What Would Mrs. Webb Do? A Founder’s Vision
Museum of Arts and Design, New York September 2014 — February 2015
The enduring legacy of Aileen Osborn Webb, pioneering advocate for American craft, was celebrated in What Would Mrs. Webb Do? A Founder’s Vision, highlighting Webb's advocacy and dedication to skilled makers across America. The exhibition also reasserted Webb’s far-sighted creation of organizations and publications to support the field, including MAD, founded by her in 1957. Objects in the exhibition were drawn primarily from the Museum's permanent collection.
“With her vision of a museum connected to various networks and marketplaces, Mrs. Webb affirmed craft…as a deeply social activity and a source of economic self-empowerment.”
– Karen Rosenberg, New York Times
I placed small objects within existing cases that spanned the length of the gallery, while positioning larger sculptural works in wood, fiber, clay, and metal on platforms and along the wall. Early videos of craftsmen were placed on one wall, interspersed with quotations from artists who knew Mrs. Webb and benefitted from her advocacy.
