The Nature and Art of Workmanship

In this classic book, first published in 1968, David Pye assesses the importance of craft in a mechanised age. At a time when many questioned the relevance of working with hand tools, Pye argued for the importance of skill and workmanship, proposing a new theory of making based on the concepts of ‘workmanship of risk’ and ‘workmanship of certainty’. In Pye’s view, good workmanship imparts richness and diversity to our visual environment.

In his introduction to this new edition, leading craft scholar Ezra Shales surveys Pye’s unique role as an expert eye whose writing is still cited by influential anthropologists such as Tim Ingold and Daniel Miller as well as art historians such as Glenn Adamson and John Thackara. He considers Pye’s role in the 1980s as a contributing curator to the Maker’s Eye exhibition, and contrasts the distinct ways that his writings and legacy as a theorist have been interpreted. The new edition is illustrated with images of Pye’s own work as a maker, as well as with work by artists and makers who have been influenced by Pye’s practice.