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"   Photo: MAD  &amp;quot;This piece was plucked right from the designer&amp;#039;s Park Avenue apartment,&amp;quot; said a prideful Jennifer Scanlan, Museum of Arts and Design curator, directing attention to a low-sitting rectangular table, made by Vladimir Kagan. The table, topped with an eye-popping diamond motif made of rainbow-colored tiles, gave off a Star Trek-meets-arts and crafts vibe. That piece alone was enough to make a mad-for-mod design enthusiast&amp;#039;s tongue wag, but it is just one among a mouthwatering array of iconic postwar modern interior design works spotlighted in Crafting Modernism: Mid-Century American Art and Design, MAD&amp;#039;s newest exhibition.  The exhibit showcases its wares in artist-crafted interiors (like domestic vignettes) and the maze of mock rooms chronicles the &amp;quot;dynamic intersection of craft and design, when craft came into the home,&amp;quot; said Scanlan. Specifically, she&amp;#039;s talking about what occurred in America from 1945 to the late &amp;#039;50s. &amp;quot;After World War II,&amp;quot; she explained, &amp;quot;the housing being built was roughly identical and homogenous. Filling interiors with crafted objects was a way to show individuality.&amp;quot; In tune with the arts-and-crafts verve that was all the rage then, the furniture and textiles displayed, including Calder mobiles and Eames chairs, are punctuated with curiously irregular shapes. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a celebration of natural interiors and materials\u2014of irregular edges, bumps, gnarls,&amp;quot; said Scanlan. &amp;quot;Pieces are tactile. They call out to you.&amp;quot;   Photo: MAD  Indeed, it was tough to refrain from stroking the scratchy textiles hanging from walls and near impossible to not run your fingers along the ultra-smooth surfaces of the wooden furniture. &amp;quot;These pieces show the joy of making things, the joy of being creative,&amp;quot; said Scanlan. &amp;quot;These designers were bringing the color and the irregularity.&amp;quot; All told, the exhibit features nearly 160 artists and designers, including textiles, ceramics, tableware, glass, furniture jewelry, sculpture and painting spanning 1945 to 1965. It will be open until January 15, 2012. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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