cyberscape on thu 17 sep 98
Hi,
I just finished catching up on the summer's clayart, and I came across
the thread on the White House Collection, started by David Hendley.
Being included in the original collection, I may be able to shed some
light on this subject. Sorry to be so late.
First, the work was chosen primarily by Michael Monroe, who was then
the Director of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution. He
has since been the Director of the American Craft Council. He has been
deeply involved with the contemporary crafts movement in America for a
long, long time, is well traveled and quite broad minded. This may
explain why there is such a diversity of work and several little known
people (not just heros) represented. The letter that I received
described the general style of work that he was interested in having in
the collection and the choice of the individual piece was left to me. I
chose a piece from the "Ground Zero Series" based on my belief that it
is possible for an object to communicate clearly on behalf of its maker.
A warning about the pursuits and results of war seemed like a good thing
to put into a room where the leaders of the world might meet. Since it
was not a "pretty" piece, I did not expect that it would be accepted,
but it was, and with unsolicited appreciation from the President and
First Lady.
Second, I agree with David Hendley and others that we really should be
very careful about giving our work away. I have a firm policy about
that, but in this case, after initially refusing the invitation, I
changed my mind for several reasons. The first was the one mentioned
above. The second was that it was explained to me that Mrs. Clinton
wanted to do something about the fact that there was no evidence of the
contemporay American hand in the White House. She knew about and
appreciated contemporary crafts and wanted to see that everyone else
knew, too. That was the impetus for the Christmas tree ornaments made
by American craftspersons as well as the collection of objects. By the
way, the first time it met Mrs. Clinton was at a slide lecture I gave
years ago at the Decorative Arts Museum in Little Rock. She was
introduced to me as a lover of contemporary crafts, not as the
Governor's wife. The other reason was that it was an opportunity for me
to give my Mom and Dad a buzz, and to give my wife and daughter
something to remember. It even gave me a buzz, and that was unexpected.
We were honored at the White House and I was invited to attend the
National Arts Awards ceremony the following year. Mrs. Clinton made
sure that those of us who were present received special recognition. It
was completely unexpected and unnecessary, but much appereciated.
The government actually did spend a fair amount of money on that
collection, indirectly. An exhibition of the collection was mounted at
the National Museum of American Art, and traveled to museums across the
country over a period of several years, fullfilling Mrs. Clinton's
intention to see that American Crafts received some posititive publicity
and exposure.
The White House is a national museum and I perceived that this was a
gift, not to the Presidency but to the people. Ironically, I never
thought of it as that big a deal, professionally. Major museum
collections and exhibitions seemed much more significant. However, to
many of my family, friends and neighbors, the White House Collection is
the most important line on my resume. I never would have guessed. I
guess that I really have been well compensated for the piece.
Finally, I think that it is important to mention that over the past
thirty plus years that I have worked with clay, I have also been
EXCLUDED from some very important collections, exhibitions and awards.
We are all subject to being chosen, rejected or even completely ignored
at times. Ultimately, our work must be its own greatest reward.
Sincerely,
Harvey Sadow
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