R E V I E W
Craft’s New Consciousness
r e v i e w b y
Savannah Schroll G u z
DIY: A Revolution
in Handicrafts
Society for
Contemporary Craft
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Sept, io, 2010 - Mar. 26,2011
contemporarycraft.org
SINCE D I Y - T H E A BB R E V IATIO N
for “Do It Yourself” - is usually
associated with self-empower-
ment, it’s not surprising that
works in the exhibition “D IY:
A Revolution in Handicrafts”
seek to reveal some disquieting
truths. Most of the 16 featured
American, British, and Cana-
dian artists in the show at Pitts-
burgh’s Society for Contempo-
rary Craft (in celebration of the
organization’s 40th anniver-
sary), move beyond traditional,
artist-versus-craftsman debates
and use meticulously wrought
productions to make cautionary
social statements.
Perhaps the most openly
political work is
CBU 87,
2010,
by Desert Storm veteran Ehren
Tool. CBU 87 refers to the spe-
cific weapon used by the U.S.
Air Force; commonly known as
“cluster bombs,” they do not
require precision, since smaller
component shells disperse to
damage a broad area. Tool’s
figurative bomb, which has a
strong totemic presence, is pop-
ulated with about 200 of the
artist’s trademark ceramic cups.
Some are stamped and glazed
with images of war. Others lie
in shards. Tool offers the ideal
metaphor for war’s impact: It
either permanently imprints
- or entirely breaks - every
person involved.
The British artist who goes
by War Boutique offers an
even more blatant social state-
ment, pointing out the almost
casual flow of militarization
into our visual vernacular.
Bak-2-skool,
2008, features four
bulletproof vests, each embla-
zoned with academy insignia,
fitted with a traditional school
necktie, and sized for an ele-
mentary school child. While
it is no longer shocking to see
adult-size flak jackets, pint-
sized Kevlar marked with
school emblems can still startle.
Yet with the dramatic rise in
school shootings, how far
away is this reality?
The troubled future already
has arrived in the works of
Americans Amy Johnston and
Kate MacDowell. Johnston’s
sterling bracelet
Did Dolly
Dream of a Bio Mom ?,
2010,
makes witty reference to the
Philip K. Dick novel
Do A n-
droids Dream o f Electric Sheep ?,
which inspired the dystopic
1982 movie
Blade Runner.
Her
work’s helix-shaped band -
ending in the bounding front
halves of two fuzzy ruminants
- alludes to Dolly the sheep,
the first example of the extra-
ordinary leap taken by cloning
living creatures via DNA.
By contrast, MacDowell
considers man’s unintended
interference with genetic codes
through widespread pollution.
In
Taking Root 2 ,
2010, a human
ear sprouts blossoms, berries,
and foliage. The work’s un-
glazed porcelain has a brittle
translucence that perfectly
communicates the unsustain-
able fragility of humankind’s
026 american craft fcb/m arn
Photo: Ivan Coleman
