American Craft
The Arts and Crafts Movement was a British, Canadian, and American artistic movement occurring in the last years of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century. Encouraged by the writings of John Ruskin and a quixotic admiration of the craftsman taking pride in his personal creation, it was at its height between approximately 1880 and 1910.
Studio Craft artists work specifically with traditional craft materials and/or processes such as wood, woodworking or furniture making, glass or glassblowing, clay or ceramics, textiles, metal or metalworking etc.. Studio Craft works tend to either serve or allude to a functional or utilitarian purpose, though they are as often as not handled and exhibited in ways similar to visual art objects.
The culture of the 1960s was even more conducive to the development of studio crafts. This period saw a rejection of materialism and exploration of alternative ways of living. For some, the creation of handicrafts provided just such an outlet. In 1962, then-ceramics professor Harvey Littleton and chemist Dominick Labino began the contemporary glassblowing movement.
The American arts and crafts picked up momentum in the early 19th century and the later part of 20th century. Basically, the main aim of the movement was to protest against the "Industrial Revolution" and the machine made products. The movement aimed to salute and recognize the traditional craftsmanship and artistry. Gustav Stickley, William Morris and other artists were the pioneers of this movement.
In 1992, President George H. W. Bush signed a proclamation designating 1993 as The Year of American Craft. As part of this commemoration, Renwick Gallery director Michael Monroe selected seventy-two works by seventy American craftsmen which were donated to the White House to serve as The White House Collection of American Crafts. This collection was displayed for four months at the National Museum of American Art in 1995.
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