What is Mass Production?
Mass production is the creation of many products in a short period of time using time-saving techniques such as assembly lines and specialization. It allows a manufacturer to produce more per worker-hour, and to lower the labor cost of the end product. This in turn allows the product to be sold for a lower cost. Prior to the wide-spread adoption of mass production techniques, a craftsman built a product from start to finish. This meant that he had to know all aspects of the assembly of the product, including the creation of the individual parts. A cabinetry craftsman, for instance, would have to be able to cut and finish the individual pieces, piece them together, affix the hardware and create whatever decorative effects such as marquetry or inlaid work the finished piece might require. Using mass production techniques, one worker might be responsible for cutting the boards, another for finishing them to size, a third for building the shelving hardware, and so on.
Mass Production is defined as production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines. For the purposes of the definition of original art for the Cultural Districts program, items that can be reordered in quantity are considered mass produced. If an artist designs a work of art that he/she intends to duplicate through manufacturing, printing, or assembly by pattern over and over it is deemed to be “Intended for mass production” and is not eligible for tax exempt sale. • Are hand-made, original design oriental rugs eligible? Most handmade oriental rugs are not original art under the definition adopted for the Cultural Districts program. They are created from traditional patterns or may be variations of a pattern recreated again and again. The rugs are manufactured items even though they use a hand knotting construction process. If the provenance (the history of the ownership of an object, especially when documented or authenticated) can show that
