Craft of inauthenticity: Notes on originality, media and craft exhibitions

Abstract

Abstract This position article argues that authenticity of craft objects hardly matters when we discuss the idea of crafts’ digital representation. Using three recent exhibitions as examples of representation of authenticity and craft in the digital realm the author demonstrates that, while the notions of identity, technique, material and the changes of the objects’ consumption continue to be important in audiences’ and scholars’ understanding of craft culture, the notion of the authentic has become irrelevant. The idea is that authenticity, when related to objects, is always a constructed notion located outside of the craft object. Given that, this article argues that in the era of constant change of the images through digital transformation, the notion of originality and its authenticity is less important while the path of transformation has gained significance.