MAD | Museum of Arts and Design

Digital Drop-In: Appliqué Quilt Blocks

This Tuesday, MAD Artist Studio alum and our favorite goddess bread maker, Emily Oliveira, will lead Digital Drop-in: Applique Quilt Blocks. Oliveira will guide you in applying basic quilting techniques to make a small quilting block using recycled materials around your home. MAD’s Digital Drop-Ins are for participants of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels. To register: https://bit.ly/3fVpV82

Frank Stella

To celebrate Frank Stella's 84th birthday, we look back at former director Glenn Adamson, former Senior Curator Ronald Labaco, and collector David Mirvish's reflections on how the artist has pushed the boundaries of his art form since the beginning of his career in the 1950s. Stella's use of 3D printing has allowed him to create avant-garde sculptures, unlike anyone else.

Typish Tuesday: Vera Paints a Scarf

For our next #TypeishTuesday, creative director Josh Graver and @madmuseum_gd explain how Vera Neumann's signature ladybug became one of the stars of #VeraPaintsaScarf. "Known affectionately at the Museum as the "Wandering Hero," Vera Neumann often used the iconic ladybug as a part of her branded signature. At MAD, the ladybug became our guiding spirit in establishing the exhibition's identity, as she embarked on a joyous and love-filled journey throughout the Museum. Her trails became a playful wayfinding system, leading visitors to wall texts and the gallery elevator - she adventured onto animations, merchandise, and across our front desk. Through it all, she never tired."🐞🏅 _____ #museumfromhome

Lydia's Lunch Break - Emily Oliveira's Bodybuilder Goddess Bread

A huge thank you to Emily Oliveira for joining Lydia Brawner, Associate Curator of Public Programs, on Thursday for the first Lydia’s Lunch Break. It was the perfect midday break that we all needed! Lydia had a great conversation with Emily about her work and life in quarantine. And during the chat, Emily managed to create an amazing bread loaf based on the bodybuilder goddess motif she frequently uses in her textile designs. Check out the final product above, which was topped with butter and loads of lemon syrup. If this isn’t the inspiration for your weekend #quarentinebaking, then we don’t know what is! � Visit our Stories to see this goddess come to life. � #museumfromhome #culturefeomhome

Studio Stories International Exchange with Craft Victoria and James Lemon

While we’re more physically distant than ever these days, this time has allowed us to build community virtually. We are excited to participate in Craft's Studio Stories International Exchange. Based in Melbourne, Australia, similar to MAD, #CraftVictoria has a long history of championing craft-based artists. As both organizations work to stay connected to our maker communities during this time, we’re visiting several of each other’s artists in their creative spaces to see what they’ve been working on. Our first Craft Victoria studio visit is with artist and ceramicist James Lemon. Born in New Zealand and now based in Melbourne, Lemon’s work explores and experiments with clay as a generative activity to develop sculptural and functional works that are highly tactile, playful, and dynamic. #craftstudiostories

MAD Type (ish) Tuesday:Non-Stick Nostalgia:Y2K Retrofuturism in Contemporary Jewelry

For our next Type (ish) Tuesday, Creative Director Josh Graver and the MAD Design team share the inspiration behind the type design for our 2019 exhibition, Non-Stick Nostalgia: Y2K Retrofuturism in Contemporary Jewelry, which explored the friction between the analog and the digital and highlighted different interpretations of futurism in jewelry. “In keeping with the show’s focus on “retrofuturism”, both of the featured type designs were inspired by various sci-fi looking fonts, but with the laws of astrophysics altering them. We stretched the N-SN logotype across the gallery as if being pulled into a black hole. The secondary type looked like an LCD display font, but with a few gravitational alterations made.” #NonStickNostalgia: Y2K Retrofuturism in Contemporary Jewelry was curated by Kellie Riggs with the support of MAD Assistant Curator Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy. The exhibition was secured for the Museum by Associate Curator Barbara Paris Gifford. Exhibition design consultation by Misha Kahn. Creative Director: Josh Graver Learn more about the exhibition: https://madmuseum.org/exhibition/non-stick-nostalgia #TypeishTuesday #MuseumFromHome

Artist Shahzia Sikander in Shangri La

To quench our serious wanderlust, we’re taking a look back at the 2013 exhibition Doris Duke’s Shangri La: Architecture, Landscape, and Islamic Art, which explored the dialogue between Islamic tradition and Western modernity that shaped the fabled Honolulu residence of the philanthropist Doris Duke. A participant in Shangri La’s Contemporary Artists Residency program, the international visual artist Shahzia Sikander, shared her impressions of the estate with MAD and discussed how it informed her awe-inspiring site-specific large-scale projections. Click the link below to visit our Online Learning Lab to watch more MAD Makers discuss their work and process. https://madmuseum.org/online-learning #ShahziaSikander #Shangrila #artanddesignrewind #museumfromhome #Travelfromhome

