Rose Slivka, a writer, critic and editor and a major figure in the advancement of crafts as a serious artistic discipline in the United States, died on Thursday (September 2004) in Southampton, N.Y. She was 85 and lived in Springs, N.Y.
As the editor in chief and a writer for the magazine Craft Horizons from 1959 to 1979, Ms. Slivka helped define the philosophy of crafts and the terms in which they were discussed at a time when the field was experiencing fast-growing popularity and professionalism. She favored a shift away from emphasis on traditional skills and techniques and toward more innovative forms of creative expression.
For example, she championed the sculpture of Peter Voulkos, whose monumental and aggressively energetic work in claRose Slivka, a writer, critic and editor and a major figure in the advancement of crafts as a serious artistic discipline in the United States, died on Thursday (September 2004) in Southampton, N.Y. She was 85 and lived in Springs, N.Y.
As the editor in chief and a writer for the magazine Craft Horizons from 1959 to 1979, Ms. Slivka helped define the philosophy of crafts and the terms in which they were discussed at a time when the field was experiencing fast-growing popularity and professionalism. She favored a shift away from emphasis on traditional skills and techniques and toward more innovative forms of creative expression.
For example, she championed the sculpture of Peter Voulkos, whose monumental and aggressively energetic work in clay has been compared to Abstract Expressionist painting. She wrote a book about the artist, "Peter Voulkos: A Dialogue With Clay" (New York Graphic Society, 1978).
Rose Charlotte Schiffer was born in New York City on Jan. 9, 1919. She received a degree in English from Hunter College in 1941, after which she worked as a writer and editor for a number of magazines and newspapers before starting with Craft Horizons. In 1980, after Craft Horizons stopped publication, Ms. Slivka started a quarterly called Craft International, but it lasted only a few issues.
In 1979 Ms. Slivka was named an honorary fellow of the American Craft Council. She later received honorary degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design and the Massachusetts College of Art.
In the mid-1980's Ms. Slivka moved to Springs, on Long Island, permanently and became the art critic for The East Hampton Star. She continued to write reviews and articles for The Star until illness forced her to stop last year.
Ms. Slivka's marriage to the sculptor David Slivka ended in divorce. She is survived by her daughter, of New York and East Hampton, and a grandchild....more
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