Sandra Alfoldy

Artengine's UNHANDED

Sandra Alfoldy’s artist talk delves into the intricate relationship between craft, technology, tradition, and the evolving discourse surrounding the maker’s hand. With eloquence and depth, she navigates through the complexities of terminology and the shifting paradigms within professional studio practice and popular culture.

Alfoldy deftly unpacks the dichotomy between the glorification of handcrafted authenticity in consumer culture and its diminished significance within professional studio settings. She critically examines the Eurocentric underpinnings of craft and design history, questioning the persistent dominance of European traditions and philosophies.

Drawing parallels between past debates and contemporary concerns, Alfoldy provocatively asks whether the advancement of technology enhances intellect or diminishes sensuality in the creative process. She challenges the audience to contemplate the implications of a global discourse on craftsmanship and the tension between the desire for artisanal quality and the lure of mass-produced affordability.

Ultimately, Alfoldy confronts the existential question of what is at stake in the ongoing dialogue about the role of the maker’s hand. With echoes of historical anxieties about industrialization, she prompts reflection on whether we risk sacrificing artistry in pursuit of efficiency and control. Through her incisive analysis, Alfoldy invites us to reconsider the essence of craft and its enduring relevance in a rapidly changing world.

This presentation was part of the symposium Unhanded. In this panel we ask about the variety of new relationships with materials that emerging with the increasing ubiquitousness of digital technologies. With the increased complexity of tools we wonder how do we learn about materials? How do we get to know them? How do we share this knowledge? We can now know the molecular structure of wood or metal without touching it. Is this a more intimate relationship than working directly with our hands? Does it matter? If the objects coming out of digital and mechanical processes are more removed from our handywork, how might they carry the mark of the machine? Should we be able to read the machine in the material?

It is with very heavy hearts that we acknowledge the untimely passing of Dr. Sandra Alfoldy on February 24, 2019.

NSCAD University invites you to remember and honour Sandra, by helping future students continue her intellectual legacy through the establishment of the Dr. Sandra Alfoldy Memorial Scholarships, in her memory. Your financial support will help students pursue and continue their studies and contribute to and continue work in craft history and media.

Dr. Sandra Alfoldy was a respected scholar in craft history, having received her Ph.D. from Concordia University in 2001, and completing a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Rochester in 2002. Her research notably focused on the relationship between craft and architecture in post-war Canada, as well as the historical tensions between Canadian studio craft and industrial design. She authored “Crafting Identity: The Development of Professional Fine Craft in Canada” (McGill Queen’s University Press, 2005), edited “Neocraft: Modernity and the Crafts” (NSCAD Press, 2007), and co-edited “Craft, Space and Interior Design: 1855-2005” (Ashgate Press, 2008). These works underscore her significant contribution to the understanding and appreciation of craft in both historical and contemporary contexts.

how do we discuss this idea of tradition, imitation, inheritance in the processes of making in the 21st century? Does unending reflect an increase in intellect? Is that what we’re after or is an handling a diminishment of sensuality? So I’m curious about that relationship and how do we apply this to a global be a new and inclusive language? I think there’s the rub. We still are applying that. And so that Eurocentric imperative is still there. We haven’t resolved the yearning that we always have to make and own beautifully handcrafted objects that can enhance our lives with the good old desire for cheap, handcrafted items.

If technology is used, it is often described as facilitating the maker's vision. So there is an idea that technology is very positive, it helps, but the maker has not lost use of his or her hand.

Garnet Hertz

$ Value and Values

Join us as Macy Siu gives us the lowdown on another development from the Digital Economies Lab – the Offer/Need Machine. In an era where the gig economy has monetized every informal network from ride sharing to pet sitting, the Offer/Need Machine proposes a network of decentralized reciprocity. Pay close attention to when Siu explains the need for an anti-capitalist model and more-than-human design.

David Rokeby