Knives As Works of Art

graywolfe

graywolfe

Joined
Apr 20, 2009
Messages
7
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Being new to this obsession, knife collecting, I am struck by the beauty of some of the knives that I have purchased and those that I have seen on this forum and on the web pages of the multitude of knife retailers. I would be interested in knowing what knife or knives the members of the BladeForums believe are truly "works of art."
 
This is gallery of Russian Bladesmith Guild:

http://www.rusartknife.urbannet.ru/gallery/

Here some knives for example (but there are much more there):

Gamayun and Alkonost - Bird of joy and Bird of Sorrow by Evgeny Sorokin
guild_sorokin_sirin_and_alkonost.jpg


May beetle by ZHeryadin
guild_geryadin_maybug.jpg


Deer by Levashov
guild_levashov_lan.jpg


You may browse gallery - it is easy even it is mostly in Russian.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
I do think that pure art is by it's very essence not necessarily functional. In that context, something like this could be considered art.
For a knife to be useful, we have to turn to good design, and then we can be talking about applied art, and something like this or this (the latter one designed by an architect who came to love laguioles) could fall in this category.
To my own taste, knives that are overloaded with complex engravings, sculptings or inlaid materials, or too a busy overload of damascus patterns (think about some William Henry products, or some of the pics in this thread) are perhaps a display of a masterful craft, but certainly not art.
 
As much as I adore the visual beauty and artistry of these fabulous knives, I'm in awe at the skills of those whom create such fine work!

To have the eye for the fine, detailed artwork and the skills to transform it from an inspiration, into an actual, genuine piece is a rare talent indeed.
 
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Thanks so much for those of you who posted the pictures of some of the most amazing knives that I have seen. I believe that the knife makers who create these works of art are first-class artisans as any painter or sculptor.

I hope that more of you will share some of the knives that you think qualify as works of Art.
 
Dagon said:
I do think that pure art is by it's very essence not necessarily functional. In that context, something like this could be considered art.
For a knife to be useful, we have to turn to good design, and then we can be talking about applied art, and something like this or this (the latter one designed by an architect who came to love laguioles) could fall in this category.
To my own taste, knives that are overloaded with complex engravings, sculptings or inlaid materials, or too a busy overload of damascus patterns (think about some William Henry products, or some of the pics in this thread) are perhaps a display of a masterful craft, but certainly not art.
Click to expand...

Ah, contemporary art theory versus traditional/popular notions of art as decoration and realism. This immediately brought to mind Vonnegut's Bluebeard. While I agree that "art" knives and guns tend to be busy and predictable, I see no way of drawing a useful distinction between craft and art. There are vast differences in execution of traditional designs, and frankly, theory driven art often becomes ingrown, condescending, and irrelevant. In other words, some of what you might call craft is truly art while others are paint by numbers, and conversely, some abstract or applied art is simply ill conceived or bad.
 
GenericJohn said:
Ah, contemporary art theory versus traditional/popular notions of art as decoration and realism (...)There are vast differences in execution of traditional designs, and frankly, theory driven art often becomes ingrown, condescending, and irrelevant. In other words, some of what you might call craft is truly art while others are paint by numbers, and conversely, some abstract or applied art is simply ill conceived or bad.
Click to expand...

Interesting thoughts.

I will say though that something may be art if it contains an idea or aesthetic even if its form is generic or paint by numbers D: At some level everything is repeated patterns and nodes in our brains connecting to form new concepts does not, at least in my opinion, constitute a break from that.
 
Sculptural Object as Functional Art.

It's what the art world calls, "Sofa."

I call it, "Why live with ordinary things?"
 
I agree that knives with little ornamentation and simple lines can be works of art. Many people like minimalism. It may be more difficult to create a work of art with simplistic or no ornamentation.
 
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