The craftier side of art

Alex Coolman

In order to be any good, art has to be completely useless.

That’s one theory that has often been used to distinguish “Art,” with

a capital A, from its lowly cousin “crafts,” according to Brian Langston,

director of marketing and public relations for the Orange County Museum

of Art. Craft objects are traditionally things that can be used -- vases,

carpets, chairs and so on -- while art objects have no utility at all

beyond their value as objects of serene contemplation.

For some reason, the very usefulness of crafts has historically kept

them low on the aesthetic totem pole, as if it were somehow in bad taste

for an object to have a practical function. But a show that opens Sept.

25 at the Orange County Museum of Art aims to reassess the value of

crafts, Langston said, and simultaneously to attract some new viewers to

the museum’s halls.

“Craft art has just become so wildly popular over the last several

years that this struck us as a way to broaden the embrace of the museum’s

offering [and make it] accessible to a wider segment of art lovers out

there,” Langston said.

The Pacific Craft Show features works from more than 50 artisans in

glass, metal, fiber, ceramic and wood media, including material from

renowned craft artist Harvey Littleton. A variety of lectures and video

presentations are scheduled to coincide with the show, as are

craft-making activities for children.

The museum has set up the show in a way that caters both to the

high-art aficionados of craft work and to everyday people that might be

interested in checking out what the museum has to offer. It kicks off on

the evening of Sept. 24 with an elaborate (and pricey) celebration

honoring Littleton. The next day, and every day through the show’s close

Oct. 1 (including Mondays, when the museum is usually closed) the museum

will be open free of charge to the public.

Langston said he expects the show, with its accessible focus and its

difficult-to-beat price, to attract crowds that might not come to other

exhibits.

“We’re always interested in attracting more people,” he said. “We do

think that there’s a segment out there that’s more interested in the

crafts than they are in contemporary art or in the art of California in

general. It probably is likely to attract folks who may not have

discovered the museum.” Among the crowds will undoubtedly be some

shoppers, because much of the craft work on display also will be for

sale.

Linda Bergman, a Corona del Mar resident whose fine pearl jewelry will

be featured in the exhibit, is excited about the audiences who will see

and possibly purchase her work. Bergman is bringing pieces to the exhibit

that range from a $20,000 strand of Tahitian pearls to simple bracelets

she sells for $49.

“I think of it as their own personal art that [customers] can wear,”

Bergman said. “No two pieces are alike in my line.”

The museum is holding the show inside its walls rather than relegating

to outdoor tent space, as is often done with craft exhibits. In

Langston’s view, this gesture demonstrates a “softening of the line”

between the worlds of art and craft.

It is, in any case, a difficult line to justify, Langston said. He

argued that the distinction between the categories evolved in Europe

during the early Renaissance, “when paintings themselves became one more

object of transportable wealth.”

“I really believe that it started as an economic issue, and it

continues on that issue today,” he said. That crafts command more respect

in the contemporary art scene is as least partly due to the fact that

many craft object are now extremely valuable, according to Langston.

WHAT: The Pacific Craft Show

WHERE: Orange County Museum of Art, 850 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach

WHEN: Sept. 25 through Oct. 1. Museum hours are 11 a.m to 5 p.m. An

opening celebration will be held at 6 p.m. Sept. 24.

HOW MUCH: The show is free. Tickets to the opening celebration are $75 in

advance and $90 at the door.

TELEPHONE: (949) 759-1122, Ext. 505