E X H I B I T I O N
California spirit are J.B. Blunk’s
funky cypress scrap chair and
Jan de Swart’s captivating
Blan-
ket Chest,
its blond façade punc-
tuated by oval nesting drawers.
Examining the many delights
of “Crafting Modernism,” it’s
hard to disagree with scholar
Glenn Adamson, who, in his cata-
log essay, pronounces 1945-69 a
“golden age.” The quality of work
supports his point that many of
the country’s best craft artists
were in their prime; the differ-
ence in character between the two
halves enacts the change from an
idea of craftsmanship rooted in
good design, functionality, and
skill to one encompassing a multi-
tude of expressive paths.
It was a complex, revolution-
ary time, and the catalog - with a
dozen scholarly essays - is need-
ed to fully understand the institu-
tional underpinnings of the objects
on display. Adamson, for his part,
paints a vital portrait of Webb, or
Mrs. Webb, as she was known to
all. Though her initial interest in
craft was in the context of eco-
nomic development, her view
that the movement was intended
to foster American individualism
guaranteed it would grow in many
different directions, some of them
contradictory. And so it has.
Mrs. Webb’s adventurous spirit
presides over every aspect of this
stimulating show. It is altogether
fitting that she is its dedicatee.
+
Beverly Sanders served as an editor
at
American Craft
for30years.
Image credits: Castle: John Ferrari / Krasner:
© Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Artists Rights
Society, New York / W right: John Bigelow
Taylor / McVey: Courtesy of the Everson
Museum o f A rt/ Esherick: Ed W atkins /
Noguchi: © The Isamu Noguchi Foundation
and Garden Museum, New York, Artist Rights
Society, New York / Eames: Courtesy of
the Philadelphia Museum of A rt / Ameson:
© Estate o f Robert Arneson, licensed by
VAGA, New York, NY; photo: Ed W atkins /
Rossbach: Courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston / Shaw: Eva H eyd/ Davis: David
Barker, courtesy of Ohio State Historical
Society / de Swart: John Bigelow Taylor
Above:
feb/mari2 american craft 037
