Typography and Modernism
August 18th, 2011 at 02:50pm abbey
Shop One announcement courtesy of Janet Prip.
Part of the joy of putting together an exhibition like Crafting Modernism is discovering amazing objects. Jeannine Falino, one of the curators of the show and the general editor of the catalogue, crisscrossed the country meeting with artists and collectors. While researching an article on metalsmith John Prip, whose work is included in the show and in the collection here at MAD, Jeannine met with Prip’s family. Prip’s daughter, Janet, showed Jeannine this unusual exhibition flyer from Shop One, the first artist-owned craft gallery in the country. The flyer announced recent work by Prip and potter William Wyman. Retail crafts stores like Shop One were an important way for craftsmen to sell their work in the era before the Internet and handmade-focused retail sites like Etsy.
This pamphlet didn’t make it into the exhibition, but we liked it so much we thought we would give you an opportunity to see it through the blog. With its funky design and hand-lettered typography, it is a great example of the creativity that surrounded the pioneers of the Studio Craft Movement.
(L) John Prip (foreground) at the School for American Craftsmen, Rochester Institute of Technology, ca. 1950-54. photo: Glenn A. Wagner, Courtesy of the Archives, Rochester Institute of Technology. (R) Ronald Hayes Pearson and John Prip at Shop One, about 1957. Courtesy of Barbara Cowles.
The Crafting Modernsim catalogue is available at the Museum store, at www.abramsbooks.com and wherever books are sold.
Entry Filed under: crafting modernism
3 Comments Add your own
1. Peter Prip | September 6th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
I remember my father creating this announcement for his show with Bill Wyman. Seeing it brings back many wonderful memories. I had the good fortune to grow up surrounded by many incredibly talented artists, people who from a very early age I believed to be on a special mission. While in high school I spent a summer doing odd jobs around Herring Run pottery, Bill Wymans’ workplace and retail outlet.While attending the School for American Craftsmen at R.I.T. I would occasionally serve wine at Shop One openings and pack Delicate objects of art for shipping. Later, after college I was invited to apprentice with Ron Pearson at his Deer Isle studio where I spent three years learning how to precisely hammer and shape a piece of metal. When I was very little I would walk with my dog along the Erie canal (from our home in Pittsford) to a bridge that connected to Bushnells Basin. There in a reconstructed chicken coop was where Frans Wildenhain and his wife Marjorie lived and worked. Frans would give me lumps of clay to play with and patiently helped me to glaze them. The anticipation of seeing my “artwork” emerge from the kiln was excruciating. Frans and Marjorie had wonderful parties where food and wine and laughter were plentiful! These were special times and places inhabited by very special people!! They lived passionately! I miss them all but am so pleased to see that their work lives on, informing and inspiring new generations!! Peter Prip
2. Read This!: Museum of Art&hellip | September 7th, 2011 at 11:59 am
[...] others, the work of textile designer Dorothy Liebes, furniture maker George Nakashima, silversmith Jack Prip, sculptor and designer Isamu Noguchi. It’s going to be an amazing exhibition when it opens [...]
3. abbey | September 7th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Peter,
Thank you so much these remembrances — they add so much to our understanding of this period! Abbey
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