Toronto Craft Alert

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President’s Speaker Series: Dr. Glenn Adamson

“Rethinking Postmodernism”
Central Hall (Room 230)

6:45pm, Tuesday November 17, 2009

Dr. Adamson is Head of Graduate Studies, Research Department, Victoria & Albert Museum

Sara Diamond, President of the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD), presents Dr. Glenn Adamson as the third and final keynote speaker in the 2009 President’s Speaker Series.

Dr. Glenn Adamson is Deputy Head of Research and Head of Graduate Studies at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where he leads a graduate program in the History of Design. He is co-editor of the triannual Journal of Modern Craft, and the author of Thinking Through Craft (Berg Publishers/V&A Publications) and the forthcoming Craft Reader (Berg, 2009). His other publications include Industrial Strength Design: How Brooks Stevens Shaped Your World (MIT Press), and Gord Peteran: Furniture Meets Its Maker (Milwaukee Art Museum).

In the recent history of art and design, no term is as contentious as “Postmodernism” – a set of radical ideas that mounted a challenge to the progressive ‘grand narratives’ of Modernism. Today, Postmodernism has a confused and not entirely positive reputation. Often it is seen in retrospect as a dead end that offered nothing more than cynicism and irony. Its characteristic objects (furniture made from plastic laminates, image-rich corporate architecture, and unwearable fashion) can seem more than a little dated. Yet it is impossible to understand today’s art and design world without grasping the impact of Postmodernist ideas. These radical gestures fundamentally changed the nature of creative practice, bringing a new pluralism and freedom. In this talk, Dr. Adamson will present the approach that he and his colleagues are taking to the rethinking of this difficult subject. Focusing particularly on the production of Postmodern objects, he will examine the strategies undertaken by designers at this time, particularly those involving the use of the readymade and the handmade. He will also draw connections between the 1980s and the present, two periods marked by the rapid rise and fall of a culture of luxury and excess.

All are welcome to attend, and admission is free.

Dr. Adamson is also presenting his talk “Gord Peteran: Borderline Case” on Monday, November 16 at 4:30 p.m., as part of ART WITH INSIGHT at the University of Toronto Art Centre.

Central Hall (Room 230)
100 McCaul St.
Toronto, Ontario
416-977-6000
www.ocad.ca
general@ocad.ca
Free