zoom
Voices
W
h a t n e w
m
a t e r i a l o r
a p p r o a c h a r e
y o u p l a n n i n g
t o e x p l o r e i n
2 0 1 1
?
TO CELEBRATE
the Renwick’s
40th anniversary
in 2012, we are
mounting a major
travelling exhibi-
tion,
Craft Futures: 40 Under 40,
which will showcase the work
of 40 artists born since 1972.
I plan to spend the next year
running away from any and all
preconceptions about what con-
stitutes the best American craft,
and searching out new methods,
new materials, new attitudes
and new people to illustrate
emerging trends in the field.
It’s going to be an adventure!
-NICHOLAS R. BELL,
curator o f contemporary craft and
decorative arts, Renwick Gallery
o f the Smithsonian American A rt
Museum, Washington,
dc
RECENTLY IN MY
studio practice I
have relied less on
my glass back-
ground and have
been operating as
a craftsman not limited to any
particular material or process;
this was very enlightening and
energizing. This year is differ-
ent. I am taking a break from my
private studio and sharing a
space with the students I will be
teaching. My glass skills and
knowledge are now something
I must refocus on, embrace and
pass along. I suspect that being a
role model in this new setting
will directly impact what I
make, how it’s made and what
materials and techniques I use
to realize my ideas.
-A lex a d a m s,
artist, Philadel-
phia; lecturer in glass, University
o f M iam i, Coral Gables,
fl
in 2011,1 WILL
employ my usual
approach of sculpt-
ing clay by hand
and sewing the
designs onto
recycled fabrics. What’s new for
this year will be my use of recent-
ly acquired fabric remnants with
simple textures in shades of char-
coal, purple and cream. This
design plan is fitting for the new
year because it’s a shift from my
previous use of brown, green and
strong patterns.
-JAISEN GLOGOWSKI,
mixed-media/ceramic artist,
San Francisco
HAVINGJUST COM-
pleted my MFA in
metals, I think
many things about
my working pro-
cess will change
this year. I feel like I have just
approached the edge of a great
ocean and am now able to dive
in. I am incredibly excited about
all the possibilities that await
me. I have been working with
a few specific types of found
objects, and am looking forward
to branching out and experi-
menting with new objects and
materials, as well as pushing my
ideas further and making deeper
connections with viewers.
-LYNETTE ANDREASEN,
artist in residence,
M esa A A Center, Mesa,
az
I AM MAKING THE
resolution in 2011 to
present the public
with simple ques-
tions. Simplicity is
difficult: It means
clarity (in your head, before you
formulate the question), and it
is demanding (like when your
girlfriend asks if you are cheat-
ing; a convoluted response
betrays murkiness). There has
been a lot of discussion about
blurring the line between art
and craft, as a result of a factual
blurring. I feel we lost the tools
to distinguish one from the
other, and this resonates as an
impoverishment. Given that
undoubtedly there is a distinc-
tion, the question I want to ask
is: Is such a distinction relevant?
Because if we come to realize
that it is not, then we can
finally
acknowledge that distinction
and move on from petty jealou-
sies .
.. and live happily ever after.
-STEFANO CATALANI,
director o f curatorial affairs/
artistic director, Bellevue Arts
Museum, Bellevue, tVA
I AM CONTINUING
to write about the
importance of craft
values within the art
world. These are
values that include
an emphasis on the significance
of the individual, on the signifi-
cance of the material world and
the place of humans within it, on
the significance of community
and on the significance of the
historical connections within
various traditions of art making.
-POLLY ULLRICH,
art critic and writer, Chicago
i ’m g o i n g b a c k
? to function. 1 h;n e
'■ strayed from my
M
practice of making
^
^ art that is functitmal
—“art at home” has
always been my motto. My re-
cent work is digitally produced
embroidery that is abstract,
spare and deals with color, tex-
ture and optical illusion. I plan
to move back into function by
making pieces for worship spac-
es and churches. The focus of
working small and minimal has
been a gestation period for this
newer way of making art that
blends with life.
-Ch r istie h a w k in s,
artist
and technical supervisor, Depart-
ment o f A rt and A rt History,
St. Ola f College, Northfield, m n
Product Placem ent
C
r o w
n i n g T o u c h
ALBERTUS SWANEPOEL’S LIFE
as a milliner has drawn upon
destiny.
While vacationing in Paris in
1989, he had his portrait silhou-
ette done by a street artist.
Swanepoel, at 30, was a suc-
cessful fashion designer living in
his native South Africa. The re-
sulting paper cutout—to his sur-
prise-included a swooping top
hat he had not been wearing.
The artist must have been a
soothsayer, because three years
later Swanepoel enrolled at the
Fashion Institute of Technology
to study millinery.
Now Swanepoel is best
known for striking classic fedo-
ras, reinvented with creative
embellishments such as the gros-
grain ribbons he hand-distresses
to look old and worn. “You don’t
want something alarming close
to your face,” he says. “My hats
are cozy and comfortable and
give you a little personality.”
A hat also pulls together a
look and says a lot about the
wearer. “It’s the orphan acces-
sory, because it hasn’t gotten as
much attention as the bag or the
shoe before, but a hat is a dot on
the ‘i’—it makes the statement
and finishes the outfit.”
Millinery was by no means
Swanepoel’s first choice of ca-
reer. For seven years, he had
been a critically acclaimed fash-
ion designer with his own label,
Quartus Manna, in Johannes-
burg. He moved to New York in
19 89, but was soon out of a job
when his employer went under.
He found a gig with a glove
designer, but it was just a winter
business. Swanepoel had always
010 american craft dec/jann
Bell photo courtesy of Smithsonian American Art Museum / Glogowski photo Simon Kim / Andreasen photo Ellie Richards / Hawkins photo Patrick Kelley / Hat photos Danielle Armer
