Thinking through Craft

Glenn Adamson is Deputy Head of Research and Head of Graduate Studies at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where he leads a graduate program in the History of Design. He holds degrees in Art History from Cornell University (BA) and from Yale University (PhD). Dr. Adamson was previously curator at the Chipstone Foundation, and in that capacity prepared exhibitions at the Milwaukee Art Museum and taught Art History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the co-editor (with Tanya Harrod and Edward S. Cooke, Jr.) of the Journal of Modern Craft, the only academic journal in the subject area, which will launch in March 2008.

'At a time when technical skill has been widely dismissed or outsourced in the production of art, Glenn Adamson crucially adds an entire spectrum of hand-crafted objects to the creative history of the post-war era. And at a time when theoretical frameworks have stagnated, these objects, in his hands, bring with them a fresh and sophisticated set of interpretive perspectives.'

• IntroductionChapter 1: Supplemental"Homage to Brancusi"Wearable Sculptures: Modern Jewelry and the Problem of Autonomy Reframing the Pattern and Decoration Movement PropsChapter 2: SensualCeramic Presence: Peter VoulkosThe Essence of Clay: Yagi Kazuo The Materialization of the Art Object, 1966-72 BreathChapter 3. Skilled Learning by Doing: Teaching Modern Craft Thinking in Situations: Josef AlbersLearning Architecture: Charles Jencks and Kenneth Frampton Chapter 4: Pastoral Regions Apart Two Versions of PastoralNorth, South, East, WestChapter 5: Amateur "The World's Most Fascinating Hobby": Robert ArnesonFeminism and the Politics of Amateurism Abject Craft: Mike Kelley and Tracey EminConclusion