From: Howard Oh dear, I thought art without craft was called conceptual art - but then I was thinking of Tracey Emin... ;-) Howard agreed. I still maintain the temrs have been blurred from being synonymous with skill, to be more seperate and distinct, thus creating a class distinction.. a common marketing ploy. being a great enthusiast of etymology, I turn to http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=art art (n.) early 13c., "skill as a result of learning or practice," from O.Fr. art, from L. artem (nom. ars) "art, skill, craft," from PIE *ar-ti- (cf. Skt. rtih "manner, mode;" Gk. arti "just," artios "complete;" Armenian arnam "make;" Ger. art "manner, mode"), from base *ar- "fit together, join" (see arm (1)). In M.E. usually with sense of "skill in scholarship and learning" (c.1300), especially in the seven sciences, or liberal arts. This sense remains in Bachelor of Arts, etc. Meaning "human workmanship" (as opposed to nature) is from late 14c. Sense of "cunning and trickery" first attested c.1600. Meaning "skill in creative arts" is first recorded 1620; esp. of painting, sculpture, etc., from 1660s. Broader sense of the word remains in artless (1580s). As an adj. meaning "produced with conscious artistry (as opposed to popular or folk) it is attested from 1890, possibly from infl. of Ger. kunstlied "art song" (cf. art film, 1960; art rock, c.1970). Fine arts, "those which appeal to the mind and the imagination" first recorded 1767. Expression art for art's sake (1836) translates Fr. l'art pour l'art. First record of art critic is from 1865. Arts and crafts "decorative design and handcraft" first attested in the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, founded in London, 1888. worth noting too that the first World Fair exhibition to include photographs had them in the machinery section along with other technology of the day (such as the camera) art ->artful -> artifice -> artificial the words skill and craft have fewer negative connotations ;) artist 1580s, "one who cultivates one of the fine arts," from M.Fr. artiste (14c.), from It. artista, from M.L. artista, from L. ars (see art (n.)). Originally used especially of the arts presided over by the Muses (history, poetry, comedy, tragedy, music, dancing, astronomy), but also used 17c. for "one skilled in any art or craft" (including professors, surgeons, craftsmen, cooks). Now especially of "one who practices the arts of design or visual arts" (a sense first attested 1747). artiste 1823, from Fr. artiste, a reborrowing of 'artist' after the sense of artist had become limited toward the visual arts and especially painting. Technical / technician 1617, "skilled in a particular art or subject," formed in Eng. from Gk. tekhnikos "of art," from tekhne "art, skill, craft" (see techno-). The sense narrowed to "having to do with the mechanical arts" (1727) Abstract late 14c., from L. abstractus "drawn away," pp. of abstrahere, from ab(s)- "away" + trahere "draw" (see tract (1)). Meaning "withdrawn or separated from material objects or practical matters" is from 1550s; (specifically in ref. to the fine arts, it dates from 1915) trivium 1804, from M.L., "grammar, rhetoric, and logic," first three of the seven liberal arts in the Middle Ages, considered less important than (the other liberal arts) arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. From L. trivium "place where three roads meet" (liberal meaning 'free' as in 'free man' or 'man of leisure' ..kinda) Science c.1300, "knowledge (of something) acquired by study," also "a particular branch of knowledge," from O.Fr. science, from L. scientia "knowledge," from sciens (gen. scientis), prp. of scire "to know," probably originally "to separate one thing from another, to distinguish," related to scindere "to cut, divide," from PIE base *skei- (cf. Gk. skhizein "to split, rend, cleave," Goth. skaidan, O.E. sceadan "to divide, separate;" see shed (v.)). Modern sense of "non-arts studies" is attested from 1678. The distinction is commonly understood as between theoretical truth (Gk. episteme) and methods for effecting practical results (tekhne), but science sometimes is used for practical applications and art for applications of skill. (re: tekhne) /ramble k
