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13/11/2003

Corporal Identity

Museum of Arts & Design - MAD, New York

Body Language
November 14, 2003 - June 4, 2004

The Museum of Arts & Design (MAD), known for creating exhibitions that showcase emerging artists and new art forms, has joined with two German museums, the Museum für Angewandte Kunst (Museum of Applied Arts) in Frankfurt and the Klingspor-Museum in Offenbach to present Corporal Identity - Body Language. The exhibition, to be presented in the United States and Germany, intriguingly probes contemporary attitudes toward the human body and the relationship between body and self. It premiered June 18 in Frankfurt and will travel to New York for its exclusive U.S. showing, opening at MAD on November 14 and running through June 6, 2004.

For nearly half a century, the Museum of Arts & Design (formerly American Craft Museum) has served as the country's premier institution dedicated to the collection and exhibition of contemporary objects created in craft media such as clay, glass, wood, metal, and fiber. The Museum celebrates materials and processes that are today embraced by practitioners in the fields of craft, art and design, as well as architecture, fashion, interior design, technology, performing arts, and art and design-driven industries.

The selected works in this latest exhibition demonstrate the new frontier of craft, decorative arts and design, where the boundaries among creative disciplines are becoming increasingly blurred.

The Frankfurt Museum of Applied Arts, recognized as one of Europe's most inventive and advanced museums, is known for its Triennial exhibitions, highly anticipated events that have been presented regularly since 1978. Corporal Identity - Body Language, the museum's ninth Triennial, is the first in which the Frankfurt museum has chosen an American museum as its partner. This probing and experimental foray into the significance of the applied arts and design as they relate to the human body crosses traditional boundaries among the arts and embodies MAD's expanded mission: to explore the rich intersections of international craft, art and design.

The highly accomplished curatorial team includes Ursula Ilse-Neuman, curator for MAD; David Revere McFadden, MAD chief curator; Sabine Runde, curator for applied arts at the Frankfurt Museum of Applied Arts; and Stefan Soltek, director of the Klingspor-Museum in Offenbach. Collaborating with experts and collectors in the field, these curators have selected nearly 150 artists from Germany and the U.S. The works present a stimulating profile of creativity in both countries and an opportunity to explore their shared values and differing viewpoints. The curators sought innovative works of the highest aesthetic and technical quality that would have the potential to contribute significantly to the development of contemporary art and design.

The exhibition presents more than 200 works by both established and emerging talents, many of them exhibiting for the first time. The work spans a broad range of creativity - ceramics, glass, wood, metal, fiber, and mixed media - and includes both functional and non-functional objects as well as innovative installations. A special section of the exhibition will focus on highly innovative artists' books.

Corporal Identity - Body Language reflects the broad spectrum of contemporary concerns about the human form. The artists scrutinize contemporary attitudes towards the human body with works that speak to the concept of the "corporal," both directly and within the context of socially relevant issues. The broad scope ranges from works that examine symbolic associations with various parts of the body, to personal explorations of the relationship between body and self. The works probe the implications of advances in medical and biological technologies including gene manipulations, cloning, body implants and modifications and sensory augmentations.

"It is not surprising that so many artists today are fascinated by the body and its multi-layered meanings in our world," Ursula Ilse-Neuman says. "Our bodies are the most public signals of our identities; our bodies are also our most private and intimate reminders of who we are."

Funding for the Museum of Arts & Design's planning and presentation of Corporal Identity-Body Language has been provided by Altria Group, Inc. - parent company of Kraft Foods, Philip Morris International, and Philip Morris USA. For nearly 50 years, Altria Group has supported the arts as part of its commitment to enriching communities and fostering innovation, excellence and cultural diversity. Additional information is available at www.altria.com/media_programs.

The Museum of Arts & Design is located at 40 West 53rd Street, between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas, New York City.

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