'International Arts And Crafts' Opens At The Indianapolis Museum Of Art

In England, where it began, the Arts and Crafts movement arose in reaction to the explosion of mass production that flooded markets with inexpensive, poorly made and sometimes downright ugly manufactured goods. Around the world the Industrial Revolution was well established and political and social unrest was rife. The time was ripe for an embrace of fine craftsmanship, individuality and simple and functional design. As the Arts and Crafts movement spread across the globe, each country put its own stamp on it. From its first manifestation in England, the movement spread across Europe, then to the United States, Japan and finally Russia.

In the face of overwhelming industrialization, many of the traditional techniques abandoned at its advent underwent revival. Other traditions and conditions underwent reform. Practitioners of Arts and Crafts strove for a design aesthetic that would incorporate all aspects of domestic living into a harmonious unit. Naturalism and the beauty of materials and technique was primary and quality of life was paramount.

Craftsmanship resumed its importance and the home itself was viewed as an integrated work of art. All the accoutrements of daily living underwent scrutiny: furniture, ceramics, glass, textiles, carpets, graphics, metalwork and jewelry. Nothing was too insignificant to be subjected to the principles of good design; objects ranged from the magnificent to the humble.

The exhibit proves an exhaustive exploration of the diverse expressions of Arts and Crafts as it spread from country to country, from the major cities to the countryside, when rustication was considered beneficial to creativity and the ideal life. In its wide sweep "International Arts and Crafts" raises questions as to the position of Arts and Crafts beneath the umbrella that is folk art. For example, the inclusion of Native American works and Curtis's photographs of the American Indian in the exhibit provokes thought about the place of indigenous art in the spectrum of art.

The roots of the Arts and Crafts movement were put down quickly and firmly in the early part of the Nineteenth Century in London. It spread rapidly to other major cities of the United Kingdom and to the countryside. By the 1880s, exhibits were offered periodically by newly organized entities like the Century Guild, the Art Workers Guild and the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society that emphasized handwork and craftsmanship above all else. They presented shows that combined architecture, painting, sculpture, interior design and the panoply of decorative arts, some of which were not previously considered worthy of exhibition by the high-toned Royal Academy. They also aided in the revival of traditions techniques such as embroidery, calligraphy, enameling and bookbinding. Arts and Crafts societies and art colonies sprang up all over the United Kingdom. Objects created by members of such groups are among the stars of the new exhibit.

The exhibit is organized chronologically and geographically, beginning with Great Britain. The influence of critic and philosopher John Ruskin, who studied and wrote on the relationships among art, society and labor, and designer and manufacturer William Morris on the Arts and Crafts movement was primary. Morris designed and produced works with Ruskin's tenets in mind, emphasizing the value of work, the pleasure of craftsmanship and the natural beauty of materials.

A case in point is a spectacular silk and wool tapestry, "The Forest," designed by Morris, John Henry Dearle and Philip Webb that depicts a peacock, a hare, a fox, a lion and a raven in a sylvan setting. Measuring 51 by 178 inches, it was handwoven in 1887 by Charles Knight and Sleath John for Morris & Co. An 1873 sample of block printed furnishing fabric that Morris designed and manufactured in 1873 is in a pattern of blossoms and leaves and is also on view. The themes of both examples confirm Morris's widely reported aversion to modern life.

In addition to Ruskin and Morris, other big guns of the English Arts and Crafts movement included the architects, designers and artists Walter Crane, Charles Francis Annesley Voysey, Charles Robert Ashbee, Mackay Hush Baillie Scott and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, all of whom are well represented.

When the Arts and Crafts movement crossed the Atlantic, it assumed a particularly American cast reflective of the relative newness of the country. It thrived on both coasts and in the Midwest. The major figures were Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles and Henry Greene and Gustav Stickley, who with other designers incorporated the influence of the English movement with the indigenous heritage and added a touch of Japan to the mix. Colonies, experimental communities and potteries appeared all over the country. Its first toehold, however, was the East Coast where potteries like Grueby, Marblehead and Roycroft and colonies like Byrdcliffe emerged. The country's first Society of Arts and Crafts, formed in Boston in 1897, was focused on elevating crafts to the level of fine art through a jury system.

Around the same time, Stickley established his Craftsman Farms in Parsippany, N.J., and his Craftsman Workshops in Syracuse, N.Y. He also began to publish The Craftsman, a periodical whose early issues were devoted to Morris and Ruskin.

A reconstructed Craftsman room on view is illustrative of Stickley's themes of honesty, simplicity and usefulness. While Stickley was not a furniture designer, he was a design director and owner of a furniture making company that employed designers whose creations he brought to market. A 1901 Stickley armchair on view exhibits the rectilinear qualities that render his products identifiable.

Chicago was at the center of expansion and economic growth. It was also a center of social, political and later design reform. At its center were Frank Lloyd Wright and, later, his Prairie School. Wright and his contemporaries drew inspiration from the flat landscape to produce wide open constructions that flowed along the contour of the land. Wright and others espoused the philosophy of the architectural creation as a unit - the structure, the furnishings and the layout.