HSC English First Paper | Unit: 14, Lesson: 3 | Art and Music | Crafts in Our Time

1. Warm up activity:

□ Can you distinguish between art and craft?

□ How many different crafts do rural people engage la now? What do these have to do with their lives?

2. Read the text and answer the questions that follow:

A craft work is an applied form of art, a social and cultural product reflecting the inclusive nature of folk imagination. A craftwork, which usually doesn't bear the signature of its maker, retains a personal touch. When we look at a tirirty year old tu&shlkantha we wonder at its motifs and designs that point to the artistic ingenuity and the presence of the maker in it The fact that we don't know her name or any other details about her doesn't take anything away from our appreciation of the artist Indeed, the intimate nature of the kansha and the tactile feeling it generates animate the work and make it very inviting.

A craftwork is shaped by the interaction of individual creativity and community aesthetics, utility functions and hinrmn values. It is distinguished by its maker's desire to locate himself or herself in the wider and ever-changing cultural aspirations of die community, and subsequently of the markeL But even whoi the market is an important factor, community aesthetics remains the factor determining the form and content of the craftwork. The exquisite terracotta dolls from Dinajpur dating back to early 1940s that form a part of the Bangladesh National Museum's collection were mostly bought from village fairs by some patron. They were no doubt meant to be consumer items, but the dolls reflect community aesthetics in such a manner that the market has not been able to impose ita own preferences on them.

A craft work thus is a dynamic object-always evolving, and always abreast of changing tastes and preferences. It also IUJAUILULI a way of life and a cultural flavour. Therefore changes in lifestyle and material conditions tie expected to have their impact on crtftwarfcft and their production. But certain forms, shapes, styles and aeafoetic preferences change little over time, suggesting that a craflwotk can fuactico as a stable signifis- of community values and desires ova- time. Mechanical and mass production tab away tins ftehng of assurance and stability and the sense of continuity that the handmade cmftworit evokes,

In the clash between expectations of pure, handmade creftworits and the market need of mechanically produced raaftworks, two contesting views merge: on foe CDC hand, traditionalist! contend that the society needs to preserve the authenticity and naturalness of craftwo*fl and their association with domesticity and environment; and, on the ofoer, promoters of nmcliTim production argue thni foe machine has helped restore the appeal of the crafts due to their cheaper production colts.

There are no easy solutions to the problems that ciaflwuiks face in our time. 

Crafts foot are disappearing can and should be revived, evra where the machine has made the prospect difficult And crafts that we still practiced can be safeguarded and made to consolidate their position further. This con be done by providing grants, loans, assistance and other support to foe producers, and helping than find i comfortable customer base. But more importantly, craftwork can be branded and successfully marketed throughout the oountiy and beycod as there are always bxiyere and users of handmade products who feci a strong attraction towards such cultural products.

3. Answer the following questions:

a. In the text above, what are the main ideas presented?

b. What, according to the text, are the distinctive qualities of a craftwork?

c. Write a page on what, in your opinion, are the differences between a handmade craftwork and a machine produced one.

d. The text considers the mechanical production of craftwork a challenge to the preservation of its authenticity. Do you agree?

e. What role does the market play in promoting crafts? How can we successfully use market forces to brand our craftworks both within and outside the country?

4. Write a passage on each of the following crafts:

a. woodcraft

b. jewellery

c. pottery

d. embroidery

5. Use the following words in a paragraph on the enduring appeal of craftwork:

a. distinctive

b. dynamic

c. continuity

d. naturalness

e. exquisite

6. Find the meanings of the following words and then make sentences with them:

a. inclusive

b. motif

c. ingenuity

d. tactile

e. aspiration

f. significance

g. safeguard

7. The following words may be adjectives or verbs. For each word, provide its noun form:

a. animate

b. retain

c. evolve

d. mechanical

e. stable

8. Provide the verb forms of the nouns below:

a. assurance

b. preference

c. continuity

d. association

e. production

f. solution

If you want read the next unit please click the link below:

Unit Fifteen: Tours and Travels

Lesson 1: Travelling to a Village in Bangladesh