Posts Tagged ‘Exhibit’
Museum Exhibit: Crafting Modernism
Monday, January 16th, 2012
Several weeks ago I took the time while in New York to go to the Museum of Art and Design (MAD) to see the CRAFTING MODERNISM exhibit. The museum, formerly the Museum of Contemporary Crafts (MCC) and later the American Craft Museum (ACM) still retains its original vision by creating exhibits to examine and celebrate American craft in the 20th century. It charts the bold new direction in craft media from the postwar period through the mid 60′s, showing a range of works from the strictly functional but studio made, to beautiful objects integrated into the factory with the designer-craftsman serving as the bridge between hand and machine.
What makes this exhibition so special is that in our technological age the handmade object has become an important expression of individuality. It is also a tribute to the innumerable galleries, journals, conferences and fairs that promoted the studio craft movement; the artists who were willing to develop new techniques with their chosen materials and take advantage of technical advancements. It also acknowledges a group of individuals with vision and energy to support and promote these craftspeople. The influence of craftspeople spread with their participation in international exhibitions with pieces that went outside of traditional boundaries to show work of great originality and energy.
Many of the earliest craftspeople brought a modernist perspective to their art that was shaped by the Bauhaus; for example Joseph and Anni Albers worked to unify art, craft and industry. There was a fine group of artists from Denmark working in metals and ceramics. A crafts lifestyle attracted a small group who wanted self employment and small scale production as a means to being self sufficient. They could work independently or collaboratively, teach, or team with industry where the “designer-craftsman” could create objects with mass production capabilities.
Today the studio craft movement is a vital part of the world art scene. This exhibit and the MAD celebrate artists who have taken their materials to new frontiers. All of the objects are beautifully staged and many of the pieces are awe inspiring. I have included pictures of a few of my favorites, some that are familiar to all of us.
Try not to miss CRAFTING MODERNISM.
Barbara Sallick
Tags: Crafting, Exhibit, Modernism, Museum
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Kitchen Exhibit at MoMA
Friday, December 10th, 2010
The exhibition Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen at the Museum of Modern Art explores the 20th century transformation of the kitchen as a pivotal point of modern thinking in family life. After WW1, kitchens long ignored by design professionals began to attract attention from domestic reformers and progressive architects. They wanted to transform the kitchen from drab, inefficient and unsanitary to something newer and family friendly. Previously the kitchen was relegated to the basement or an annex; it’s new popularity called for the reorganization of house design and a new definition of women and their place in family life.
Architects began to use prefabricated construction with the goal of optimizing efficiency. The result was compact, practical spaces central to the functioning of a modern home. Between the wars, the new kitchen was shaped by new materials and technologies. Aluminum, heat resistant glass and the increased availability of electricity and gas gave way to new efficiencies.
From Moscow to Brussels and Berlin, kitchens were at the core of radical projects to modernize housing, particularly public-housing built around the city of Frankfurt. This exhibit is really fascinating. The text that accompanies the displays is very illuminating and the art ranges from paintings to photographs by Irving Penn and Edward Weston (who knew eggs made such great art) to posters, objects and gadgets that add a unique dimension.
The exhibits makes a compelling argument that the kitchen is a place of mess, mishap, socialization and sensuality. It is a place that evokes a gamut of emotions fostering creativity and genuine pleasure as well as anxiety. The kitchens we love today – big, bright spaces, stone counter tops, beautiful backsplashes, countless stainless appliances and incredible functionality – have evolved organically from the 20′s.
Based on the fact that the kitchen is the 21st century’s heart of the house and family, this exhibit is timely. Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen, is on view until March 14th 2011.
I have taken the pictures that accompany this post, but I am not a photographer so I apologize for their quality. If you are in New York before March 14th, take an hour to be entertained by this informative exhibition.
Barbara
bsallick@waterworks.com or find me on Facebook.
Tags: Exhibit, Kitchen, MoMA
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