Objects of desire

Making an impression at the WCC

by Leon Nigrosh

NEW TRADITIONS '98 At the Worcester Center for Crafts, 25 Sagamore Road, through April 25.

American studio craftworkers have tried for years to develop a handworking tradition of their own which could be viewed as rich and as colorful as other longtime cultures. Early American handcrafters, mostly cast-offs or escapees from foreign lands, simply continued to work within the venerable traditions that they had brought with them. Unbound by ancient rules and regulations, contemporary American craftworkers have borrowed liberally from English and Japanese handcrafting standards, in particular, and mixed in a good measure of modern technology along with current aesthetic concerns to produce a vibrant and constantly evolving stream of original objects -- both functional and decorative.

While the debate still rages as to whether people who make beautiful things by hand are to be called craftsmen (-women), crafters, artisans, artist/craftsmen (-women), craftworkers, artists, or just thing-makers, five such practitioners have their work currently on display at the Worcester Center for Crafts. Each of these men and women devotes full-time effort to produce works of lasting impression and serviceability. In each case, the individual has achieved such a high level of technical proficiency that the technique is all but invisible in the various works. Rather than ponder how a thing was made, we are free to marvel at the objects themselves.

At the entrance to the gallery, we are met by two large ceramic objects than have come not only from Karen Karnes's big wood-fired kiln in upstate Vermont but from her hands, heart, and mind as well. Karnes has been making pottery for more than 50 years and is considered one of the founding mothers of contemporary American ceramics. Every day she works in her studio to produce a constant flow of wheel-thrown casseroles and covered jars -- a selection of which may be seen in the WCC gift shop -- with only an occasional foray into thrown and handbuilt sculptural forms. It is for this reason that a trip to the Craft Center is in order. Rarely are so many of Karnes's sculptural works shown together as in this retrospective display.

Although her sculptures may be seen as solid, rock-like shapes, Karnes, like many potters, always imagines the hollow interior volume as the actual form -- with the clay acting merely as the outline. Her recent large and bulbous sculptural pieces retain an opening or two as a reminder of this naturally developed situation. Her 1980s split-legged and lidded vessels, while much more obviously designed to be used as actual containers, are still sculptural in approach. Even Karnes's tiny green form with cut and splayed wings (arms?) has an inner fullness that gives the image an airy presence.

To the extent that Karnes's claywork gains its majesty from its simplicity, Kristina Madsen's wood furniture evokes its magnificence through its surface complexity. Her coffee table, composed of layered woods which support an imposing slab of polished black granite, is a flawless example of her aptitude for freehand intaglio woodcarving (which she studied in Fiji on a Fulbright in 1991). Madsen has etched compact squadrons of tiny Escher-like geometric birds and a seemingly infinite number of minuscule triangles into the darkly stained veneers which surround the granite's periphery. Close-up examination of this intricate filigree is essential to fully appreciate Madsen's mastery.

Her pièce de résistance has to be a box subtitled I saw gaywings nearby -- polygala paucifolia. This container is completely, and I mean completely, covered with tiny carved undulating slits through which you can ultimately discern the entire subtitle, which is spelled out in colored marquetry pieced together beneath the multi-layered ebony and dyed pearwood veneers. The total effect is awe inspiring, both for the box's imposing visual statement and as evidence of Madsen's skill and dedication to her art.

Along with the work created by these two individuals, the glass, metal, and fiber pieces included in this exhibition offer strong evidence that these craftspeople are creating a new direction for artistic and technical standards while still working with established craft media. Instead of bemoaning its lack of fixed traditions, American artistry has instead become a world leader in innovative craft imagery and by example is virtually dragging tradition-bound craftworkers into the 21st century.

The WCC Main Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 753-8183.