What was the last time you made something from scratch? The art of making has, to some extent, become the art of contemporary living and chances are, you might be making or planning to make something – a loaf of bread, a new scarf, pottery or even furniture – at this very moment. Craft or, rather, crafting is the focus of “NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial” at the Museum of Art and Design in New York. The first exhibition to open under the new director, Glenn Adamson, needs to be read as a statement of purpose for museum’s future developments. Founded as Museum of Contemporary Crafts in 1956, since changing its title in 2002 the institution has lost some of its former focus, which Adamson, a craft specialist and former director of research at the V&A in London, is intent to bring back.
“NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial” surveys New York’s creative community through a selection of 100 makers, unlimited by disciplinary boundaries. Nominated by a committee of 300 cultural leaders and subsequently selected by a jury led by Adamson and the exhibition’s curator Jake Yuzna, the artefacts displayed vary from more ‘traditional’ crafting practices like fashion and pottery making, to food and avant-garde technology. Through the idea of craft and making, Adamson presents a new approach to creative discipline, where art and design are brought together by “making, skill, knowhow and expertise”. This exhibition, in fact, celebrates a diverse field of creativity, “trying to espouse an egalitarian understanding of art, design and craft, and presenting many different types of people on an even playing field.” Therefore, “NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial” presents a sweeping cross-section of the cultural production of these inventive individuals, living and working within a single city: from deliberately important names like Yoko Ono, Laurie Anderson and Gaetano Pesce, to small and relatively unknown businesses like the tattoo artists Amanda Wachob or Flavor Paper wallpaper company. “NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial” runs for 100 days, until October 12, 2014.
