ANST - A&S - does utility count?

James Crouchet jtc at io.com
Mon May 10 08:30:29 PDT 1999


On 9 May 99,, Fopdejour1 at aol.com wrote:

>  I am going to answer your question with another question....How does one
> judge cleverness?  If it hides mundanity, wonderful, but it will be judged
> along the same guidelines as any other type entry.  Granting differential
> judging is not fair to artisans global.  The chair, lantern, cart etc.
> will be judged on what it is,(ie. metal working, wood working, leather
> working...and the list goes on.) not by what it does. 

I think this makes my point rather exactly. If I have a box that has 
been cleverly designed to hide a propane stove then it will simply be 
judged as a box. Perhaps deducting points because I did something to 
it that was not period. While I can "document" how I created it and 
why, I obviously cannot document the periodness of adding the propane 
stove.

If these forms remove the possibility of considering how a piece will 
make SCA life better or make it look less mundane or if they prevent 
you from even considering the actual period functionality of a piece 
(how much weigh will that cart bare?) they should not be used in SCA 
competitions. However, I doubt that is actually the case.

Since the subjects keep coming up, let me point out that I am NOT 
talking about giving a piece high marks in spite of poor 
documentation -- though the documentation on adding the hidden stove 
or ice chest will only be a description of how it was done as one 
obviously cannot document such a thing to period. And I do think 
better made or more complex pieces should win out over those less 
well make or less complex. None of that is my point at all.

I guess the question is, has the world of A&S that has become too 
remote from the SCA that it serves? Has the A&S function moved 
outside the SCA and become something separate that just happens to be 
done at the same time and place as some of our events?  

If the creativity or cleverness of a piece of craftsmanship cannot be 
judged, or if it utility to life in the SCA counts for nothing, then 
sadly, that is the case.

Doré
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