Type (ish) Tuesday: Typography & Exhibition Identity at MAD - #1

Today we introduce a new series: Type( ish )Tuesday, with MAD’s Creative Director, Josh Graver, and graphic design team! We’ll be exploring the role of typography and graphic design in generating visual identities for MAD’s exhibitions, and other museum-wide projects. For this first edition, we’re revisiting the 2018 exhibition, La Frontera: Encounters Along the Border, which presented jewelry created by artists from Mexico, the United States, Europe, and Latin America inspired by the lives of those impacted by the border between the United States and Mexico. We picked Druk by Commercial Type for the exhibition's title font. It shares a similar condensed vertical structure with the U.S / Mexico border fence. The wall text read in English and Spanish but was separated by a single line that we cut directly into the gallery wall using a compact router. Unexpectedly, this unearthed a bunch of stacked paint layers from past exhibitions—it was like discovering geological MAD-strata! La Frontera: Encounters Along the Border was co-curated by Mike Holmes and Lorena Lazard with the assistance of MAD's Associate Curator, Barbara Paris Gifford, and Assistant Curator, Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy. Creative Director: Josh Graver / Mexico border mural by R Graves and Company Click the link below to learn even more about this exhibition. https://bit.ly/2V8xrEt #MuseumFromHome

Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe: Spell Casting

As we continue to navigate these uncertain times, we hope this #museummomentofzen inspires some much needed relaxation and meditation. In conjunction with the exhibition Atmosphere for Enjoyment: Harry Bertoia’s Environment for Sound, MAD commissioned New York–based musician Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe to create a video recording with Sonambient sculptures (works made of metal rods that make lush, resonant sounds when struck). Here Lowe performs the piece, “Levitation Praxis pt. 1,” at the Sonambient Barn, Harry Bertoia’s property in Barto, Pennsylvania. Lowe, who also performs under the alias Lichens, creates live, spontaneous compositions often described as otherworldly. #museumfromhome #artsanddesignrewind

NYC Makers: Rafael de Cárdenas

We’re missing our home at 2 Columbus Circle and neighborhood friends like The Shops at Columbus Circle, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Nordstrom NYC. Did you know that MAD NYC Maker Rafael de Cárdenas designed #Nordstrom’s cocktail bar, Broadway Bar? MAD’s 2014 NYC Makers exhibition spotlighted the thriving creative communities across NYC’s five boroughs. The exhibition showcased de Cárdenas’s work and other highly inventive artisans, artists, and designers who create objects or environments through magnificent workmanship and skill. The exhibition served as a platform not only for makers who typically display their work in a museum setting but also for those who operate behind the scenes. In the clip above, the Architecture at Large founder experiments with 3D modeling tools and digital fabrication technology to create an extraordinary design inspired by an everyday object. Visit the MAD Online Learning Lab to watch the full video. https://madmuseum.org/video/nyc-makers-rafael-de-c%C3%A1rdenas

Open Call for the 2021 Burke Prize

Attention Artists! The Burke Prize is a contemporary art prize for a new generation of artists working in a world of expanded media with a foundation in glass, fiber, clay, metal, or wood. Selected through an open-call application process, the #BurkePrize winner receives an unrestricted award of $50,000 and a major exhibition with a select group of finalists at the Museum. The application deadline is Thursday, May 31, 11:59 PM EST https://madmuseum.org/opportunities/open-call-2021-burke-prize

Excerpt from Gabriel Ann Maher's DE ___SIGN, 2014

This week we are revisiting the 2015 exhibition, Pathmakers: Women in Art, Craft and Design, Midcentury and Today, and highlighting just a few of the exhibition’s groundbreaking artists and designers. On #TransDayofVisibility we are shining a light on Gabriel A. Maher @gabriel_maher_studio The industrial designer, who identifies as transgender investigates the ways design reinforces and even helps to shape the concepts of “male” and “female.” Maher designed the garment seen in the video above from one they developed for their personal use, prompted by their observation that clothes often mold or present the body in acceptably “male” or “female” ways. The dancer in the piece explored how the garment controls or exaggerates movements, body forms, and postures. The video also shows the performer using a chair-like object designed by Maher that configures the body in various positions often associated with either “maleness” or “femaleness”: heels up, knees together, knees spread apart. As a performance tool, the chair encourages viewers to consider how many of our postures—as natural as they may seem—are socially conditioned. Click the link to hear more from Maher about this work. https://madmuseum.org/audio/10-gabriel-maher Excerpt from Gabriel Ann Maher DE ___SIGN, 2014 Video: Directed by Gabriel Ann Maher; filmed/edited by Kimon Kodossis

