Gerald W. R. Ward

Edward S. Cooke

Published in conjunction with the exhibition organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in collaboration with The Furniture Society, from November 12, 2003, to February 8, 2004.

American Studio Furniture, 1940-1990

The Maker's Hand

A bold reorientation of art history that bridges the divide between fine art and material culture through an examination of objects and their uses Art history is often viewed through cultural or national lenses that define some works as fine art while relegating others to the category of craft. Global Objects points the way to an interconnected history of art, examining a broad array of functional aesthetic objects that transcend geographic and temporal boundaries and challenging preconceived ideas about what is and is not art. Avoiding traditional binaries such as East versus West and fine art versus decorative art, Edward Cooke looks at the production, consumption, and circulation of objects made from clay, fiber, wood, and nonferrous base metals. Carefully considering the materials and process of making, and connecting process to product and people, he demonstrates how objects act on those who look at, use, and acquire them. He reveals how objects retain aspects of their local fabrication while absorbing additional meanings in subtle and unexpected ways as they move through space and time. In emphasizing multiple centers of art production amid constantly changing contexts, Cooke moves beyond regional histories driven by geography, nation-state, time period, or medium. Beautifully illustrated, Global Objects traces the social lives of objects from creation to purchase, and from use to experienced meaning, charting exciting new directions in art history.

Toward a Connected Art History

Global Objects

Kelly H. L'Ecuyer

Pat Warner

Essays by Edward S. Cooke, Jr. and Gerald W.R. Ward.

Glenn Adamson

Robert Slifkin

This comprehensive survey of Paul Evans's work encourages a fresh look at the practice of making objects in the third quarter of the twentieth century, as it examines the dynamic career of an artist who evolved from metal-smith to furniture maker to designer, shifting his focus from the New York craft world to the national world of design.

Crossing Boundaries and Crafting Modernism

Paul Evans

Joseph Giovannini

Davira Spiro Taragin

Wendell Castle

The last generation has seen the maturation of the Studio Craft movement in America and a dramatic

Edward S. Cooke

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