Michael McDowell on tue 12 nov 96
Jonathan,
You say:
"Without idea, without technique, and without design, basically what
results is pooly conceived and executed work, be it thrown, ram pressed,
jiggered,
or handbuilt."
I say all those are important, but without heart, the work can have all that &
still be unappealingly hard & cold to me. I don't expect you to share my
aesthetic. In fact I celebrate the diversity of views that are expressed here on
clayart. Marshall Talbot's original post on the subject was expressed as an
opinion poll. Why do you find it so difficult to deal with the presence of
opinions that you do not share that you would contemplate leaving the list on
that account? To quote you again:
"After I saw the recent post, tried to avoid praying to ralph at the
porcelain palace, I almost decided to bail off this list."
I know that each of us who approaches clay as a way of life is "staking his or
her life" on their own particular aesthetic. But it eludes me why so many of us
feel that others are going the wrong way simply because they are not going our
way. We all want respect. I think that lies at the heart of the "Art vs. Craft"
debate, and I think we all can work on better promoting our own views without
necessarily demeaning those of others.
Michael McDowell
Whatcom County, WA, USA
Jonathan Kaplan on tue 12 nov 96
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Jonathan,
>
>You say:
> "Without idea, without technique, and without design, basically what
>results is pooly conceived and executed work, be it thrown, ram pressed,
>jiggered,
>or handbuilt."
>
>I say all those are important, but without heart, the work can have all that &
>still be unappealingly hard & cold to me. I don't expect you to share my
>aesthetic. In fact I celebrate the diversity of views that are expressed
>here on
>clayart. Marshall Talbot's original post on the subject was expressed as an
>opinion poll. Why do you find it so difficult to deal with the presence of
>opinions that you do not share that you would contemplate leaving the list on
>that account? To quote you again:
>
> "After I saw the recent post, tried to avoid praying to ralph at the
>porcelain palace, I almost decided to bail off this list."
>
>I know that each of us who approaches clay as a way of life is "staking his or
>her life" on their own particular aesthetic. But it eludes me why so many of us
>feel that others are going the wrong way simply because they are not going our
>way. We all want respect. I think that lies at the heart of the "Art vs. Craft"
>debate, and I think we all can work on better promoting our own views without
>necessarily demeaning those of others.
>
>Michael McDowell
>Whatcom County, WA, USA
Thanks Michael for your insight. I don't feel that my original post had
anything to do with slamming or in any way disagreeing with Marshall's or
for that matter Vinces, etc.
posts. If you followed any discussion regarding this issue in posts of say
a few months ago as well as those posts having to do with the "paint and
bake"shops that are springing up around the country, you might have run
across my input that praised these endeavors, not so much for their
content, but in making our process, in a small way, more accessable and
available to anyone.( is this not "heart?") If you have followed some of my
letters to the editor of CM plus articles that I have submitted or have
been written about me (and please, I am not citing these to strut my stuff)
my views have always been to embrace any and all forms of expression in
clay, with the precise caveat that they not be taken as dogma. In fact, you
might find that my opinions are broad based,well presented, well written,
and exceedingly well thought out.
You cite the need for heart in one's work. I could not agree more with you.
Once might wish to disagree on the semantics, that idea and heart could be
synonyms, butwhat ever, I do agree that with out committment (heart?) work
can be vacuous.
Also, I think you missed the exact point of my post. There is no wrong way.
Repeat, there is no wrong way, in fact, there is no right way, repeat,
there is no right way. I also think that there was no reference that could
have all been demaning in any of my posts for many years on this list that
could ever been construed as demeaning to anyone, any work, any process.
Aesthetics are one thing and I am sure that in all the posts on this list
by those who care to contribute, I can't think of any one, including
myself, that has at all berated anyones work. Yes we have our own tastes
and aesthetic visions of the world and our pots, but to imply that my post
demean others or at at all in anyway criticize others work has missed the
point and is not true.
While I speak my truth, as I hope we all do, my truths in ceramics are
particularly pointed at those who would embrace any one way of working and
promote it as the way pottery should be and then judge others with those
views. In my many many years of involvement with pottery in so many
capacities, I can honestly assert that my views have never been prejudicial
on the basis of technique.
What we all have are different ways of working. No one way is better than
another. Its what works for you, its what is comfortable for you and fits
into how you see yourself as an artst, a potter, and a person.
So before you criticize me or any one else on this list, please do some
research by reading and re-reading a post. In such a way, you might have
found something that becomes clearer to you.
Jonathan
Jonathan Kaplan
Ceramic Design Group Ltd./Production Services
PO Box 775112
Steamboat Springs CO 80477
(970) 879-9139*voice and fax
http://www.craftweb.com/org/jkaplan/cdg.shtml
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