Choice from America: Modern American Ceramics

'Choice from America: Modern American Ceramics' by Arthur C. Danto and Janet Koplos

- C21st ceramics- enlargement or extreme minimisation, multiplying or else reducing- rendering the work banal or sublimating
- Clay- early 1980s- art was battered/ stabbed/ smashed/ distorted
- Craft refers to pre-industrial methods of producing objects of use and of embellishment
- In identifying oneself as a crafts person one implicitly took a stand against the culture of the Machine- declaring an allegiance to earlier and less alienating forms of life
- The hand-loomed, the hand-wrought, the hand-woven, the hand-made, the hand-blown, the home- spun
- Same domestic functions as their mass produced counterparts
- Craft- partly moral and partly aesthetic
- Critically dismissive term, like 'decorative' or 'literary' or 'illustrational'

- In the 'Critique of Judgement', Kant distinguished between free and independent art- the latter 'is ascribed to objects which come under the concept of a particular purpose'
- Dissociates free art from the category of purpose- Kant characterises beauty as 'purposive without any specific purpose'

- Hegel, in his 'Lectures on Aesthetics', claims craftwork can be art but never at its 'highest vocation'- only in its freedom alone can fine art truly be art

- However it is not only art historians that take this narrow-minded view. Richard Serra famously said that 'as soon as art is forced or persuaded to serve alien values, it ceases to serve its own needs'- Therefore claiming that to take away art's uselessness was to make it other than art

- Therefore modern ceramists seem to be attempting to challenge this time-held viewpoint, atleast to a certain extent, by mirroring the movements of modern art. For example when the American Abstract Expressionists began to gesturally handle their paint, ceramists began to leave overt hand marks in their clay.

LoVid

- LoVid are based in NY and started up in 2001
- Their work is semi-narrative- documentary/ electronic music
- Circuit bending- take electronic device and bend wires- touch differents parts of the circuit- make things do something they weren't originally planned for
- Often uses archaic devices- old mixers/ drawing machines- to create experimental video
- New media- not traditional- web-based work/ concepts and themes that relate to technology

- 'Video Wear' 2003- patching different commercial devices- feeding them back and forth onto 14 different LCD screens embedded in protective sports wear to add a seemingly dangerous look to their work
- Breaking signal/ using glitchy signals- static equipment is always breaking down so play on its own nature
- Interested in how electricity if regulated- set of constraints- physical nature of the electrical signal
- Narrative- parralel universe- media is a tangible thing- play on the idea of 'wireless' technology so to create 'wirefull' works
- Not smaller but larger technological equipment- they use a lot of fabric and 100sft wire (working electrical veins)- used in live video feeds
- Dematerialised into a video world- textile, wearable thing- series of photographs- body and electronics interacting
- Collages and drawings- play with organic and technological world
- Body as an extension of technology
- 3D prints are also used as part of the process
- Aggressive vs tender/ Hardware vs software
- Romance and spirituality- they use technology as the metaphor

- 'Experimental TV Centre (2003)- used an old analog video system- continuous yet fragile electronic signal
- A whole room was turned into an instrument
- A patch was connected to the electrical equipment- very reminiscent of video art in the 60s and 70s when one would make their own instruments and not use internal editing
- Analogy- political/ nostalgic
- Also heavily anti- Consumerist- decided to not play with new 'toys' - created personal restrictions and restraints
- Have to enforce very tight manifestos nowadays to make your work seem personal
- The couple commissioned a 3m wide, 1/2m tall table, the length of the room, so to build their own electronic models into it
- Also added suface etchings onto the table's surface around the modular sncyronisers
- Kept 'wirefull' idea by exposing the wires by using clear acrylic around the equipment
- By creating your own electrical equipment- they believed you were able to know the sounds and colours produced by the instruments on a deeper level

Pavilion Photography Competition

Dear Mr. Duncan,

I would like to submit my work to the editors of Source and to Pavilion for their review, as I would love the opportunity to have my images published. Please see below a description of my work and attached six images.

I look forward to hopefully being able to tell you more about my work on the 23 February.

Yours Sincerely,

Sarah Baumann

'At the core of my practice as a visual artist is an ongoing fascination with the remnants of history, the signs of decay and erosion, and the intricacies of colour and fragility in aged structures, which reveal the process of gradual deterioration. I utilise Leeds’ industrial heritage by appropriating salvaged and reclaimed materials using contemporary, photographic compositions to capture and reinvent the physical traces of the city’s historical past from institutionalised places. This has instigated a sustained engagement with the textural qualities of industrial artifacts, be it the multi-layered fabrics created during the worsted process, or the mechanical surfaces of the machines, or even the subtle renderings of transience on abandoned constructions.

The chosen images are characterised by their ability to harbour a memory of the structure’s transcended usage before being absolved. The multi-sensory experience is greatened by the camera’s subtle explorations of the surface and patina, which detach and abstract the subject from its original context, allowing access to a more metaphorical pictorial language of abandonment, loss, transience or impermanence.'

