Contemporary art and craft presents a profusion of paradoxes. It bridges ancient traditions and state-of-the-art technologies, cutting-edge concepts and enduring tenets about skilled making and beauty, and in so doing blurs the lines between art, craft, architecture and design. This pioneering publication brings together work by nearly 40 international artists, whose varied approaches are not only pushing but redefining the boundaries of what we call craft today. Author Emily Zilber investigates the role of new tools and materials, the connection between craft and performance, and the power of craft's interactions with space. Along the way, readers encounter a diverse group of works across a wide range of materials and practices, including 3-D printed ceramics, a dancelike performance with molten glass and a piano deconstructed to form jewelry that can surround or adorn the body. Enhanced with approachable text and abundant illustrations, Crafted invites readers to explore these stunning and surprising objects in flux.
Astrid Krogh's "Ikat II" (2011) is reproduced from Crafted: Objects in Flux.
South African ceramicist Jonathan Keep has explored the expressive possibilities of pottery since the 1970s. Over the past decade, he has broadened his scope to encompass 3D printing, according to MFA Boston curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts, Emily Zilber. "Keep cites 3-D printing as a 'fourth way' for ceramic artists—on top of three previous dominant ways of making in clay (hand building, throwing and molding)—thus allowing the artist to use techniques such as cloning, distortion and modification to 'generate forms not typically visualized or created by ceramic techniques.' Keep builds forms in a virtual space using Java coding (which he taught to himself) and manipulates them using the open-source program Blender." These glazed 3D-printed porcelain vessels are titled "Sound Surface: Benjamin Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes" (2012-2014). continue to blog
Featured image is from Sonya Clark's 2013 Hair Craft Project: Hairstylists with Sonya, reproduced in Crafted: Objects in Flux, MFA Publications' catalog to the show which opened this week at MFA Boston. Curator Emily Zilber writes, "Each of Clark's provocative works lays claim to the idea that hairdressing is the 'primordial fiber art,' something generative that deserves consideration in the realm of the art object, and that touches intimately on race and cultural worth... The Hair Craft Project culminated in a gallery exhibition and juried prize, but in fact took place over a period of one year, existing as a durational performance as well as an event. Clark visited eleven hairdressers working within the African American community in her town of Richmond, Virginia, and invited them to demonstrate their ample skills of twisting, braiding and beading on two different supports: Clark's own head and a canvas primed with thread to echo strands of hair." continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 9 x 10.5 in. / 176 pgs / 130 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $45.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $63 GBP £29.95 ISBN: 9780878468294 PUBLISHER: MFA Publications, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston AVAILABLE: 9/29/2015 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of stock indefinitely AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: WORLD
Published by MFA Publications, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Text by Emily Zilber.
Redefining the boundaries of what we call craft
Contemporary art and craft presents a profusion of paradoxes. It bridges ancient traditions and state-of-the-art technologies, cutting-edge concepts and enduring tenets about skilled making and beauty, and in so doing blurs the lines between art, craft, architecture and design.
This pioneering publication brings together work by nearly 40 international artists, whose varied approaches are not only pushing but redefining the boundaries of what we call craft today. Author Emily Zilber investigates the role of new tools and materials, the connection between craft and performance, and the power of craft's interactions with space. Along the way, readers encounter a diverse group of works across a wide range of materials and practices, including 3-D printed ceramics, a dancelike performance with molten glass and a piano deconstructed to form jewelry that can surround or adorn the body. Enhanced with approachable text and abundant illustrations, Crafted invites readers to explore these stunning and surprising objects in flux.
