Crafting America: Artists and Objects, 1940 to Today - Hardcover

Padgett, Jen; Adamson, Glenn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1682261522 ISBN 13: 9781682261521

Publisher: University of Arkansas Press, 2021

Synopsis

Craft is a diverse, democratic art form practiced by Americans of every gender, age, ethnicity, and class. Crafting America traces this expansive range of skilled making in a variety of forms, from ceramics and wood to performance costume and community-based practice. In exploring the intertwining of craft and American experience, this volume reveals how artists leverage their craft to realize the values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Accompanying an exhibition of the same title organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Crafting America features contributions from scholars that illuminate craft’s relationship to ritual and memory, personal independence, abstraction, and Native American histories. The richly illustrated catalog section—with more than a hundred color images accompanied by lively commentary—presents a vivid picture of American craft over the past eight decades, offering fresh insights on the relationships between objects.

Building upon recent advances in craft scholarship and encouraging more inclusive narratives, Crafting America presents a bold statement on the vital role of craft within the broader context of American art and identity.

About this title

About the Author

Glenn Adamson is a curator at the Chipstone Foundation and teaches Art History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1682261522
• ISBN 13: 9781682261521
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208