Material Culture Hall of Fame: Individuals who inspire us by work and and example

Who else but William Morris could we select as our first honorary inductee into the Material Culture Hall of Fame?  Master craftsman, social philosopher, original thinker, and advocate of beauty in all things utilitarian, we dare say that no other figure of the 19th century has had a more enduring influence on our ideas about the role of art than Morris.  Fueled by an outrage at the hideous social and working conditions created by the Industrial revolution, the pollution of nature, the lack of aesthetic value and poor quality of mass produced goods, he articulated a vision of the world in which art and work were inextricably linked in harmony with nature.  Putting heart and mind to the task, he established Morris & Co., in 1861, in his words an “ association of the fine art and workman,”  where designers and artisans restored camaraderie and “well being” to the workplace, and quality and spirit to the textiles, carpets, furniture, stained glass, wallpaper and many decorative objects produced there.  Blowing out the cobwebs of Victorian convention, Morris’ design sensibility and political mentality toward the workplace in tandem with the open views of other activists, architects, artists and educators went far toward influencing the growth and flowering of the Arts and Crafts Movement in his native England, a movement whose ideals spread throughout the world.  One need only revisit his Hopes and Fears for Art (1882) to know that the values he espoused are even more relevant today than when he was alive.  It is through the doors opened by William Morris that future inductees will no doubt have passed, which is why we begin with the Master himself.