functional art

Art created for a utilitarian purpose. Works of art may have a number of functions; for example, African art may have a social or healing purpose, whereas a historical painting acts as a record of an event or era in history. However, the term is mainly and traditionally used with reference to art that serves a practical purpose, such as furniture, pottery, metalwork, and textiles, along with crafts such as jewellery and stained glass. Arts such sculpture, painting, and printmaking are considered non-functional art. However, all art created is considered to have an aesthetic quality and purpose, regardless of its function.

It was not until the 18th century that Western art historians began to differentiate between art that was ‘pure’ or ‘fine’ (completely aesthetic), and art that served a practical purpose. In non-Western art the difference between functional and non-functional art is less distinct. For example, on the Polynesian island of Tonga, small whale-ivory carvings representing ancestors were not just used for worship, they were also deeply admired for their aesthetic quality, the artists being regarded as highly-skilled experts. In the West, the boundary between functional and non-functional art has increasingly blurred since the 18th century; works prized for their utilitarian function, such as a stained-glass window, are also admired for their inherent beauty.

Functional art should not be confused with Functionalism, a principle in architecture amd design which rejects anything that has no practical purpose; design is dictated by intended function, rather than function following form.