This section features the movement of Shaker exhibitions between the eastern seaboard of the United States and the west coast. The movement took place in both directions as seen in a show formulated at Paine Webber in New York which eventually ended at the Seattle Art Museum, while an exhibition entitled ‘Kindred Spirits’, organised at Mingei International Museum of World Folk Art at San Diego, California, moved to both Florida and Massachusetts. Significantly another exhibition entitled ‘Shaker: The Art of Craftsmanship’ dominated the Shaker exhibition calendar for a number of years because it travelled extensively throughout the United States and also appeared in two contrasting venues in the United Kingdom at Bath and London.

In 1995 the Berkshire Shaker seminar – a group interested in the Shakers – visited Manchester, England in order to study the origins of the movement. The contemporary developments in England are very much a focus of this section, as the period which it covers has produced considerable coverage of Shaker in terms of both journals and books. This provides a rich source of information for analysis. This was specifically addressing European audiences and much of the television material made assumptions that the audience would know who and what the Shakers were.

The evolution of the Shaker aesthetic in the United Kingdom has seen the development of a distinctive style featured in many British interiors, with varying degrees of authenticity. The style is perhaps epitomised by the ‘Shaker’ kitchen which has become a common feature in many manufacturers’ ranges at all price levels in the marketplace. The popularity of Shaker style increased throughout the 1990s within the home furnishings and decorative arts market with the appearance of Shaker pastiches. In addition to the concentration of the marketplace on Shaker design there were also some new museological representations based on fine art and conceptual interpretations, with the focus on the Shaker aesthetic alongside both contemporary artists’ interpretations and minimal artworks.

Introduction – High Art Influences from Museum Cultures

The Far East and its culture have a long history of influencing the West. Japan and the work of contemporary artisans and architects and the ancient traditions of the designer/maker encompassing calligraphy, furniture, ceramics, metalwork and basketry, have all been subject to analysis and reinterpretation by scholars and artists in the West.