Exhibit

Crafty comeback

25 years after its debut, ‘White House Collection of American Crafts’ revived at Clinton Presidential Center

Some of the pieces in “The White House Collection of American Crafts: 25th Anniversary Exhibit” were once on display in the White House. New Beginnings by Ronald F. Fleming fit in perfectly in The Red Room.
Some of the pieces in “The White House Collection of American Crafts: 25th Anniversary Exhibit” were once on display in the White House. New Beginnings by Ronald F. Fleming fit in perfectly in The Red Room.

When married artists Leon and Sharon Niehaus packaged up their crafted basket, Eburna, they knew where they were sending it. But they had no idea where it would end up.

It was 1992 or 1993, Leon Niehaus recalls, when he and his wife -- self-taught basket makers in rural Madison County -- received a letter from White House curator Michael Monroe inviting them to send a piece for a new craft collection.

The White House Collection of American Crafts: 25th Anniversary Exhibit

Through March 31, Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday

Admission: $10; ages 62 and older, students, retired U.S. military and groups of 8 or more $8; children under 6 and active U.S. military free

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"It was pretty brief," Niehaus says. "I'm not sure I even kept the letter."

They were two of the dozens of artists and craftspeople across the country who received letters and sent works that would end up in "The White House Collection of American Crafts," an exhibit that would appear in the White House, at the Smithsonian and in galleries across the country.

Now, the entire collection is returning to public view at the Clinton Presidential Center for a 25th anniversary commemoration exhibit.

"It's sort of a time capsule of American art in the early '90s," says Clinton Center exhibit specialist Jennifer Wisniewski.

It all began in 1992, when then-President George H.W. Bush and Congress issued a proclamation, declaring 1993 the Year of American Craft.

When Bill Clinton took office, Hillary Clinton worked with Monroe and a curator from the Smithsonian to put together a special exhibit on American crafts, putting out calls to artists across the country. They ended up collecting pieces in all different media -- glass, wood, metal, textile, ceramics -- from artists of all ages and experience levels.

From the submissions, they selected works by 78 artists including Dale Chihuly, Cliff Lee, Sam Maloof and Arkansas artists Michael Haley, Susy Siegele, Robyn Horn, Ed Pennebaker and the Niehauses.

Clinton Foundation communications and marketing manager Ben Thielemier explains, "These pieces were selected as a breadth of what was crafted in the '90s, but also to specifically complement the rooms in the White House. [Monroe] really had an eye for looking at pieces that would complement those rooms because they were going to be on display in those specific places."

Some of the pieces, including Eburna from the Niehauses, were displayed in the White House before the collection as a whole premiered at the Smithsonian. For several years, it traveled the country, making its final stop at the Arkansas Arts Center.

A few pieces have been loaned out for other exhibits and others have been displayed on the center's second floor but the majority of the collection has remained in the Clinton Presidential Center's museum storage.

Until now.

The idea of revisiting the crafts exhibit was tossed around several years ago, but other exhibits kept it from the schedule. The 25th anniversary seemed like the perfect time to bring it back.

Some alterations have been made for the new exhibit. The introduction panel and artist biographical information have been updated to make it current. They've also added a video that features interviews with several of the artists, Hillary Clinton and former Smithsonian Museum of American Art director Betsy Broun.

Coming as it did in the early days of the Internet, the original exhibit was one of the first collections to have a website associated with it, according to Thielemeier. That website (2.americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/whc) is still active and very rudimentary. The reincarnation gets a 21st-century upgrade with a mobile app.

They're also keeping younger visitors in mind, Thielemeier says: "All of our exhibits we have specifically designed programming for different grade levels."

Younger school groups can get hands-on with items to see what different media like glass and clay feel like. For older students, there will be a STEAM component, learning how science and art entwine.

Items like Akira Blount's whimsical Man in Lion Costume, Josh Simpson's Megaworld and Imago Bag by John Littleton and Kate Vogel have been brought out of storage, spruced up, and put back together. Some of the pieces are displayed with photos from their stints in the White House.

"These pieces are so vibrant," Thielemier says. "It's really interesting to see, especially when you see how they integrated into the White House, too."

One of those vibrant works is a bowl by Chihuly, a personal favorite of some of the museum staff and of Hillary Clinton.

"They have a relationship with the Chihulys so she comments on that piece" Thielemier says.

There's also A Festival of Light, a menorah by Zachary Oxman that made such an impression on the Clintons that they used it during White House holiday celebrations.

