Now on view in Vienna: Pattern and Decoration: Ornament as Promise
Saturday, February 23, 2019 to Sunday, September 08, 2019
‘Pattern and Decoration: Ornament as Promise’ at Mumok, Vienna.
Pictured from left to right: Karola Kraus, Manuela Ammer, Curator, Ned Smyth, Robert Kushner, Joyce Kozloff, Robert Zakanitch
Image credit: Niko Havranek
Robert Kushner, Pink Leaves, 1979
Ornament as Promise was the premise of the Pattern and Decoration movement in the United States (1975–1985). In this exhibition, mumok, vienna presents the rich collection of works from this movement of Peter and Irene Ludwig, in the largest presentation of Pattern and Decoration in German-speaking Europe since the 1980s.
With oriental-style mosaics, monumental textile collages, paintings, installations, and performances, in the 1970s committed feminist artists like Miriam Schapiro, Joyce Kozloff, Valerie Jaudon, and Robert Kushner aimed to bring color, formal diversity, and emotion back into art. Decoration played a key role, with its connotations of the techniques of artisanship.
Various ornamental traditions, from the Islamic world to North American Indians to Art Deco, were incorporated in their works, opening up a view beyond geographical and historical boundaries. A proximity to folk art was sought as a deliberate counter to the “purism” of the art of the 1960s.
With works by Brad Davis, Frank Faulkner, Tina Girouard, Valerie Jaudon, Joyce Kozloff, Robert Kushner, Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt, Kim MacConnel, Miriam Schapiro, Kendall Shaw, Ned Smyth, Robert Zakanitch, and Joe Zucker
Curated by Manuela Ammer
To order a copy of the catalogue, visit here.
For more background, please consider reading: “Funky, Funny and Fussy: Reassessing the Pattern and Decoration Movement” by Jonathan Griffin
The project was initiated by the Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst Aachen and realized in cooperation with the mumok – Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien. Following the venues in Aachen and Vienna, the exhibition will be on view at the Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest.
Some photos from the artists’ talk on February 23rd, 2019. Images: Niko Havranek
