Contemporary art, interdisciplinary research, traditional Appalachian culture, and advanced technology converge in The Mountain Lake Symposium and Workshop: Artists in Locale. Published to coincide with the exhibition of the same name, the book showcases the collaborative creative works that emerged from the Mountain Lake Symposium, a decade-long theoretical art criticism conference founded by artist Ray Kass in 1980 and co-organized with art critic Donald B. Kuspit and Howard Risatti. The Mountain Lake Workshop integrated the arts and sciences into a dynamic experimental creative process that expanded the traditional boundaries of visual art. Artists who have created works at the Mountain Lake Workshop include John Cage, Merce Cunningham, James De La Vega, Howard Finster, Lynn Hull, Jesse Mann, Sally Mann, Jackie Matisse, Jiro Okura, M. C. Richards, Dorothea Rockburne, Wayne Thiebaud, Cy Twombly, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, and many others. This book's essays and extensive photographs serve as a critical reflection of the Mountain Lake Symposium's history and impact, and of the ongoing collaborative Mountain Lake Workshops that continue to demonstrate the relevance of the arts across various disciplines.

What is craft? How is it different from fine art or design? In A Theory of Craft, Howard Risatti examines these issues by comparing handmade ceramics, glass, metalwork, weaving, and furniture to painting, sculpture, photography, and machine-made design from Bauhaus to the Memphis Group. He describes craft as uniquely blending function with a deeper expression of human values that transcend culture, time, and space. Craft must articulate a role for itself in contemporary society, says Risatti; otherwise it will be absorbed by fine art or design, and its singular approach to understanding the world will be lost.