Stephen Burks at the Studio Museum

Our first thought upon seeing a young lady jump onto a platform in the center of Stephen Burks: Man Made was, boy, that security guard is gonna be pissed. As it turned out, the woman was there to perform a demonstration with the artist himself. Together, she and Burks attempted to wrap bungee cord around the frame of a butterfly chair while Burks's adorable young son took photos and gave his dad the thumbs up. 

Burks studied both architecture and industrial design, perspectives that continue to inform his work in its dual attention to form and function. The objects on view at his first solo show apply traditional Senegalese weaving techniques to nontraditional materials (baskets woven from rock climbing cord, for example) and objects (baskets turned into chairs and chandeliers). Their purpose made the works even lovelier: to ensure that the techniques aren't lost as the areas change and traditional materials disappear.   

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