--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The place has had a super-conflicted…" description: "\"The place has had a super-conflicted relationship to its mission. In 1956, it opened as the Museum of Contemporary Crafts. Then in 1986 it had a midlif..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/jerry-saltz-1712_art_the-place-has-had-a-super-conflicted-rel_2066882.png" --- # The place has had a super-conflicted relationship to its… ![“The place has had a super-conflicted relationship to its mission. In 1956, it opened as the Museum of Contemporary Crafts. Then in 1986 it had a midlife crisis and changed its name to the American Craft Museum. Then in 2002 the name changed again, this time to the Museum of Arts and Design. Maybe…” quote by Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/jerry-saltz-1712_art_the-place-has-had-a-super-conflicted-rel_2066882.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/jerry-saltz-1712_art_the-place-has-had-a-super-conflicted-rel_2066882.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/jerry-saltz-1712_art_the-place-has-had-a-super-conflicted-rel_2066882.png) > “The place has had a super-conflicted relationship to its mission. In 1956, it opened as the Museum of Contemporary Crafts. Then in 1986 it had a midlife crisis and changed its name to the American Craft Museum. Then in 2002 the name changed again, this time to the Museum of Arts and Design. Maybe in 2025 the place will be called the Designatorium. The big problem with a museum of craft and design is that all art has craft and design.” [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The institution’s identity has shifted repeatedly, reflecting tension between traditional craft and contemporary design, highlighting the difficulty of defining a singular purpose when art, craft, and design overlap. **In simple terms:** The museum keeps changing its name because it can’t settle on a clear mission. Key Takeaway Embrace flexibility while seeking a coherent narrative. Themes identity art craft design institutional change Mood reflective analytical Type institutional observational When to use this quote - curatorial planning - public programming - fundraising - community outreach Key Concepts branding mission clarity cultural evolution Questions to Reflect On - How can the museum balance honoring craft heritage with innovative design? - What strategies can clarify its mission without limiting creativity? A Different Perspective Frequent rebranding may confuse audiences and dilute brand equity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-craft-3971285/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Big problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-problem/) [Big problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-problems/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Called Designatorium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-designatorium-3971282/) [Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed/) [Contemporary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemporary/) [Craft Museum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/craft-museum-3971283/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Midlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/midlife/) [Midlife crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/midlife-crisis/) [Missions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missions/) [Museum Contemporary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/museum-contemporary-3971286/) [Museum Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/museum-craft-3971284/) [Museums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/museums/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) ## Related quotes > [The fact that the work is affirmed by the Museum of Contemporary Art I think sends continued signals that this is worth paying attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theaster-gates/the-fact-that-the-work-is-affirmed-by-the-museum-of-contemporary-art/) [Theaster Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theaster-gates/) > [“Maybe it’s not about being seen. Maybe it’s about finally seeing yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bree-penfold/maybe-it-s-not-about-being-seen-maybe-it-s-about-finally-seeing/) [Bree Penfold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bree-penfold/) > [Have interesting failures… If you need to have a personal crisis have it now. Don't wait until midlife, when it will take longer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/have-interesting-failures-if-you-need-to-have-a-personal-crisis-have/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Some people in Hollywood think of me as a model for dramatic midlife transitions: suburban housewife to Emmy-winning actress. But I never plotted a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-joosten/some-people-in-hollywood-think-of-me-as-a-model-for-dramatic-midlife/) [Kathryn Joosten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-joosten/) > [Let go of who you think you're supposed to be and embrace who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/let-go-of-who-you-think-you-re-supposed-to-be-and-embrace-who-you-are/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [In the greatest confusion there is still an open channel to the soul. It may be difficult to find because by midlife it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/in-the-greatest-confusion-there-is-still-an-open-channel-to-the-soul/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Turn your midlife crisis to your own advantage by making it a time for renewal of your body and mind, rather than stand by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-brody/turn-your-midlife-crisis-to-your-own-advantage-by-making-it-a-time/) [Jane Brody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-brody/) > [People may call what happens at midlife 'a crisis,' but it's not. It's an unraveling - a time when you feel a desperate pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/people-may-call-what-happens-at-midlife-a-crisis-but-it-s-not-it-s-an/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [On my fortieth birthday, rather than merely bore my friends by having anything as mundane as a midlife crisis I decided it might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/on-my-fortieth-birthday-rather-than-merely-bore-my-friends-by-having/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Midlife is the time to let go of an overdominant ego and to contemplate the deeper significance of human existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/midlife-is-the-time-to-let-go-of-an-overdominant-ego-and-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My career started young and I was really ambitious, and then I had success and I hung out with people who were much older.