Conversation XII: Crafting Continuities

Exhibition

Exhibition Overview

Conversation XII: Crafting Continuities
Conversation XII: Crafting Continuities
Chassica Kirchhoff, curator
October 1, 2011–June 17, 2012
20/21 Gallery, Process Space, Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

So-called craft media have played an integral role in the trajectory of 20th-century art. These materials, such as glass, metal, fiber, and ceramic, are steeped in histories of labor, class, and gender, as well as regional and familial identity. Craft media therefore can convey both the meaning of the specific piece and the deeper implications of the material. Crafting Continuities, which inhabits three distinct spaces within the 20/21 Gallery, aims to inspire conversations about the implications of material and process.

The installation juxtaposes contemporary objects from the collection with their historic counterparts and with remnants of the process, such as preparatory drawings. In this way, Crafting Continuities engages deeper content found in the Spencer’s contemporary craft media artworks, while highlighting the depth of the Museum’s collection of historic artworks in these media.

Exhibition images

Works of art

김익영/金益寧 Kim Yik-yung
Mary A. Kretsinger
container, 1980s
Mary A. Kretsinger
Salviati & C.
Lino Tagliapietra
Dinosaur (5), 2002
Lino Tagliapietra
pair of earrings, 1700s–1800s
Johann Theodor de Bry
Johann Theodor de Bry
Lynn Basa
Lynn Basa
Coptic textile fragment, circa 600s–800s CE
Kevin Coates
Nancy Loo Bjorge
necklace, 1974
Nancy Loo Bjorge
necklace, 1972
Nancy Loo Bjorge
necklace, 1974
Nancy Loo Bjorge
necklace, 1974
unrecorded Diné (Navajo) artist
silversmith's hammer, late 1800s–1923
David Watkins
Joël Degen
brooch, 2004
Sonja Blomdahl
Nicolas Africano
Armin Landeck
Robert W. Ebendorf
My Brother and I, 1969–1970
Karen LaMonte
Chado, 2010
Paye and Baker Manufacturing Co.
butter knife, circa 1900
Paye and Baker Manufacturing Co.
tupu (pin), 1700s–1800s
Paye and Baker Manufacturing Co.
necklace, 1700s–1800s
Paul Flindt II
Paul Flindt II
Wendy Ramshaw
necklace, circa 1982
Wendy Ramshaw
vase, circa 100–400
Wendy Ramshaw
covered box, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
Wendy Ramshaw
chrismatory, circa 1450
Victor Durand Jr.; Vineland Flint Glass Works
vase, circa 1926–1928
Linda Lighton
White Trash, 2003
Cynthia Schira
Winter Dream, 1986
Dan R. Kirchhefer (born 1947)
Armin Landeck
Andreas Feininger

Events

October 2, 2011
Activity
1:00–3:00PM
Gallery 317 Central Court, Gallery 405
October 8, 2011
Workshop
10:30AM–12:30PM
October 8, 2011
Workshop
1:30–3:30PM
October 13, 2011
Talk
10:00–11:00AM
Gallery 405
October 31, 2011
Talk
1:30–2:20PM
309 Auditorium
January 26, 2012
Activity
5:30–7:30PM
Gallery 317 Central Court, Gallery 405

Resources

Audio