🔉#BurkePrize2019 artist Helen Lee explores the transformational nature of language as informed by her experiences and cultural background as a second-generation Chinese American. She investigates the impact of bilingualism demonstrated through mistranslations, misinterpretations, and other communication challenges, as well as the complexities of her own dual cultural identity. The evolutionary nature of language and meaning is highlighted by her use of glass, which itself is a material in a constant state of flux: liquid to solid, hard to malleable. Lee’s exploration of language includes breath, the spoken word, and sounds of the natural world. The multi-part installation 1/f references pink noise—the technical term for the noise signal most commonly occurring in nature and biological systems. The work imagines units of language as transparent glass spheres that glide along a glazed surface to produce an immersive aural atmosphere of crashing waves. You can see Helen Lee’s work in #BurkePrize 2019 until April 12 Click the link for more details: https://madmuseum.org/exhibition/burke-prize-2019 Helen Lee, 1/f, 2018.

Become a MAD Artist-in-Residence

Are you interested in becoming a MAD Artist-in-Residence? We are currently accepting applications for the next cycle of the MAD Artist Studios running August 2020 - January 2021. This unique six-month residency program provides New York-based contemporary artists and designers the opportunity to expand their creative practice on-site at MAD while engaging with museum visitors. In addition to studio time, this stipend program includes professional development and opportunities to participate in the Museum's education programs for all ages—from the Museum's intergenerational Studio Sunday workshops to Thursday evening drop-in workshops inspired by artist-in-residences' current work. Visit http://bit.ly/2TPVt5k to learn more about the program. Applications are due by April 9.

Brian Clarke: The Art of Light

“The screens are a way of getting stained glass into the culture through the back door. They’re not in churches. It’s not fixed to a building…. You can actually move an exhibition of it around that it becomes portable art rather than architectural art. I now have much greater expectations of the medium than I had 40 years ago, 30 years ago, or even three years ago. The screens have really unlocked an extremely exciting pandora’s box.” - Brian Clarke. More than twenty stained-glass screens form the centerpiece of Brian Clarke: The Art of Light, the Museum of Arts and Design upcoming exhibition showcasing the work of British contemporary artist Brian Clarke, opening March 21. The stained-glass screens are produced using advances developed with and for them, the works eliminate the dividing lead support that has been a necessary component of stained glass through most of its existence. Merging the traditional techniques of glassblowing with the artist’s decades of exploration of the medium of glass, the screens are Clarke’s major independent work of the past four years. Join Brian Clarke and Paul Greenhalgh, Director of Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts and curator of Brian Clarke: The Art of Light on March 21 for a conversation in celebration of the artist’s first US museum exhibition. Free early access tickets are now available for MAD Members. General admission tickets go on sale on March 4. http://bit.ly/2HX15VV Brian Clarke: The Art of Light is made possible by presenting sponsor David Yurman Clip: Brian Clarke: The Art of Light at Sainsbury Centre. Produced by Prudence Cuming Associates

LOOT: MAD ABOUT JEWELRY

Attention jewelry lovers; it’s that time of year again! LOOT: MAD About Jewelry, the MAD | Museum of Arts and Design 's annual curated benefit show and sale, returns April 20 - 26! Now in its 20th edition, LOOT invites collectors and jewelry enthusiasts to meet more than 50 creators of spectacular wearable art, learn about their inspiration and processes, and take home one-of-a-kind works of contemporary art jewelry. Proceeds from LOOT: MAD About Jewelry benefit the Museum’s exhibitions and educational programs. Click the link below to learn more about this year’s group of exciting and innovative artists. http://bit.ly/2ST05bm #LOOT2020

The Sui Screens film series concludes this Thursday with the screening of Ken Russell’s The Boy Friend (1971). With Russell’s signature maximalism and spectacular costumes by Shirley Russell, The Boy Friend draws from a combination of Old Hollywood films and Busby Berkley musicals, creating a gloriously over-the-top Art Deco look. One of Anna Sui’s all-time favorites, The Boy Friend brings together two of the designer’s ongoing sources of inspiration: Art Deco and Twiggy. This will be the final program in conjunction with The World of Anna Sui. The exhibition comes to a close next Sunday, February 23. https://madmuseum.org/events/boy-friend #theworldofannasui #Suiscreens

