Everyday furnishings reveal cultural clues

Pictured below are some of the almost 100 commonly used items including furniture, prints, needlework and ceramics drawn from the prestigious Chipstone Collection. Photos: Elvehjem Museum

Details “Makers and Users: American Decorative Arts, 1630-1820” on exhibit at the Elvehjem Museum of Art until Sunday, Oct. 24. Information: 263-2240.

They say every picture tells a story. But chairs, jugs and other vestiges of day-to-day life also have important cultural tales to tell, according to Ann Smart Martin, Chipstone Professor of Decorative Arts.

“Tables and chests portray woodworkers as talented artists and business people. For example, furniture can tell us how artisans of a particular period helped change economic structure by using cost-cutting techniques that seem very modern,” such as sub-contracting the carved decorations, she says. Consumer patterns have similar social impact, she says.

To illustrate these and other points, Martin and her students have curated a new exhibition, “Makers and Users: American Decorative Arts, 1630-1820,” opening Saturday, Aug. 21, at the Elvehjem Museum of Art.

The exhibition, part of the UW–Madison sesquicentennial festivities, will showcase almost 100 commonly used items including furniture, prints, needlework and ceramics drawn from the prestigious Chipstone Collection of the Decorative Arts, based in Milwaukee.

David Knox, president of the Chipstone Foundation, says the Elvehjem exhibition will be an excellent opportunity to illustrate developing ties between the Chipstone Foundation and the Department of Art History, Martin’s academic home.

“Polly and Stanley Stone would have been delighted with this visual confirmation of the foundation’s contributions to the university – an exhibition of some of the finest objects in the collection in an educational context, curated by Ann and her students,” Knox says.

During the Sesquicentennial Celebration Sunday, Aug. 22, from 2-4 p.m., museum-goers of all ages will be able to learn what it must have been like to conduct the business of life from the chairs on exhibit at the Elvehjem. Martin says the experience will offer fresh insight into what it means to occupy a “seat of power.”

“In the 17th century, there might have been only one massive, throne-like chair in the house. That piece of furniture usually was reserved for the head of the family. Somehow, we still think in those terms – why do you think we call them ‘chairs’ of a department or committee?” she says.

Such history-alive opportunities will reverberate throughout the exhibition, Martin says, making the collection a superb choice for the sesquicentennial.

“Americans are always fascinated by how our country came to be. This exhibition may surprise you by challenging some of our modern conceptions about our past. It may make you wonder what it must have been like to drink from a trick jug, or how you made tea when you had never heard of a teapot. You may find yourself thinking about how the New World changed and blended cultures, but in any case, I hope these complex, often beautiful objects of every day will delight you.”

“American Decorative Arts, 1630-1820” will be on exhibition at the Elvehjem until Sunday, Oct. 24. For more information, or a complete list of related events, contact the museum, (608) 263-2240.