On Aug 5, 2007, at 21:25, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
At the time of the Radical Lace exhibit, I received private
correspondence
that asked why anyone would think what was presented was really the
beautiful
lace to which we are devoted.
Possibly because, as Devon said in one of her messages, (am
paraphrasing, not quoting), the current trend of thought in the art
world seems to be: if it's not ugly, it's not Art.
It's the Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale about ther Emperor's New
Clothes revisited. Who'll have the nerve to say, out loud, "this is
ugly; the Emperor is naked" about something that's considered worth
displaying by museum curators of international renown?
The feeling was that we should not, as
lacemakers, feel we have to march to the "Radical" drummer's beat.
For
example, many quilt shows draw audiences, without being radicalized.
There are
artists who are quite capable of pushing ahead to new types of quilts
without
changing their inherent character.
Absolutely. Of course, there are more people making quilts than there
are making lace, so there's a bigger in-built audience as well as a
wider field of innovators to draw from for exhibitions.
Peculiarly... I just googled the Museum of Arts & Design (where the
"Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting" exhibition took place) and came
accross it, listed on a website called NYC.com, which seems to be
dedicated to arts in NYCity. In the Editorial Review of the museum,
there's this little snippet, buried towards the end:
"[While] reiterating fidelity to values such as conscientious
workmanship, respect for materials, tools and techniques and the skills
needed to transform materials into objects of use and beauty, [the
world of "craft" has also addressed changing artistic, political and
marketing realities]"
Note, please, the phrase "objects of use and beauty". In their pursuit
of the "Art" (rather than the lowly "craft") label, many of the crafts
have dispensed with the "use" element some time ago; I can't be the
only person who marvels at "vases" which won't stand up straight, much
less hold water; at wire-knit "stockings"; or at "chairs" which ought
to come, part-and-parcel, with a chiropractor. The natural progression
is to dispense with the "beauty" element as well; let's make *all* the
edges "cutting", in the name of Art.
BTW... Before it got "radicalised", the Museum of Art and Design used
to be called American Craft Museum... :)
--
Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/
Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland)
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