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/my-career-started-young-and-i-was-really-ambitious-and-then-i-had/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Mrs. Miniver suddenly understood why she was enjoying the forties so much better than she had enjoyed the thirties: it was the difference between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/mrs-miniver-suddenly-understood-why-she-was-enjoying-the-forties-so/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [“I used to think healing meant fixing yourself. But maybe it’s just about feeling yourself again. Messy. Leaky. Alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bree-penfold/i-used-to-think-healing-meant-fixing-yourself-but-maybe-it-s-just/) [Bree Penfold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bree-penfold/) > [Ever heard of the phrase 'midlife crisis'?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-maslin/ever-heard-of-the-phrase-midlife-crisis/) [Janet Maslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-maslin/) > [I found myself thinking a lot about my own spirituality. What it means to be Jewish, what it means to forgive, what it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-goldberg/i-found-myself-thinking-a-lot-about-my-own-spirituality-what-it-means/) [Tod Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-goldberg/) ## More by Jerry Saltz > [One argument goes that recessions are good for female artists because when money flies out the window, women are allowed in the house. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/one-argument-goes-that-recessions-are-good-for-female-artists-because/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Kinkade estimated that one of his paintings hung in every twenty homes in America. Yet the art world unanimously ignores or reviles him. Me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/kinkade-estimated-that-one-of-his-paintings-hung-in-every-twenty/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [The German ueber-photographer Andreas Gursky was the perfect pre-9/11 artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/the-german-ueber-photographer-andreas-gursky-was-the-perfect-pre-9-11/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [The debut show, “Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary,” is supposed to be about how artists reuse humble or unusual materials. There’s good work here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/the-debut-show-second-lives-remixing-the-ordinary-is-supposed-to-be/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [While the space for artists and curators has increased enormously, maybe, just maybe, that's left room for too many people calling themselves artists and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/while-the-space-for-artists-and-curators-has-increased-enormously/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Those who love him love that he sells the most art; they take it as a point of faith that this proves Kinkade is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/those-who-love-him-love-that-he-sells-the-most-art-they-take-it-as-a/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > ['Untitled' is a time machine that can transport you to 1992, an edgy moment when the art world was crumbling, money was scarce, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/untitled-is-a-time-machine-that-can-transport-you-to-1992-an-edgy/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [I love art dealers. In some ways, they're my favorite people in the art world. Really. I love that they put their money where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/i-love-art-dealers-in-some-ways-they-re-my-favorite-people-in-the-art/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [My nominee for Best Picture of the year - maybe the best picture ever, because it's essentially made up of and is an ecstatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/my-nominee-for-best-picture-of-the-year-maybe-the-best-picture-ever/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Many things happened in the sixties, but the period is no more significant, better, or more 'political' than today. It's time to turn the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/many-things-happened-in-the-sixties-but-the-period-is-no-more/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [When people in stadiums do the Wave, it's the group-mind collective organism spontaneously organizing itself to express an emotion, pass time, and reflect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/when-people-in-stadiums-do-the-wave-it-s-the-group-mind-collective/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Few contemporary artists mined the space between the ordinary and the strange better than Orozco did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/few-contemporary-artists-mined-the-space-between-the-ordinary-and-the/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [The giant white cube is now impeding rather than enhancing the rhythms of art. It preprograms a viewer's journey, shifts the emphasis from process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/the-giant-white-cube-is-now-impeding-rather-than-enhancing-the/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Art schools are partly the villain here. (Never mind that I teach in them.) This generation of artists is the first to have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/art-schools-are-partly-the-villain-here-never-mind-that-i-teach-in/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [There's one Baldessari work I genuinely love and would like to own, maybe because of my Midwestern roots and love of driving alone. 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/there-s-one-baldessari-work-i-genuinely-love-and-would-like-to-own/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) [Explore all 213 Jerry Saltz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The place has had a super-conflicted relationship to its mission. In 1956, it opened as the Museum of Contemporary Crafts. Then in 1986 it had a midlife crisis and changed its name to the American Craft Museum. Then in 2002 the name changed again, this time to the Museum of Arts and Design. Maybe in 2025 the place will be called the Designatorium. The big problem with a museum of craft and design is that all art has craft and design.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jerry Saltz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/the-place-has-had-a-super-conflicted-relationship-to-its-mission-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/the-place-has-had-a-super-conflicted-relationship-to-its-mission-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/jerry-saltz-1712_art_the-place-has-had-a-super-conflicted-rel_2066882.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/jerry-saltz-1712_art_the-place-has-had-a-super-conflicted-rel_2066882.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/jerry-saltz-1712_art_the-place-has-had-a-super-conflicted-rel_2066882.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The place has had a super-conflicted relationship to its mission. In 1956, it opened as the Museum of…” — Jerry Saltz", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jerry Saltz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The place has had a super-conflicted...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/the-place-has-had-a-super-conflicted-relationship-to-its-mission-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/the-place-has-had-a-super-conflicted-relationship-to-its-mission-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```