REVIEWS
Craft In America: A PBS Series
A three-hour series documenting the importance of craft in America aired on PBS stations in May. Viewers with knowledge of the Arts and Crafts movement were gratified to see that the values of handcraftsmanship that they hold dear are now being communicated to a larger-than-ever audience. The first episode focused on craft celebrities including George Nakashima and Dale Chihuly, setting their personal stories within the larger historical context
of their times. In the next two episodes, the emphasis was on the relationship between the artists, their physical environments and communities. While the themes are well-known to those of us who are already committed to the crafts, one hopes that as a result of this and similar programs a new constituency will arise. A touring exhibition ties in with the TV series.
Exhibition Schedule: July 22 – Sept. 23, Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, OR; Oct. 20 – Jan. 27, 2008, Mingei International Museum, San Diego, CA; Feb. 22 – May 4, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston TX; June 6 – Sept. 14, Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI; Oct. 11 – Jan. 18, 2009, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK; Feb. 18 – May 24, Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, CA; June 27 – Sept. 27, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA.
San Diego Conference
Each June since 1999, Initiatives in Art and Culture’s Lisa Koenigsberg has gathered scholars and enthusiasts and set off
to explore the Arts and Crafts in a different American city. Opening this year’s conference, held in San Diego and environs June 21 – 24, she summed up the essence of the movement in one insightful word: commitment. As she put it, whether Arts
and Crafts adherents practiced a century ago or are part of today’s resurgence, and wherever they might stand on the use of machinery and questions of style, it is commitment to purpose that forms the core of the movement.
San Diego offered ample evidence of that commitment, historic and otherwise. Respected speakers discussed the craftspeople, architects, landscapers and civic leaders who drew on the region’s romanticized Mission past and stunning natural beauty to produce a unique vision of a flowery, fruitful earthly paradise. Conference-goers then experienced that paradise firsthand through tours of historic homes, fairy-tale Balboa Park, and the important bungalow neighborhood of Mission Hills—and heard of the struggle
of San Diego’s Save Our Heritage Organisation and other groups to preserve such buildings, often an uphill battle in this popular region. A highlight: the warm welcome from architect James Hubble to his mountain home and studio, a whimsical, nature-centered enclave that proves Arts and Crafts ideals are still alive, inspiring innovative thinking. To join this moveable Arts and
Crafts feast in 2008, plan to be in Cincinnati June 19 – 22 for
the conference’s 10th anniversary. Details: www.ArtInitiatives.com.
