Liz Collins
This groundbreaking volume positions Liz Collins as a singular figure who not only synthesises fine art, craft and fashion and textile design, but also advocates fiercely for queer and feminist politics. Collins is a queer feminist artist known for her radical deployment of fibre, her activism around labour and gender politics, and her exploration of the borderlands between art, design...Paperback$9000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Craft Reader
From the canonical texts of the Arts and Crafts Movement to the radical thinking of today's "DIY" movement, from theoretical writings on the position of craft in distinction to Art and Design to how-to texts from renowned practitioners, from feminist histories of textiles to descriptions of the innovation born of necessity in Soviet factories and African auto-repair shops...The Craft Reader...Paperback$9399Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Invention of Craft
Glenn Adamson's last book, Thinking Through Craft, offered an influential account of craft's position within modern and contemporary art. Now, in his engaging sequel, The Invention of Craft, his theoretical discussion of skilled work is extended back in time and across numerous disciplines. Adamson searches out the origins of modern craft, locating its emergence in the period of the industrial...Paperback$20499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Art in the Making
From painting to digital technologies to crowdsourcing, over the last few decades, the means of making artworks have become more extraordinary and diverse. Yet we rarely consider the implications of how art is made. In this wide-ranging exploration of methods and media in art since the 1950s, Glenn Adamson and Julia Bryan-Wilson take the reader behind the scenes of the...Hardback$6099Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
More from Arts & Culture
View all-
Dylan's PickBold Types
A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...Hardback$5999Elsewhere:$7000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseI’ll Believe in Anything
From Jacob Tierney, the creator of Heated Rivalry, in partnership with Brendan Brady and Accent Aigu, comes I’ll Believe in Anything, an official and complete collection of annotated scripts for the biggest cultural sensation of the year, with all new exclusive behind-the-scenes content.Based on Rachel Reid’s blockbuster Game Changers book series, Heated Rivalry premiered on Crave and HBO in late 2025 and immediately took the world by storm. I’ll...Hardback$5499Elsewhere:$6000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Home Again
Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoir Home Again.This is more than a rock story. Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it. From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...Paperback$2700Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
20% offThe Odyssey
Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative....Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$3599Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
21% offThe Iliad
When Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017—revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was "fresh, unpretentious and lean" (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)—critics lauded it as "a revelation" (Susan Chira, New York Times) and "a cultural landmark" (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an...Paperback$2600Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
20% offDisney Moana: The Official Cookbook
Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...Hardback$3600Elsewhere:$5299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseA Life in Lyrics
Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest showmen of the twentieth century. With his unparalleled voice and searing on-stage energy, he was a great pretender, a killer queen and a champion of the world. But behind the glamour lived a musician and lyricist talented beyond measure, and the creative force behind one of the most culturally significant and musically diverse...Hardback$5000Elsewhere:$6500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseBirdlands
A rare, intimate journey into the wild islands where Aotearoa's birds live beyond the reach of most human lives. In the most remote outposts of Aotearoa, our islands are populated not with people, but with birds. From the storm-lashed Subantarctic Islands in the deep south to the scattered volcanic islands of Tikapa Moana/Hauraki Gulf in the north, Birdlands offers a...Hardback$4199Elsewhere:$5000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
21% offThis Angry Pen of Mine
This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...Hardback$5800Elsewhere:$8999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Artist's Way
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is a transformative guidebook that has captivated millions, including luminaries such as Elizabeth Gilbert and Tim Ferriss. With its profound ability to inspire and elevate, this book invites readers to embark on an enriching creative journey, fostering a deeper connection to one's artistic process and sense of purpose. The heart of Cameron's groundbreaking programme...Paperback$3700Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseSplit Enz
'My favourite band. Ever! And certainly the best dressed.' Sam Neill Split Enz were never designed to fit. Emerging from art school mischief in early-1970s New Zealand, they turned pop into surreal theatre: costume, character and melody colliding in a rock band that refused to behave like one. At the centre of that vision was Noel Crombie—percussionist, performer and the...Hardback$5199Elsewhere:$6500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
They Bloom Because of You
Bestselling author and Instagram sensation Jessica Urlichs returns with a new collection of beautifully observed poems about the ever-evolving journey of motherhood - the hard, the magic and the fleeting. ‘A raw and honest read that makes you feel seen and understood in a way that will bring you to tears.’ - Hilary Swank ‘A book to keep close and...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
Arts & Culture lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Poetry of Aotearoa
Check out some of the amazing local talent we are spoilt with right here in Aotearoa.View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Poetry for Beginners - Where to Start
10 Books I'd recommend to someone new to reading poetry - a mix of old and new, all magical introductions to the...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Lizzy's Favourite Books of Poetry
If I could only have 10 poetry collections to survive on for the rest of my life, these are them. Or maybe...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Books to read for Women in Translation month!
August is Women in Translation month, but at any time of year it's worth checking out these incredible novels written by women...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listArts & Culture
Inside the World of Film
Step behind the scenes of the world of filmmaking! Discover iconic directors and movie history of some of the world's memorable films.View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listArts & Culture
Books to Celebrate NZ Music Month
New Zealand Music Month happens every May, it's a reminder that we have so many talented musicians, singer, songwriters here in Aotearoa....View the list