NOW ON VIEW: 45 Stories in Jewelry: 1947 to Now is a new interpretation of MAD’s exceptional collection of studio and contemporary art jewelry. Highlighting MAD's early and influential advocacy of jewelry's artistic expression, the exhibition contextualizes the bold experimental practices of the field's most compelling artists within the key historical moments that ultimately broadened the scope and reached of art as a wearable medium. View works from influential jewelry artists including Wendy Ramshaw and David Watkins, Peter Chang, Margaret De Patta, Joyce J. Scott, David Bielander, and more. Be the one the first to view 45 Stories in Jewelry tonight during Pay-What-You-Wish admission from 6-9 pm! http://bit.ly/2vgBfsU While you are here, visit the Artist Studios and design and customize your own your card case with MAD Artist Fellow Mia Wright-Ross . ____________________________________________ Featured Images include: Twiggy in New York wearing Wendy Ramshaw and David Watkins, 1967. Photo by Bert Stern. Nicky Newman wearing jewelry by Peter Chang for Crafts Magazine, 1988. Photo by James Johnson Joyce J. Scott and Art Smith, c.1970s. Photo by Michael Fields. Portrait of Margaret De Patta, c. 1955. Photo by Barbara Cannon Myers. David Bielander wearing Big Apple Neckpiece, private collection, 2015. Photo by David Bielander. #45stories #artjewelry #contemporaryartjewelry #studiojewelry #jewelryart #jewelryexhibition

“When I start thinking about the new collection, I think about color, I think about things I’m obsessed with.” - Anna Sui As we eagerly await the debut of #annasuifw20 on Monday, let’s take a look back as @annasui and author Tim Blanks discuss the inspiration behind the designer’s #FW19 “Poptimistic” collection which drew inspiration from early 1960s poster art. Join the friends and collaborators this Tuesday, February 11, as they chat all things in #theworldofannasui, including the designer’s latest collection! This talk is the last of The World of Anna Sui Conversation series. Get your tickets while they last: https://madmuseum.org/events/world-anna-sui-tim-blanks The World of Anna Sui closes February 23. #annasui #timblanks #nyfw2020

45 Stories in Jewelry: 1947 to Now, a bold reimagining of the Museum's unparalleled collection of studio and contemporary art jewelry opens next Thursday, February 13. MAD was an early advocate of jewelry as an art form. Our 1956 inaugural exhibition, Craftsmanship in a Changing World, gave many their first exposure to metalsmiths who were challenging the norms of conventional jewelry design and creating works inspired by sculptural experimentation. To date, the Museum has presented more than 150 exhibitions featuring art jewelry, and there are more than 950 pieces in MAD's permanent collection (one-third of the Museum's complete works). This exhibition celebrates MAD's contributions to the field's advancements and contextualizes the genre-bending experimental practices of its most compelling artists, including Joyce J. Scott, Otto Künzli, Margaret De Patta, and Bruno Martinazzi, within the key historical moments that pushed the medium forward. Join MAD as a Contributing Member or above for the opportunity to enjoy a private tour with the exhibition's curator Barbara Gifford on February 26. Learn more: http://bit.ly/2vgBfsU Animation features: Nicky Newman wearing jewelry by Peter Chang for Crafts Magazine, 1988. Photo by James Johnson Arline Fisch at the opening of Jewelry by Arline Fisch, 1968. Sam Kramer, c. 1940s. Photo by Saul Dash. Joyce J. Scott and Art Smith, c.1970s. Photo by Michael Fields. Model wearing piece by Gijs Bakker and Emmy Van Leersum, c. 1967. Marianne Faithful wearing a bracelet by Tone Vigeland, 1980. Photo by Michel Comte. David Bielander wearing Big Apple Neckpiece, private collection, 2015. Photo by David Bielander. Portrait of Margaret De Patta, c. 1955. Photo by Barbara Cannon Myers.

Brian Clarke: The Art of Light

Immerse yourself in the magic of stained glass this spring at MAD! Celebrated contemporary artist Brian Clarke will make his U.S. museum debut with Brian Clarke: The Art of Light on view from March 21 - August 23. This major exhibition will highlight Clarke’s stained glass screens, compositions in lead, and related drawing on paper, showcasing the artist as an aesthetic innovator. Organized by the Sainsbury Centre, the exhibition’s more than 100 works, completed by Clarke over the last two decades, are at the forefront of what is possible in contemporary stained glass. Brian Clarke: The Art of Light is presented by David Yurman Visit https://madmuseum.org/exhibition/brian-clarke-art-light for more information. Image: Brian Clarke, Flowers for Zaha, 2016. 📸: Fraser Watson

