But is it art?

Photo courtesy of

sifis / Joseph Sakalak

I'm still thinking about the whole issue of art vs. craft and the semantics of what it all means. The original post is here. 

Below I've listed a few more of my rambling thoughts on this subject.

One of the definitions of art vs. craft I read, included a section that postulated that a highly intellectual explanation by the artist is what makes it art. I don't agree with this view as it means that what art is determined is by the maker not the viewer. I could come up with this type of description for many of the items I've made so that argument just doesn't make the cut for me.

I recently read about how art quilt makers are trying to distance themselves from traditional quilt makers.  It struck me that it is similar to what I see going on in Ravelry threads  over knit vs. crochet or acrylic vs. natural fibers. For whatever reason people want to separate themselves from what they view as less valuable in others. It is making me think that our view of value maybe skewing this whole discussion in a way I'm not sure is meaningful.

In the knitting community there is intense interest in male knitters and if they are gay or straight. One of the Yarn Harlot books had an essay on how things made by a male Knitter are seen as much better than items produced by women. When I read the book I mentioned in my original post about art and craft there was some discussion about the fact that it took white male artists to give fibre credibility in the art world. This leads me to believe that this an issue of gender not art . 

Women, knitting, art, any more comments???