'The Craft and Art of Clay- A complete potter's handbook'

The Craft and Art of Clay- A Complete Potter's Handbook (London: Calmann and King Limited, 1995)

- Craft means skill- deliberate sense of hand- adds individualism/ show the original softness of the material- textured surfaces

- Engobe- Engobes used on the raw clay and fired on in bisque- firing will be visible in some measure under almost all glazes

- Decorative effects can be obtained by wedging powdered metallic colouring oxides or liquid coloured clays called engobes into plastic clay

- Mid-60s- pottery became the voice of social and political conscience- emergence of the message pot/ uniformity of romantic ideals blunted by a contemporary recognition of artistic multiplicity

- Medium's versatility and challenges- also very accessible

Jerry Rothman, b. 1933 in New York:

- Made Constructivist sculptures till 1961

- Sensual, excessive Postmodern style with the inherent tension of the Classical style

- Penchant for debunking accepted attitudes- typical of his work- embodies him as the ceramic artist as social commentator

- Uses a technique in which pigments surface after firing through the top layer of clay to create shapes of muted colour

- Blurs the distinction between sculpture and vessel

'Sky Pot', 1961, stoneware, unglazed.

'Covered Jar', 1981, Thrown and Constructed Vessel.

Against Nature: The Hybrid Forms of Modern Sculpture'

I went to the opening of 'By Leafy Ways: Early Works by Ivor Abrahams' and 'Against Nature: The Hybrid Forms of Modern Sculpture' tonight. The exhibition had so many good artists; Louise Bourgeois, Jacob Epstein, Julio Gonzalez, Max Ernst, Hans Arp etc. but somehow it didn't seem to make much of an impression with me.

Exhibition Proposal

Exhibition Proposal:

We came together as a group because all our work plays and negotiates with issues of texture and form. Many of our pieces also engage with the surrounding space, by utilizing the walls and floors of our studio, which is why we decided to exhibit our work in the archetypal white gallery as our work would then be in command of the space.

We all use a wide variety of materials to propose various concepts within our work so a site specific space would hinder and obscure the individual reasoning, whereas a Modernist gallery would allow our work to transform the space, not visa versa.

The neutral colouring and smooth linear surfaces of the space will also emphasise the materiality of our work, which is the uniting motif of our exhibition.

We hope to present a collection of mixed media work with some pieces even edging towards craft. By choosing to present our work within such a traditional twentieth century setting, we hope to assist in helping craft and mixed media artworks get the recognition and reputation they deserve.

By forcing craft and mixed media artworks to be exhibited within the art world's most accredited environment perhaps we may challenge the notion of what is to be expected when visiting a small, independent gallery. Furthermore we believe all art forms should have a chance to be displayed in this sanctimonious, fake atmosphere.

Inside the White Cube: The Ideology of the Gallery Space

Brian O'Doherty

The white cube, un-shadowed, white, clean, artificial, an evenly lighted ‘cell’, was crucial in making Modernist art appear to be art.
The increased value of certain artworks can be charted alongside the evolution of that artistic space.
A lasting trait of Modernism is that the space is now seen before the art.
The white, ideal gallery subtracts from the artwork all cues that interfere with the fact that it is 'art‘- perfect for craft and mixed media work!
Work is isolated from anything that would detract from its own evaluation of itself

- Connotations of the white: sanctity of the church/ formality of a courtroom/ the mystique of the experimental laboratory- all seem foreign to the definition of craft and mixed media

- The object is placed as the medium through which these ideas are manifested and proffered for discussion

- Post-Modernism- context becomes content- so the reasoning behind the exhibition space is of vital importance

- The object introduced into the gallery 'frames' the gallery

- Art is free 'to take its own life‘- mounted/ hung/ scattered for study

Places the audience in a limbolike status- presence of your own body seems superfluous, an intrusion- craft and mixed media work is very approachable and familiar therefore it will add a greater distance

Constantine Brancusi
Muse 1912.
Brancusi took a neutral plinth and sculpted it to relate to the sculpture. The Plinth becomes as much part of the piece as the sculpture itself. Brancusi draws attention to the connotations which a plinth holds.

Roselyn Crousse refers to sculpture as being ‘intrinsically monumental’ and self contained. However during the 19th century site specific artwork emerged which relates to its space.

Institution Versus Own Gallery

Institution

Positives:

The institution has an already established reputation.Assistance with promotion, invitations, curation.Ready made gallery space.Little cost?Professional help.Other establishments/ people already aware of the gallery.

Negatives:

Lack of flexibility regarding dates.High costs of exhibiting?Specific themes imposed- not suitable.Restriction imposed on the space.Competition from other artists.Work has to be deemed good enough.

Own Gallery

Positives:
Total control on the space chosen. Control over costs.Flexibility on exhibition dates.No restrictions on the quality of work.No rental costs to the institution.Control over how curated.No competition from other artists.
Negatives:
High costs in renting/ buying a building.A lot of work needed to make space suitable- costs and time.Lack of professional help.Lack reputation.Need to do own promotion/ invitations/ curation.Lack of connections.

Why we would like to exhibit in a small gallery space:

-A small gallery space will reflect the intricacy of our work.

-Small galleries can also give the impression of being less successful than larger galleries, with less visitors and less money- an exact reflection of mixed media and craft art work in the industry.

-Some smaller galleries can also create a more unique and individual atmosphere within the space, which can help the exhibition to be more memorable.

-Smaller galleries also do not carry the same quantity of ideological baggage

Proposal for Thursday

Jenni- Plinthes and site specificity
Sarah- Ideology of the white gallery
Alex- Gallery size- implications
Amanda- Transforming environments of space
Helen- Multi-media and found in the gallery space
Catherine- Institution vs. Individual gallery