Roman Jones on fri 25 jul 97
Hi All. Well my copy of AmericanCraft just arrived today August '97, and
as usual I was anxiously thumbing through it, to find if they did right by
ceramics. Smack in the middle is a long article on Mr. Nagle and pictures of
his work. Someone please tell me, on page 38, is that what I think it is?
Maybe I am just an old fart and don't know good ceramics from a whole in
the wall, but this is fine ceramics? I know Mr. Nagle is a noteworthly
artist, but someone please explain to me the signifigance and "art" on page
38. Also, someone please translate the article to me ,in real english. No
offense intented Mr. Nagle. Roman In Philly
Hluch - Kevin A. on mon 28 jul 97
Thomas knew that to develop a market there had to be promotion. And the
more promotion the better. That was why Rosy's magazine "Craft and
Beyond" was so important. A very small select group artists would benefit
from a well-honed marketing strategy. "Hit 'em again and again", Rosy used
to say. And sure enough, no matter what the product, it would sell, given
enough focused articles through the years. The gradual turning of
utilitarian craft to craftart was no easy trick and the "chosen ones"
needed carefully calibrated exposure. The logjam, of course, was broken
by the massive publishing onslaught of Peter Milkous's work. So it wasn't
surprising to find Fond Bagle's pseudo cups being shown again and again in
"Craft and Beyond". (There was no doubting the royal lineage
even though Fond's cups were a tad meager, dimensionaly speaking.)
Certainly by now there wouldn't be a single soul in the craft world who
had not seen at least one of his "sculptures". And let's face it: if
you've seen one, you've seen them all. But for this work to move it had
to be readily identifiable to prospective collectors. (They're not dense,
they just like a recognisable product when they see one.) This was the
prime marketplace that "Craft and Beyond" was targeting for the new
"craft". And look at Boren Peeligs work... Wasn't it great
to see fiber turn into mixed media sculpture in just 30 years? And if you
haven't heard of Boren, then you just haven't been reading "Craft and
Beyond"! And if you HAVE been reading it you will find it almost as
impenetrable as "Art Horrum" maganzine. Now there's a magazine that can
out-elite the elite, word-wise. But Thomas was most pleased with his
latest insight: the United States was a nation of 260 million people but
as far as "Craft and Beyond" was concerned there were only 150, maybe 200
craft artists who really mattered. Bemused, Thomas wondered to himself,
"Perhaps Rosy's strategy is as clever as my loading the Renwick
Collection Committee with rich collectors. Obviously, somebody's got to
keep the cash registers ringing." With pride welling in his breast he
pondered the speech he was destined to deliver upon recieving the
"Lifetime Achievement Award in Crafts" that was sure to be his in a
few short decades. "What a country", he thought. "I love America!"
Kevin A. Hluch
102 E. 8th St.
Frederick, MD 21701
USA
e-mail: kahluch@umd5.umd.edu
On Fri, 25 Jul 1997, Roman Jones wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Hi All. Well my copy of AmericanCraft just arrived today August '97, and
> as usual I was anxiously thumbing through it, to find if they did right by
> ceramics. Smack in the middle is a long article on Mr. Nagle and pictures of
> his work. Someone please tell me, on page 38, is that what I think it is?
> Maybe I am just an old fart and don't know good ceramics from a whole in
> the wall, but this is fine ceramics? I know Mr. Nagle is a noteworthly
> artist, but someone please explain to me the signifigance and "art" on page
> 38. Also, someone please translate the article to me ,in real english. No
> offense intented Mr. Nagle. Roman In Philly
>
Patrick & Lynn Hilferty on wed 13 aug 97
I had to wait until the Aug '97 American Craft showed up on the news stands
and, yes, you're right, it's a handle, in the grand tradition of The Tubes
song, "Don't touch Me There", which, incidentally, Nagle also wrote. "Fine
ceramics"? Uh, well, many of Nagle's works came with a handy carrying case,
if that's what you mean. Nagle's work fits with ancient Bay Area tradition,
typlified by Arneson's trophies, and Gilhooly's frogs, as well as
Kalifornia Kar Kulture. The article seemed pretty straight forward. I'll
check it out again at Barnes and Noble.
Patrick
At 11:46 -0400 7/25/97, Roman Jones wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Hi All. Well my copy of AmericanCraft just arrived today August '97, and
>as usual I was anxiously thumbing through it, to find if they did right by
>ceramics. Smack in the middle is a long article on Mr. Nagle and pictures of
>his work. Someone please tell me, on page 38, is that what I think it is?
> Maybe I am just an old fart and don't know good ceramics from a whole in
>the wall, but this is fine ceramics? I know Mr. Nagle is a noteworthly
>artist, but someone please explain to me the signifigance and "art" on page
>38. Also, someone please translate the article to me ,in real english. No
>offense intented Mr. Nagle. Roman In Philly
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Patrick Hilferty
Belmont, CA 94002
E-Mail:
Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~philferty/
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