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West Bend Exhibition

Mary Jane Friend

Hooked

June 27–July 23

MOWA | West Bend

About the Exhibition

Long before recycling was fashionable

 

June 27–July 23

Long before recycling was fashionable, Mary Jane Friend was reusing textiles. In the mid-1950s, she took a rug-making class and, to coin a phrase, became “hooked” on creating rugs using donated old clothes.

Created between 1955 and 1981, Friend’s designs pay homage to folk art traditions stretching back to the late 1800s: old-time farm scenes, sailing vessels, patriotic symbols, traditional geometric patterns, and a myriad assortment of comic and cleverly designed animals.

Crafted on a custom-made loom, Friend’s charming hooked rugs represent an art form that rose in popularity after the Second World War. The genre first emerged in early nineteenth-century England before making its way to the United States in the mid-1900s. Spikes in its popularity coincide with periods of economic strife such as the Great Depression of the 1930s and the cost-cutting measures of WWII. With the rise of the American Studio Craft movement in the 1950s and 1960s, hooked rugs were no longer simply viewed as way to economize in hard times, but a genuine craft promoted in magazines for modern women who wanted to bring beauty with a personal touch into their homes. However, Friend’s skills and commitment to the craft were never casual, even though she never exhibited her rugs professionally. Collected and treasured by family members, these spectacular heirlooms will have a public audience this summer at MOWA in West Bend.

Two short exhibitions running back-to-back will showcase Friend’s varied interests and subject matter from her large body of work.

Mary Jane Friend, Four Buildings One Horse, 1981

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