Interlacings : the craft of contemporary art : September 11-November 21, 1998, Whitney Museum of American Art at Champion.

28 Pages·1998·1.5 MB·English

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September II—November 21, 199^
WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART AT CHAMPION
This exhibitionwas organized by
Berta Sichel. guest curator.

NTERLACINGS: THE CRAFT OF CON-
TEMPORARY ART examines the work of
seven artists who use traditional craft
techniques, materials, or processes to
produce conceptually oriented art. In so
doing, as Berta Sichel reveals in heressay,
they cross the boundary between con-
temporary art and craft.
In different ways, the artists link
craft to idea. Crafthasalwaysimplied func-
tion, andJosiah McElheny and Teresa Serrano extend that assump-
tion. Serrano uses horse blankets in creating her sculptures, while
McElheny produces glass trays and goblets that beg to be used.
Evidence ofhandwork is vital to craft, and it is prominent in Roxy
Paine's trays of mushrooms and Sonia Labouriau's urucum paste
birds. The materialsofcraft are usuallytaken fromthe naturalworld,
so Sylvia Benitezhikesthroughthelocalcountryside forthevinesand
twigs she incorporates into large spherical sculptures. Finally, the
notion that the craft producer is typically female is explored in the
feministworks ofElena del Rivero and Michele Blondel.
Embracing the tools and methods of crafts, these artists
articulate a new aesthetic language that addresses ideas of self-
definition, cultural identity, and postmodern art practice.
- CYNTHIA ROZNOY
3
oppositepo.gr
MicheleBlondel, UNTITLED. 1997
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—
uch of the art and the critical literature
about it during the last fifteen years has
focused onthedramatic encounterbetween
conceptualism and a certain style ofnar-
rative art which addresses gender, race, or
identity issues in a manner resembling
2?k
advertising. Virtually unnoticed in the
shadow ofthis extremely popular aesthetic
lies a new exploration in contemporary
art: the interlace between arts and crafts.
If1*- 2?1* Divorced from art since the late nineteenth century and defined as
2& "ahandlabordevoidofintellectualcontent," crafthasbeen regarded
asan unlikelysource forart.'Yeta recent marriage ofcontemporary I.ArtsandCraftsisthename
art with crafts embraces an openness, playfulness, and malleability ofamovementbeguninEngland
dunngthelastthirdofthe
that has resulted in a newart. And this art, in turn, is characterized nineteenthcenturybyWdliam
by a revitalization oftechniques, skills, processes, and materials Morrisandinspiredbythe
2& >"!&• doctrinesoffohnRuskinand
concerns traditionally associatedwith crafts. AugustusPugin.Inmodernusage,
These new practices disrupt generally held notions about thewordcraftreferstotheartof
formtnghandmadearticles,
craftsand reorient ourthinkingabout contemporaryart. Theyassert usuallydecorativelydesignedand
2&
that crafts can have a significant place in contemporary art, while art oftenusefulorpurposeful;see
DictionaryofArtTermsand
2?^ 2& can take advantage of the technical finesse of crafts, as long as it Techniques(NewYork:
remains a means rather than an end. The value of materials and HarperCollins.iggO.p.24.
2?1* 2&
skills, so criticaltothe craft media, nowengagescontemporaryartists
forit expands theirabilityto develop meanings and metaphors.
"Interlacings" demonstrates that this embrace ofcrafts in
contemporary art is international, appearing in North America
and Latin America as well as in Europe. Moreover, in contrast to
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the 1970s, when craft was incorporated in the work of feminist
artists, this recent interfacegoesbeyond gender.
The exhibition comprises a broad range ofmedia. It is an
assemblage ofobjects, often idiosyncratic, including balls ofvines,
symbolic rivers made of Mexican bullfighting blankets, artificial
mushrooms, andglassvesselsbased on Renaissance paintings. In this
sense, the exhibition can be likened to Umberto Eco's definition of
an encyclopedia—a network without a center.2 These materials 2.UmbertoEco,Semiotics
address issues that preoccupy the best artistsworkingtoday—issues of andthePhilosophy
ofLanguage(Bloomington:
replication, originality, history, artifact display, displacement, IndianaUniversityPress,
nature, patriarchalism, religion, and sexuality. As Mary Bero 1984),chap.2,"Dictionaryvs.
Encyclopedia.
observed about works like those in "Interlacings," the use ofprocess
is "alarming, controversial, [and] exhilarating," aswell as necessary
for "tearing down the walls [and] presenting new experiences."3 It is 3.MaryBero."ArtVersusCraft,'
this convergence ofartand craft that "Interlacings" seeks to explore. NewObservations,98
(November/DecemberJ993).
p.12.
Hands are Sonia Labouriau's basic tools. MIGRATORY BIRDS
(1992—98) is the result offour sequential movements the artist
makeswithherhands, inaprocess "similarto the derivation ofcur-
sive writing."' Her apparently rudimentary language, or personal i.Artutstatement,n.d.
code, is set in motion through a sequence ofmovements aimed at
shaping never-identical birds with an amazing economy ofmeans.
Like a musical score, the sculptures expressthe artist'swish to create
distinctive procedures that can be repeatedly performed, yet each
timewith a unique interpretation.
Born in California, where her late father, a well-known
Brazilian scientist, was working, Labouriau now lives in Brazil, in