Arts & Crafts, Then & Now

edited by Sheila Kim-Jamet -- Interior Design, 11/1/2004 12:00:00 AM

An exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art puts William Morris and friends in their place—in an international context, that is. "The Arts and Crafts Movement in Europe and America, 1880-1920: Design for the Modern World" presents furniture, textiles, ceramics, and metalwork by Morris, Eliel Saarinen, and Gustav Stickley, paired with lesser-known decorative objects and works on paper.

By bringing many of these pieces together for the first time, the show examines issues that are still being debated today: standardization versus individuality, mass production versus art, the industrial revolution versus the anti-industrialization movement. The Design and National Identity section examines romantic nationalism: the use of local materials and indigenous designs and techniques. Another section, Art and Life, looks at how a building and its furnishings function as a whole. December 19– April 3; 323-857-6000; lacma.org.