Collingwood On Art, Craft And All That Jazz

R. G. Collingwood is best known within the philosophy of art for his development of the so-called expressionist theory. Briefly stated, this theory regards expression as a necessary condition for the production of any artwork, where expression is conceived as a process whereby the artist transforms inchoate thoughts and feelings into some clarified form within a given artistic medium. My intention is not to examine the conception of expression itself, but instead, turn to Collingwood’s earlier distinction between art and craft. Here I am particularly interested in Aaron Ridley’s analysis which maintains that, despite a strong distinction between art and craft, Collingwood’s account is flexible enough to accommodate a notion of technique relevant to artistic production, where such technique is itself craft-like in character.