Industrial revolution has popularized mass production of things, something that lasted through the ages. In the past, Morris’ reaction against it is not surprising as he thought mass production would bring an end to craftsmenship and craftsmen’s jobs. And so he reacted by producing his works painstakingly by hand (and in so doing consequentially making his works rare and more expensive despite his ideal of making them available to everybody).

Industrial revolution still has its traces in our daily life nowadays. Mass production is still around and kicking. In contrary to Morris’s theory, however, it has helped publicise and get artists’ works exposure to the public instead of shutting down the industry. For example, artists’ designs on shirts or clothes can now be bought all around the world at the click of a button. It is heartening, at least for me personally, to see that with the development of technology comes not the demise of artistry but instead a chance for another medium to be explored.