The Museum of Arts and Design Connects the Craft Tradition with Futuristic Design
This article was written by Nancy Prager-Kamel, Chairwoman of the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the United States (AFPC-USA).
Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) which is located at 2 Columbus Circle and Central Park (West 59th Street) is an emblem of contemporary creativity in the heart of Manhattan. While celebrating art, design, and craft, this museum offers a unique perspective on how traditional as well as nontraditional materials and processes enable our visions and shape our perspective as well as our understanding of the world.
The innovative exhibitions center on manual creations and represent the convergence of art and functionality. Using the elements or byproducts of glass, wood, clay, metal, and fiber results in the creative emergence of 21st century art. If your interest focuses on jewelry, ceramics, glass art and objects or furniture, this intimate museum creates an atmosphere that connects the craft tradition with the cutting edge of futuristic design. While visiting MAD you will experience a world at the intersection of manual skill and innovative artistic vision.
The exhibitions focus on the essence of materials uniquely employed in the creative process as well as personal commentary on the process itself. The permanent collection displays an emphasis on contemporary jewelry—one of New York City’s premier collections—as well as glass, wood and metalwork. The galleries display the evolution and the artistically original applications of these materials.
From the windows of the upper gallery, you will see a stunning view of Columbus Circle and Central Park. In this unique corner of New York City, you can reflect on the art as well as enjoy a kaleidoscopic perspective of New York City’s iconic skyscape.
MAD offers panel discussions, artists conversations, and hands-on workshops. These programs invite you to dive deeper into the artistic processes and original expression.
The current exhibition is titled “Utopia Within.” To a classical artist, this goes beyond the umbrella of modern art and into a realm of its own. But as art is supposed to reflect its culture, this art is in some ways conventional. We’ve gone from the mid 19th century Picasso abstraction of form and figure through non-objective color fields, contemporary art, and landed in a truly representative style, reflecting the electronic, nonrepresentational world of AI.
The visitor is asked to step into a fantasy world, and an imagined future where friends and strangers gathered to tour this exhibition together.
The visitor is asked to step into a fantasy world and an imagined future where friends and strangers gather to tour this exhibition together.
In this “institute of empathy” one is asked to join an advanced race of hybrid beings who possess knowledge and power beyond present knowledge.
You are invited to join this advanced race of hybrid beings, all of whom possess extraordinary knowledge and powers!
