:: WARNING WHAT YOUR ABOUT TO READ ISNT WRITTEN WELL ::
(at this point im impressed its written at all)
first, am i so out of the loop? it wasnt that long ago i sat on wendell castle's back porch having cigars and wine. i use to attend ICFF. i still crawl under table to look at how furniture is constructed. somewhere between defining myself as a metalsmith and fighting for my rights as a non-conceptual artist i lost track of my roots.
sam maloof was one of the most influential woodworkers of our time. ill describe him as a wood worker because that is how he described himself. his pieces were produced by hand, by his hands (+ several assistants) and were intended to be used and appreciated. the sweeping line of a chair rocker, the connection where the arm was introduced to the seat, everything was done by hand with the skills of a master and the attention to detail of someone who understood grace, beauty, and form.
this freaks me out first because i didn't know. ive been so preoccupied in fighting my personal fight i've lost track of my furniture existence. second because it brought to my attention my divorce from magazines. ive lost faith in reading american craft, i haven't looked at a dwell since 2008 and ive not picked up a woodworking magazine in i cant even remember.
but i think it freaks me out most of all because over the past couple of years ive really struggled finding my place in the field. i am trained as a furniture designer and will always consider my self one. i am inspired by the design requirements, techniques, and history. for personal reasons in 2004 i began a formal investigation of my ideas in metal. not furniture designs, but ideas i had that wouldn't /didn't translate into furniture. I found that the fit was fantastic, it had the precision of table sawn cut finger joints coupled with the excitement of a beautiful handcut dovetail. and by 2007 i had found processed that were the nouns and verbs in the language i was struggling to speak. i discovered oxy-acetylene welding and torch firing enamel.
as i look around it seems most of the field (metals) is focusing on conceptual work. and im not. i connect with the ideals of peter voulkos and the craftsmen (and women) of the 1950+. where beauty was enough. where looking at the object was how you viewed it, not through a 3 page written statement.
over the past year ive been unbelievable fortunate to not only meet but develop a beautiful friendship with june schwarcz. who is one of my greatest mentors not only through work but through beliefs. ive been able to spend time with her and talk about process, craft and why i make. ive worked beside her in her studio and those memories will forever be with me. every time i leave i feel i better understand my self as a maker. that being a maker, a craftsperson, a welder and an enamelist are fine. its enough. and its valid. that is the best gift she could have ever given me. out of everyone ive worked and been taught by, she has taught me the most about myself.
june turned 91 this year. don't for a second think she isn't in her studio working every chance she gets. while i was at her home i counted 8 pieces she's made in 2009. that isnt all of them, just the one's i noticed as new.
thinking about how lucky i am to have this time with her, how it inspires me and my work, led me (allowing my glass to be 1/2 empty) to wonder what happens where all of these pioneers are gone? is there anyone out there making aesthetic work? sometimes june and i talk about how fantastic it was to be in the bay area during the 1960 with so many other artists working in crafts. that camaraderie, do we have that now? does that still exhist? last year someone said 1 out of every 3 students in crafts/art (because lets face it no one does craft surveys) will graduate and continue to work in the field. looking at that standard, where does that leave the future non-conceptual craftsman? does non-conceptual crafts have a future. where are you other craftspeople? stand up, own it.
so in review, sam maloof died. we lost one of the most talented woodworkers of our times. im feel like ive fallen out of the loop and am panicked that i wont have partners in the future of craft.
on a positive note, i had a great time in CA and promise to blog about it soon. i just needed to document my meltdown.
oh and if you're out there, other crafts people who feel like the place of crafts is being replaced by conceptual work, introduce your self. own it. demand a place.
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