How to Wear and Tie Vera Scarves

“Though a trailblazer in many ways — as an originator of the American lifestyle brand, an innovator of cross-licensing, and a marketing whiz — one signature product has become synonymous with Neumann’s legacy: scarves. And, it’s a selection of these modern swathes of fabric that pulse at the heart of the show, showing off Neumann’s playful palette and inventive brushwork with bright florals, abstract patterns, and novelty prints.” – Julie Schneider for Hyperallergic. Read the full article: http://bit.ly/2QYL0mI Vera Paints a Scarf closes ‪January 26.‬ Purchase your tickets today: http://bit.ly/2LC6XHJ Edie Lock Productions, How to Wear and Tie Vera Scarves, 1990. Video, TRT ‪00:07:00‬ Video courtesy of Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY, FIT Library Unit of Special Collections and Collage Archives. #verapaintsascarf #veraneumann

Only one more week until Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist Badi Assad makes her MAD debut! Don’t miss your chance to spend the evening with this mesmerizing artist. MAD members enjoy discounted seats for this event! Get your tickets today! http://bit.ly/2EOouXO #badiassad #worldmusic #worldbeat #jazzfusion #brazilianmusic

This year you will be able to enjoy the magic of MAD all throughout the holiday season! See our holiday hours below. Christmas Eve: 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM Christmas Day: Closed New Year’s Eve: 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM New Year’s Day: We’re Open!! - 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM #HappyHolidays! #theworldofannasui now on view through February 23.

Murry Lerner's Oscar-nominated film, Festival! documents the Newport Folk Festival from 1963 to 1966. Lerner captured some of the most memorable moments in music, including the first time Bob Dylan publicly performed using an electric guitar at the 1965 festival. Not only was Lerner an Oscar-nominated director, but he was @AnnaSui’s neighbor when she first moved into her current Greenwich apartment while working on her Fall 1999 collection inspired by folk rock. The two became fast friends and the film ended up being a significant influence on the collection. Join us this Thursday as we screen #Festival as a part of the #SuiScreens series. The screening will feature a newly restored version of the film including a remastered soundtrack from the original concert and field recordings, approved by #MurrayLerner before his death in 2017. Murray Lerner’s son Noah Lerner and @AnnaSui will introduce the film. Digital restoration courtesy @criterioncollection and @janus_films. https://madmuseum.org/events/festival #theworldofannasui #bobdylan #newportfolkfestival #musicdocumentary

#suisaturday returns January 9 with "Anna's Music and Muses." Musician and supermodel Karen Elson will join @annasui in conversation in the Theater at MAD. The longtime friends and collaborators will discuss their unique relationship, including their mutual love of music and vintage fashion. Click the link in the bio to join the conversation. #theworldofannasui

❄️☃️We wish you and yours a joyful, festive, and inspired holiday season! We sincerely thank you for being a part of the MAD family. While the year is coming to an end, we look forward to soon sharing exciting news about what's in store at MAD for 2020!❄️⛄️ #happyholidays

🎥From the beginning of her career, Anna Sui has drawn inspiration from art, film, books, and culture to create collections with rich narratives. To explore the designer’s deep connection to cinema and its influence on her designs, MAD is hosting the Sui Screen film series. Each of the featured films has inspired collections and designs featured in #theworldofannasui. #Suiscreens kicks off December 12 with a screening of Jerry Schatzberg’s debut film, “Puzzle of a Downfall Child,” starring Faye Dunaway. The director will join Sui for a post-screening discussion. Sui Screens is co-curated by Jeannie Sui Wonders (@jswonders). Click the link below for a full list of the series’ films. https://madmuseum.org/series/sui-screens

Vera Folds Art Napkins

Happy Thanksgiving! "Be creative in compositions of napkins, cloth, mats. For Thanksgiving, color states the season." - The Art of Table Setting with Vera. The Museum is closed today, Thursday, November 28. We will be open during regular hours (10 am - 6 pm) for the rest of the holiday weekend. #veraneumann #napkinfolding #holidaytabledecor

“Napkin folding is an art form!” - Vera Neumann. Vera Neumann approached the tabletop as a canvas, encouraging imagination and creativity in routine activities like setting the table. Neumann’s attentiveness to the choreography of the table setting is just one example of her commitment to elevating the everyday through design. Visit MAD this holiday weekend for more festive inspiration! Visit madmuseum.org to plan your visit today. #napkinfolding #holidaytable #midcenturymodern #veraneumann Napkin featured in animation: Vera Neumann. Ibiza Garden (napkin),1972.