In commemoration of the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, selections from Thomas Mann’s Storm Cycle series will make a rare West Coast appearance and be on view at the Craft in America Study Center from August 19 through September 18, 2010.
Reacting to the destruction that took place in his hometown in 2005, Thomas Mann created a body of work in his signature assemblage style using debris and remnants he gathered from the devastated streets of New Orleans. The reassembled raw fragments are poetic, haunting declarations about the catastrophe. The Craft in America Study Center will have 10 shadow box panels from Mann’s Storm Cycle series, each of which tell a different, compelling story about the tragedy and which include a removable, wearable piece of jewelry he created as a critical component and memento for each composition.
CRAFT IN AMERICA is a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and advancing original handcrafted work, through educational programs in all media, accessible to all. The CRAFT IN AMERICA project includes a national prime time PBS documentary series, a 300-page companion book, traveling museum exhibitions, and an extensive website with teachers’ guides and video clips of artists at work. The Study Center is an extensive craft-focused library, an archive of video footage, and a gallery space with rotating exhibitions featuring the work of contemporary artists who work in craft media.
This exhibition will be enhanced by an exciting new online arts initiative on PBS.org, featuring video clips of Tom filmed at many of the Storm Cycle sites, telling the stories that inspired each piece.
The Craft in America Study Center is located at 8415 W. Third Street, 2 blocks East of La Cienega. Wine reception. Please RSVP to info@craftinamerica.org or (310) 659-9022
Photos by Mark Markley and Will Crocker
