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In fine art, the term “craft” is often misconstrued as a derogative, meaning “less than art.” The term can carry so much cultural baggage that museums and galleries occasionally abandon it for the less controversial synonyms of “functional art” or “design.” In the modern art world, the term craft is much more fluid and often merely denotes that an art object is from a specific media traditionally associated with more functional art-forms such as ceramics, wood, glass or furniture.

The Fort Wayne Museum of Art’s growing Contemporary Craft Collection acknowledges the importance and exciting progress being made in these media today. In our quest to explore American art from the Colonial to the Contemporary, Contemporary Craft provides a vital link to our country’s first fine arts — those often termed “decorative” as they too were meant initially as functional objects. Objects necessary to life in a burgeoning society that were made beautiful through the care and intent in their crafting. As our current daily life becomes increasingly digitized, a resurgence of craft media — those that allow us to physically connect with our space and the world will be increasingly more pronounced.

Three recent acquisitions by local artists not only highlight this continuity but also the shift from the object as functional to art for its own sake.

The subtle coloration of Kristy Jo Beber’s piece harkens to the black on black firing of Southwest Native American Pueblo pottery. However, Beber’s contemporary piece would not easily be used as a vase or urn. The bulbous organic form and curvilinear design allude to the natural materials — clay, earth — that compose the work.

The intricate woodturnings of Todd Meyer allow one to marvel at the technical skill at such a scale — the larger of the two is a mere three inches in height-and both are hollow, lidded vessels. Made from exotic woods, African Gaboon and Laotian Black-and-White Ebony, the turnings are left unstained to celebrate the unique qualities of their media. One can’t help but wonder what the Colonial furniture makers would say about their curious and striking descendants.