Anna Walker
(from left to right): Lilly Luft – “Longing Choker”, Danielle Mielke – “Afro-Pick”, Long Thao – “Celebrating of Hmong”, Justin Laabs – “Butterfly in a Factory”, and Kate Possing – “Stained” & “Untitled Abstraction”
Juror Statement
I’m not sure about you, but this year has been hard–and that’s an understatement. During a time when really just getting out of bed should be applauded, it was a joy to have so many good submissions to review. I’m impressed by the ingenuity of the students at UW-Milwaukee and their ability to work during such hard circumstances. The objects they made are thoughtful and translate well through a virtual space, making me want to wear, hold, and visit them in person.
I was particularly taken with the simplicity of the “penny badge” project that showed up in many of the submissions. I selected examples where the function of the badge was also integral to the design. I was also drawn to the creative use of enamels by many of the artists, producing intricate patterns that complimented the overall forms. And in the submissions of digital renderings, I found excitement in those that channeled individual expression into well-known forms such as rings.
To artists whose work was not selected, it is NOT a referendum on your work. The structure of a jury by one person privileges my point of view, but a different juror would see things in a different way. So please keep applying and submitting work when opportunities arise, because the next person will make different selections.
Lastly, when reviewing work from an academic setting, I can sometimes see shadows of those who are teaching the courses, but critically, that is not the case at UW-Milwaukee. The points of view encapsulated in this work are many and varied and it is a testament to an environment of care that focuses on the needs and voices of the individual artists. I commend that approach.
– Anna Walker
“OBJECTS REDUX” CONVERSATION WITH ANNA WALKER
Anna Walker is Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) where she is responsible for exhibition, research and publication, the proposal of acquisitions, and development of long-term collections strategy. She has lectured widely and contributed essays for Metalsmith Magazine, American Craft Inquiry, and the 2016 Renwick Invitational: Visions and Revisions catalogue. Her most recent projects at the MFAH include the exhibitions In the Studio: Craft in Postwar America, 1950-1970, In Conversation: 18thCentury Influences on Contemporary Craft, and Mending: Craft and Community. In 2020 she was the invitational curator for the 2020 NCECA Annual The Burdens of History at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Virginia. She is co-curating the forthcoming retrospective of Olga de Amaral with Cranbrook Art Museum opening in July 2021 at the MFAH.