Studio crafts are ready for their close-up
In 1964, the Museum of Modern Art bought a Harvey Littleton glass sculpture for $75 – about the price of a washing machine. It was a stroke of curatorial genius. At the time, industrial kitsch was “in.” Andy Warhol was painting Campbell’s Soup cans in his "Factory." Roy Lichtenstein was painting comic strips. The nascent Studio Crafts Movement must have seemed terribly old-fashioned, with its emphasis on one-of-a-kind handmade art. Now the Metropolitan Museum, in its own stroke of curatorial genius, is highlighting craft masterpieces in its new exhibition One of a Kind: The Studio Craft Movement. In an era when hands-off conceptual thinkers delegate the "fabrication" of their art to assistants, this show feels fresh, almost radical.
Labels: Harvey Littleton, metropolitan museum, One-of-a-kind, studio craft movement
posted by Lisa Hunter @ 10:09 PM
3 Comments:
Hi Lisa,
Great post. We are neck deep in giclees, manufactured multiples, etc. Not that it's necessarily bad art, it's just cold. I'm thrilled that you're pointing this out to people.
This is my idea of an engaging art multiple: http://www.artsocket.com.
I've created this web-only gallery as collector who is tired of all the price-inflated machine made editions found in all of the usual places.
I do love some of the manufactured modern work, but there are just so many similarly influenced designs. Mature, well executed, handmade editions (primarily what I enjoy) are uncommon, sell out before you can find them or are quite expensive.
Ok, you've touched a nerve - I'll stop ranting!
Thanks for continuing to publish a relevant, insightful blog.
Yeah, what he/she said!
I think that the trend toward unique but affordable handmade editions will only get stronger as the we continue to be buried in mass manufactured goods from India and China. Despite our comfort with commodity, there is something to be said for well-crafted, unique works that stand out from the manufacturing background noise.
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