It has a little added significance for the exhibit's curators.

"If you look at the faces, they kind of look like presidents," Wisniewski says. "We don't know for sure. I would love to confirm."

Another mystery took a little time to solve: an elaborate, carved puzzle box by Po Shun Leong.

"There's a hidden secret compartment in it, which drove us crazy until we finally found it," Wisniewski says. "We've all oohed and ahhed over that piece. It's so elaborate. So detailed."

Leong was trained as a furniture designer but he found that it wasn't a career that put him on the path to citizenship. Being an artist was. So, he turned his skills to making decorative boxes and became a U.S. citizen a few months before being asked to contribute to the collection.

In the video, the artists are asked "Do you view your work as craft or as art?"

Thielemier says, "Every one of them said, 'This is my art.'"

The exhibit will expose people to the true art that goes into handcraft and, Wisniewski says, "The amazing beauty people can create with their hands."

Niehaus says he rarely makes his baskets anymore. When he does, he calls them "retro." Instead, he has turned his attention to what he calls "bent wood sculpture," which sometimes bears a resemblance to a basket, but is far more free-form.

He says, "I just feel like if you want to be thought of as an artist, you can't repeat yourself indefinitely."

The focus on craft also fits well with what Clinton Presidential Center spokesman Rebecca Tennille says is Hillary Clinton's goal to make art accessible to all.

"That's one of the reasons this library is here, to provide access to things that people might not otherwise see."

Craft, Tennille says, "lends itself to that pretty well. It can be more universally appreciated, more universally participated in."

The exhibit may even inspire a future generation of artists -- people like the Niehauses, who largely taught themselves how to make their decorative baskets.

"You don't have to go to a fancy art school," Wisniewski says. "You don't have to be in a big city to create amazing artwork and have it out there for the world to see. You can be from a small town in Arkansas and end up with something you've created that's been on display in the Smithsonian and all over the country."

For artists like Niehaus, sending in a piece was sending it into the unknown. The artists' work was donated, not sold, with no guarantees.

"Everybody had to be trusting that they weren't doing something and nothing would come of it," he says. "With things like that you never know if it's going to be important or not."

Something did come of it. Niehaus heard from people who took a White House tour and saw Eburna on display. The collection's coffee table book and the national tour opened the artists involved to new audiences.

"It did improve basket sales," Niehaus says. "It was confirmation."

While the exhibit toured the country 25 years ago, Wisniewski says there are "no concrete plans right now" for the anniversary exhibit to travel anywhere else this time. But some other presidential libraries have put out feelers.

Whatever comes after the exhibit closes in March, for the people involved, just having the creative, colorful time capsule once again on public display is exciting enough. And for the craftsmen, it's a chance to revisit an important piece of their artistic past.

"I do recall that we really gave it our best," Niehaus says. "We didn't just do something. We did the best we could at the time. I like the idea that it can come back, that doing your best is always the right thing to do."

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Akira Blount’s Man in Lion Costume adds a whimsical touch to “The White House Collection of American Crafts: 25th Anniversary Exhibit.”

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Clinton Presidential Center

In the early 1990s, Leon and Sharon Niehaus created Eburna specially for the White House crafts exhibit and it’s a piece Leon Niehaus is still proud of today, saying that even at 25 years old, “It’s not dated.”

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Clinton Presidential Center

Cerulean Blue Macchia With Chartreuse Lip Wrap by Dale Chihuly is part of “The White House Collection of American Crafts: 25th Anniversary Exhibit.” Some artists, like Chihuly, were already well-known and established when their works were chosen.

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Clinton Presidential Center

John Littleton and Kate Vogel crafted Imago Bag, part of “The White House Collection of American Crafts: 25th Anniversary Exhibit.”

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Clinton Presidential Center/JOHN BIGELOW TAYLOR

Works including Bird Jar by David W. Levi, part of “The White House Collection of American Crafts: 25th Anniversary Exhibit,” were chosen with an eye to how they would fit into the rooms at the White House.

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Clinton Presidential Center

Pieces like Megaworld by Josh Simpson are getting another day in the sun as part of “The White House Collection of American Crafts: 25th Anniversary Exhibit.”

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Clinton Presidential Center

Festival of Light by Zachary Oxman, part of “The White House Collection of American Crafts: 25th Anniversary Exhibit,” was a favorite of the Clintons and was used in White House holiday celebrations.

Style on 09/18/2018

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