The exhibition 'Crafting Modernism: Midcentury American Art and Design' explores the rich interplay of art and design in all craft media that exploded across the United States during the postwar era.

Falling Blue, Harvey Littleton, 1969, Photo: Ed Watkins  -  Scrap Chair, J.B. Blunk, 1968, Photo: Leslie Williamson

Crafting Modernism covers a 25-year period that begins with the craftsman-designers of the 1940s and 1950s, and concludes in 1969.

Neckpiece, Betty Cooke, 1959, Photo: Eva Heyd  -  Pin, Ronald Senungetuk, 1969, Photo: John Bigelow Taylor

In the period immediately after World War II, characterized by mass production, the handmade object offered a humanizing counterpoint to the machine aesthetic. The exhibition looks at the connections between craft and the design world, through the work of textile designer Dorothy Liebes, furniture maker George Nakashima, silversmith Jack Prip, sculptor and designer Isamu Noguchi, among others. Also examined are designers who incorporated craft techniques or aesthetics into more wide-scale production, such as Edith Heath and Ray and Charles Eames.

Form, Ka Kwong Hui, 1968, Photo: Ed Watkins  -  Chest-table, Wharton Esherick, 1969, Photo: Ed Watkins

The exhibition follows the growth and transformation of American life through the turbulent period of the 1960s. As craft programs developed and expanded in university art departments across the United States, artists such as Peter Voulkos and Lenore Tawney increasingly began to consider the sculptural and aesthetic qualities of their materials, previously reserved for functional objects. This development paralleled an increasing openness in the art world to new expressions and alternative media demonstrated in the works of artists such as Claire Falkenstein and Alexander Calder.

Wine Rack, Arthur Espenet Carpenter, 1968, Photo: David Behl  -  Small table, George Nakashima, 1960, Photo: Thomas Little

As craft entered the public realm through museum exhibitions and publications, it added to the ongoing political and social dialogue in American art and life, serving as a representative of a counter-culture lifestyle. Artists in the exhibition include iconic figures such as Wendell Castle, Jack Lenor Larsen, and Sheila Hicks, as well as lesser-known artists from around the country now recognized as highly influential within their fields, including furniture-maker John Kapel, jeweler Ernest Ziegfeld, Asian Americans Ka Kwong Hui and Margaret Choy, and Native Americans Ron Senungetuk and Lloyd Kiva New.

Mosaic Table, Lee Krasner, 1947, Photo ©Pollock-Krasner Foundation/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York  -  Vase, Rudolf Staffel, 1968, Photo: Ed Watkins

Exhibition: Crafting Modernism: Midcentury American Art and Design

Museum of Art & Design, New York, NY
From October 12, 2011 to January 15, 2012

and at

Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York   ()
From February 26 to May 20, 2012

Josien Pieters won Freedom Of Creation's first design competition.

Material: Laser Sintered Polyamide

Jewelry designer Ted Noten challenged the FOC Talents to come up with a new wedding ring design.
As part of the submission the Talent had to make clear that he/she did research on the phenomenon Wedding-Rings through history and in different cultures. In the design it also had to be clear that 3D Printing and the nylon material were the only way to realize the design. So to say: technology and material follow function and its aesthetics.

According to the jury, 'Reality Check' fits perfectly to the current trend of people communicating their personal status to the outside world through (online) channels like Facebook. Also Josien Pieters has demonstrated with this design to comprehend and utilize the benefits of 3D Printing. 3D Printing allows producing this design more cost-efficiently than traditional manufacturing techniques: all 5 parts can be produced in one go and inside the small bounding box that was provided beforehand.

Since 'Reality Check' won the first Talents competition, a stainless steel version will be produced.