NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial
New York City’s Creative Communities Showcased In Major New Exhibition Featuring Work Of 100 Skilled Makers
Photo: Sergio Royzen
An exploded human skull and mummified brain by Ryan Matthew Cohn, who is known for reviving the 19th-century tradition of developing medical education tools.
This summer, the Museum of Arts and Design transforms itself into a nexus for New York City’s leading makers—artists, artisans, and designers—through NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial, the first exhibition organized under the leadership of MAD Director Glenn Adamson. NYC Makers showcases the work of approximately 100 highly skilled individuals who apply an outstanding level of workmanship to the creation of objects or environments that shape our everyday lives.
On view from July 1 through October 12, 2014, and marking the first in a series of exhibitions examining the culture of making in urban communities, NYC Makers highlights the interconnected web of cultural production in New York City today and underscores the importance of craft in contemporary life.
“There is a prevailing perception that New York in the digital age is no longer a city of skilled makers, when, in fact, craftsmanship continues to flourish throughout the five boroughs. NYC Makers uncovers the variety of production and creativity in the city, and places a spotlight on the skilled individuals who spend every day crafting our futures,” said Adamson, MAD’s Nanette L. Laitman Director. “Since its founding, the Museum of Arts and Design has championed the way that artists and designers transform the world around us, using both traditional and cutting-edge creative processes. This exhibition reflects this core mission across the full range of crafted production, and establishes a new paradigm of 21st-century making as an engine for the creative industry.”
Participants
Lindsey Adelman
Laurie Anderson
Ei Arakawa/Aki Takahashi/Sergei Tcherepnin
Aranda/Lasch
Carlos Benaim
Best Made Company®
Zach Blas
Other Means
Blue Bottle Coffee
Scott Bodenner
Boxart Inc.
Boym Partners Inc.
The Brasslab
Lady Bunny
A.K. Burns & Katherine Hubbard
Rafael de Cárdenas / Architecture at Large
Aisen Caro Chacin
Joseph Cavalieri
Chen Chen & Kai Williams
Nicole Cherubini
Ryan Matthew Cohn
Tommy Coleman
CONFETTISYSTEM
Keetra Dean Dixon & JK Keller
Mark Dion
Faye Driscoll
Miriam Ellner
The Extrapolation Factory
Karen Finley
Ben-Gal founder of FLATCUT_
Flavor Paper
Fodera Guitars
Fort Standard
FPOAFM Studios
Fredericks & Mae
Benjamin Fredrickson
David Galbraith
Brett Ginsburg
Charles Goldman
Marvin Goldman
Phil Groman, Surya Mattu, Robin Reid, and Federico Zannier
Harriet Rosebud
John Hatleberg
Paula Hayes
H E I D I L E E
Hood by Air
Natalie Jeremijenko
J&M Special Effects
Misha Kahn
Victoria Keddie
Kings County Distillery
Ana Kraš
Steven & William Ladd
Jeffrey Landman
Eckhaus Latta
Let There Be Neon
littleBits
Phillip Low
Martinez Hand Rolled Cigars
Ohad Meromi
Les Métalliers Champenois Corp.
Metropolitan Opera
MILGO/BUFKIN and Haresh Lalvani
Marilyn Minter
Donald Moffett
Meredith Monk
Arnaldo Morales
Raúl De Nieves
Michele Oka Doner
papabubble New York
Sally Ann Parsons
Chris Pellettieri
Gaetano Pesce
Jason Polan
Ralph Pucci
Isa Rodrigues
Jason Sapan
Miriam Simun
SITU Studio
Spectacle Theater
Specular
Jesse Hlebo / Swill Children
Ginger Brooks Takahashi
Lower East Side Printshop/Hank Willis Thomas
Thunder Horse Video
Elaine Tin Nyo
UM Project
Amanda Wachob
Leslie Wayne
Richard Webber
Sylvia Weinstock
Welcome to Night Vale
Paul Wong / Dieu Donné
Caroline Woolard and BFAMFAPhD
Naomi Yasuda
Yemenwed
YOKO ONO PLASTIC ONO BAND
Jeff Zimmerman
Or Zubalsky
About MAD
The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) champions contemporary makers across creative fields—presenting artists, designers, and artisans who apply the highest level of ingenuity and skill to their work. Since the Museum’s founding in 1956 by philanthropist and visionary Aileen Osborn Webb, MAD has celebrated all facets of making and the creative processes by which materials are transformed, from traditional techniques to cutting-edge technologies. Today, the Museum’s curatorial program builds upon a rich history of exhibitions that emphasize a cross-disciplinary approach to art and design, and reveals the workmanship behind the objects and environments that shape our everyday lives. MAD provides an international platform for practitioners who are influencing the direction of cultural production and driving 21st-century innovation, fostering a participatory setting for visitors to have direct encounters with skilled making and compelling works of art and design.