Craft as Myth: Between Ideal and Real Life

“Myth is not defined by the object of its message, but by the way in which it expresses this message.” —Roland Barthes, Mythologies

The term “craft” usually refers to a series of learned actions and techniques, ideally carried out manually or with a manually operated tool. It can also describe a trade or a branch of industry. But what about the mythical aspect of craft?

In his theories on mythology, French philosopher Roland Barthes reached the conclusion that the myth is a specific manner of signifying and thus a form of speaking. Hence it is not the object of discussion that is mythical—in this case craft—but the special form the discussion about it takes: A plethora of sometimes mutually reinforcing, sometimes contradicting attributions, emotions, interpretations, and wishful thoughts.

Craft as Myth: Between Ideal and Real Life focuses on universal values and messages associated with craft in the past, present, and future. The show exposes romanticized notions as well as ideologies and reveals the emotions and affects, ideas and wishes the sphere of handcrafted produce evokes in the individual and society. This approach brings clarity and new momentum to many contemporary debates but also to the social dimension of design. The presentation comprises an array of objects, films, pictures, photographs, and artworks.

The exhibition was developed in cooperation with the Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and the vorarlberg museum, Bregenz. Despite their commonalities and shared roots in European cultural history, the dissimilar urban and rural locations of these institutions lead to different narrations surrounding the practice of craft. These stories are visualized and expanded by examples of global perspectives on craft.

Director: Matthias Wagner K
Curator: Grit Weber (Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt am Main), Kerstin Stöver and Ute Thomas (Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden), and Theresia Anwander (vorarlberg museum, Bregenz)
Press contact: Natali-Lina Pitzer / T +49 (0)69 212 75339