What Would Mrs. Webb Do? Examines Aileen Osborn Webb’s Pioneering Support of Contemporary Craft as Driver of Innovation and her Pivotal Role in Advancing the Field
New York, NY (August 14, 2014)
Featuring a range of objects created over the past 60 years, the exhibition What Would Mrs. Webb Do? A Founder’s Vision celebrates Aileen Osborn Webb, who established the Museum of Arts and Design, then the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, in 1956. On view from September 23, 2014, through February 8, 2015, the exhibition explores how Webb, through her advocacy work at MAD and other leading institutions across the country and internationally, championed the skilled maker as integral to America’s future.
"Aileen Osborn Webb was one of the great visionaries of the twentieth century," says Glenn Adamson, MAD’s Nanette L. Laitman Director. "Her progressive conception of how the world around us can be made more humanely, more responsibly, has never been more relevant. With this project, we want to remind people of this amazing woman’s many achievements, and show how the Museum today is carrying her mission forward."
With over 100 works encompassing glass, ceramics, wood, metalwork, and fiber, nearly all from the Museum’s permanent collection, the exhibition pays tribute to Webb while also illustrating the ongoing impact of her advocacy. Represented makers – all of whom directly benefitted from the support of Webb and others who shared her ideals -- include Sam Maloof and Joris Laarman (furniture); Jack Lenor Larsen and Lia Cook (textiles); Peter Voulkos and Jun Kaneko (ceramics); Harvey Littleton and Judith Schaechter (glass); and John Prip and Myra Mimlitsch-Gray (metal). What Would Mrs. Webb Do? also explores the contributions of Nanette L. Laitman and the Windgate Foundation, two key proponents for skilled makers today.
A press preview for the exhibition will be held September 23, 2014 at 9:00 am.
“Modern makers owe a debt to Mrs. Webb, who created the first professional framework for craftspeople to meet, exchange ideas, and show their work,” says exhibition curator Jeannine Falino. “We are sharing some of the best pieces made during her tenure along with examples by artists today who continue to benefit from her progressive ideas.”
The exhibition is organized in two parts. First is a selection of outstanding work by American makers from the 1950s to the late 1960s whose practice directly benefitted from the support of Webb. This part of the exhibition highlights the many crafts-related institutions that she launched, such as the American Craft Council, the School of American Craftsmen, and the World Crafts Council. All still form a vital support structure for today’s makers. Here the exhibition also surveys the museum’s achievements under her direction, with a focus on the landmark exhibition Objects: USA, which opened in 1969 and subsequently traveled to thirty museums here and abroad.
The second part of the exhibition focuses on those who carry Mrs. Webb’s vision forward to the present day. Nanette L. Laitman (a current trustee of the Museum) promotes our mission in countless ways, and also provided support for 235 recorded oral histories of American craftsmen by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Excerpts of these interviews are highlighted in the exhibition alongside key examples of these craftsmen’s works of art. Some of the Museum’s most recent and celebrated acquisitions on view also underscore the role played by the Windgate Foundation in shaping the current discourse on contemporary craft through its support of makers and non-profit institutions–the Museum of Arts and Design among them.
What Would Mrs. Webb Do? showcases the strength of the Museum’s permanent collection. From groundbreaking works by early masters Wharton Esherick, Anni Albers, and John Paul Miller, to recent creations by Judith Schaechter, Hiroshi Suzuki, and Joris Laarman, visitors are presented with a breadth of achievements that Mrs. Webb first set in motion. The Museum of Arts and Design continues to uphold Webb’s commitment to creative, skilled entrepreneurs with projects like NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial (on view through October 12).
Highlights from the exhibition include the following works:
EXHIBITION ORGANIZATION AND THEMES
The exhibition will explore the following periods and themes:
EXHIBITION ORGANIZATION, CREDITS, AND TOUR
What Would Mrs. Webb Do? A Founder’s Vision is organized by adjunct curator Jeannine Falino and curatorial assistant Barbara Gifford.
Support for What Would Mrs. Webb Do? A Founder's Vision is provided by Barbara Nitchie Fuldner, Barbara G. Fleischman, and Martha J. Fleischman. Additional support is made possible in part through the Collectors Circle, one of the Museum's upper level support groups.
EDUCATION AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Curator-Led Tour of What Would Mrs. Webb Do? A Founder’s Vision
Thursday, September 25, 2014, 6:30pm
Free with Pay-What-You-Wish Admission
Discover the new exhibition What Would Mrs. Webb Do? A Founder’s Vision with curator Jeannine Falino as your guide. Explore the legacy of MAD’s founder Aileen Osborn Webb through a range of objects created over the past 70 years, including many from the Museum's permanent collection. The exhibition pays tribute to Webb's role in pioneering a contemporary appreciation for craftsmanship and the handmade.
Radical Legacy: From the Museum of Contemporary Crafts to the Museum of Arts and Design
Tuesday, October 7, 2014, 6pm
Free
Since the Museum’s founding in 1956 by the visionary Aileen Osborn Webb, MAD has celebrated all facets of making and the creative processes by which materials are transformed, from traditional techniques to cutting-edge technologies. Today, the Museum builds upon this rich history of exhibitions and programs that emphasize a cross-disciplinary approach to art and design, and reveals the workmanship behind the objects and environments that shape our everyday lives.
The panel will gather together Paul Smith, Museum Director from 1963 - 1987; Jack Lenor Larsen, America's foremost textile designer and the longest-serving trustee in the history of the Museum; and Glenn Adamson, current Nanette L. Laitman Director. Moderated by Jeannine Falino, Curator of What Would Mrs. Webb Do? A Founder’s Vision, the discussion will trace this history as well as look forward to the new horizons of this unique institution.
Creating Sustainable Arts Organizations in NYC
Tuesday, October 16, 2014, 6pm
Free
Throughout the past 70 years, New York City has seen a variety of not-for-profit organizations support and advocate progressive cultural production in myriad ways. In today’s New York City, these organizations, both old and new, are adapting and responding to contemporary urgencies and resources to remain vital in an ever-growing field of arts, design and making. Gathering together diverse voices in these efforts, this panel discussion explores local case studies, both historical and recent, to examine how arts organizations are founded and maintained.
Speakers include: Alanna Heiss, Founder and Director, Clocktower; Patricia Jones, Executive Director, Eyebeam; Anne Pasternak, President and Artistic Director, Creative Time
The People Behind the Works: A Guided Tour of What Would Mrs. Webb Do? A Founder’s Vision
Thursday, November 13, 2014, 6:30pm
Free with Pay-What-You-Wish Admission
Join MAD for a guided tour focusing on the people behind the works on view in the exhibition What Would Mrs. Webb Do? A Founder’s Vision. Revealing the influence of MAD’s founder, Aileen Osborn Webb, on these craftspeople, artists, designers and other makers, this special tour gives insight into the unique stories of the people behind the objects on view.
ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF ARTS AND DESIGN
The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) champions contemporary makers across creative fields, presenting artists, designers, and artisans who apply the highest level of ingenuity and skill to their work. Since the Museum's founding in 1956 by philanthropist and visionary Aileen Osborn Webb, MAD has celebrated all facets of making and the creative processes by which materials are transformed, from traditional techniques to cutting-edge technologies. Today, the Museum's curatorial program builds upon a rich history of exhibitions that emphasize a cross-disciplinary approach to art and design, and reveals the workmanship behind the objects and environments that shape our everyday lives. MAD provides an international platform for practitioners who are influencing the direction of cultural production and driving 21st-century innovation, fostering a participatory setting for visitors to have direct encounters with skilled making and compelling works of art and design.
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