Marianne Jorgensen and the Cast-Off Knitters, Pink M.24 Chaffee 2006. (Photo Barbara Katzin)

Craft has definitely become an integral part of the contemporary art lexicon and I'm always fascinated by where the sometimes tense border lines between craft and serious art are drawn. Elena Buszek's lecture on April 25th at MoCC should fire off a few shots in every direction or is this discussion so 2006? What new developments have there been since craft stopped becoming a dirty word in serious contemporary art? (Hint: it coincided with the realization that art from Los Angeles has been the equal if not superior to New York since the 60's and last year's PST... or we can blame Dave Hickey's The Invisible Dragon essays for making "beauty" as an intellectual construct supportable again).

Her lecture Wednesday at the Museum of Contemporary Craft is part of the CraftPerspectives Lecture Series and the 2011-2012 Graduate Visiting Artist Lecture Series.

"Maria Elena Buszek is a scholar, critic, curator and associate professor of art history at the University of Colorado in Denver. Her recent publications include the books, Pin-Up Grrrls: Feminism, Sexuality, Popular Culture and Extra/ordinary: Craft and Contemporary Art. She has also contributed to the anthologies It's Time for Action (There's No Option): About Feminism and Blaze: Discourse on Art, Women, and Feminism and Contemporary Artists. She has written for the popular feminist magazine BUST since 1999."

Presented by Museum of Contemporary Craft and the MFA in Applied Craft and Design (PNCA + OCAC).


Lecture: April 25th | 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Museum of Contemporary Craft
The Lab | 724 NW Davis St. | 503 223-2654