Differentiation of modern crafts
The artisan world is affected by profound processes of differentiation. New artisans often have a high school diploma or degree, are open to the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), or work in this area. From an economic point of view, the most significant difference is between artisans who work alone, or with up to three employees, and craftsmen-entrepreneurs who employ up to ten or more employees, overlapping into the world of small business.
As for the use of information technologies, beginning with the Internet, the differentiation is heavily characterized by generation and ever more frequently the digital divide marks the boundary between the craftsmen, in all sectors, who manage to be successful and those that remain stuck to routine and in very confined areas.
The distinction between traditional crafts and new artisans is essential but must be used carefully. There may be “traditional” craftsmen in positions of excellence, not only as concerns artistic products, and craftsmen working in the ICT sector but who are unable to keep up with product quality and innovation.
In reality artistic craftsmanship is currently a nebulous social sector which is little known and little explored. Historically, for example, the peasant origin of many crafts which spread at the time of the waves of industrialization, has not been sufficiently studied . Sociologically the same can be said for the spread, in much of Europe, of small businesses around the world through non-EU immigration, in line with what occurred to internal migrations of a few decades earlier.
Now consider and discuss with your tutor the following questions:
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- Why have recovery projects such as those of city centers, given new stimulus to artisanal craftsmanship?
- In which way, is the distinction between old and new craftsmen characterized by generation?
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