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Craft and Folk Art Museum Presents Golden State of Craft: California 1960-1985

The Craft and Folk Art Museum presents Golden State of Craft: California 1960-1985 an exhibition on view through anuary 8, 2012.

Presented by Craft in America and the Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) as part of the Getty initiative Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945 – 1980, Golden State of Craft: California 1960 – 1985 surveys an extraordinary, innovative artistic period that blossomed in post-World War II California. Promoted in large part by two central figures—Edith Wyle, founder of the Los Angeles Craft and Folk Art Museum and Eudorah M. Moore, director of the Pasadena Art Museum’s California Design exhibition series—an inspired group of artists made significant contributions to the American Craft Movement, the art world at large, and influenced modern American taste overall.

California Loop Series #4 (detail), Marvin Lipofsky, 1970. Photo: M. Lee Fatherree

By showcasing the defining objects made during the 1960s through the mid 1980s, CAFAM and Craft in America pay tribute to the makers who helped to cultivate the California lifestyle and transform art objects and design for the home. The exhibition will bring together over 70 exceptional pieces from every medium by 65 of the most influential craft and design innovators from this time.

“California brimmed with a sense of discovery and was dense with energy. These designs would become the benchmarks against which future designs would be measured,” remarks Exhibition Curator, Jo Lauria.

Working in a range of materials and forms—from furniture, ceramics, and metals to textiles, jewelry, and glass—artists such as Sam Maloof, Laura Andreson, Allan Adler, Lia Cook, Arline Fisch, and Marvin Lipofsky defined the ethos of the era and the West Coast way of life through their creations. The message that these artists presented resounded across the country, shaping how people perceived their homes and instilled art into their daily lives; it made people see the fabric of their environments in a remarkably new light.

These innovators produced both functional and non-functional objects that represented a philosophy and a lifestyle immersed in the power of the handmade. Ruth Asawa’s purely visual metal sculptures and Claire Falkenstein’s wearable necklaces were equally vital to the craft wave that swept across the state.

The exhibition is organized by Jo Lauria, independent curator, and is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue with theme overviews by Lauria and introductory essays by Eudorah M. Moore and Sharon K. Emanuelli, who served on CAFAM’s curatorial staff during these critical years.

About Craft in America
Craft in America is a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and advancing original handcrafted work, through educational programs in all media, accessible to all. The Craft in America project includes a national primetime PBS documentary series, a 300-page companion book titled Craft in America: Two Centuries of Artists & Objects, traveling museum exhibitions, and an extensive website with teachers’ guides and video clips of artists at work. The Craft in America Study Center is an extensive craft-focused library, an archive of video footage, and a gallery space with rotating exhibitions featuring the work of contemporary artists who work in craft. The Study Center also hosts artist talks, craft workshops, and other public programs.

Craft in America Office Location and Contact: 1120 S. Robertson Blvd Suite 301, Los Angeles, CA 90035
310.659.9022 | www.craftinamerica.org

Craft in America Study Center Location and Contact: 8415 W. Third Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048
323.951.0610 | www.craftinamerica.org
Hours: Thursday – Saturday, 12 – 6pm

About Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945 – 1980
Pacific Standard Time is a collaboration of more than sixty cultural institutions across Southern California, coming together for six months beginning in October 2011 to tell the story of the birth of the Los Angeles art scene and how it became a major new force in the art world. Each institution will make its own contribution to this grand-scale story of artistic innovation and social change, told through a multitude of simultaneous exhibitions and programs. Exploring and celebrating the significance of the crucial post-World War II years through the tumultuous period of the 1960s and 70s, Pacific Standard Time encompasses developments from L.A. Pop to post-minimalism; from modernist architecture and design to multi-media installations; from the films of the African American L.A. Rebellion to the feminist activities of the Woman’s Building; from ceramics to Chicano performance art; and from Japanese American design to the pioneering work of artists’ collectives.

Initiated through $10 million in grants from the Getty Foundation, Pacific Standard Time involves cultural institutions of every size and character across Southern California, from Greater Los Angeles to San Diego and Santa Barbara to Palm Springs.

Craft and Folk Art Museum
5814 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tel 323.937.4230
[email protected]
www.cafam.org

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