Elizabeth Priddy on wed 2 apr 08
K said:
"...Garth Clark is artificially dividing his
ceramic world between Voulkous's $150,000 stacks -- and the sea of
rutile blue cups and colanders at the small town art fair (which,
admittedly, have not changed all that much.)"
________________
No, he isn't. Clark is dividing the clay accurately.
There is nothing to do with Voulkos' stack except sell it.
Then someone will buy it and (maybe) display it until it
has accrued another set point in value, and then it will
get sold again. It is a commodity, moreso than an
objet d'art.
The sea of blue rutile cups and colanders ARE different.
What Garth fails to recognize, and the failure of his criticism
as I see it, is that the cups and such do not change because
(drumroll please) their function has not changed.
A cup or bowl is led by its function, not the need to change
it up so that it can meet current aesthetics or whims. The
reason it is blue is that that color goes with a lot of food
unobtrusively and fits the decor of most kitchens, wood.
The lime green fashion plate just does not fit the specs of
the object being made, bought, given, and used.
To that end, mel is right in saying that a non-maker is less
qualified to judge functional pottery. I would also add users
to the judges...but I am betting Garth doesn't pickle anything
except perhaps his liver, so I wouldn't send him a picture of
a crock to judge.
another issue, keeping up with technology.
I built and fire a crossdraft cone 7 stoneware wood kiln.
As I see the field of kiln design, it is new and forward thinking.
I certainly didn't have a plan to go by. I would have gone
microwave, but I ain't got that kind of cash.
Forward thinking on a mug:
how will drinking a cup of x
change over the next millenia?
Probably not much. Future work should be usable in non
water based cleaning technology and super fast microwave.
But our lips and hands evolve pretty slowly, so the shape and
size will need to stay about the same. There is work to do,
but the design will be inside, not outwardly visible, probably
still a pretty blue to go with wood, the combination evokes
calm and the sea/sky imagery that people turn to in a tech
world of plastic and sleek black keyboards. Probably fired
lower in order to conserve energy, cone 10 will become a
quaint fetish technology in the future. (my guess, no judgement)
The next Big Pile O' Art that Garth reviews will have no
such limitations. And will indeed need to look different than
yesterday's Pile O'Art in order to distinguish itself. That is
why Garth is irrelevant to the pots of 99 percent of the people
making pots.
Show pics of your show already...why so shy?
E
Elizabeth Priddy
Beaufort, NC - USA
Natural Instincts Conference Information:
http://downtothepottershouse.com/NaturalInstincts.html
http://www.elizabethpriddy.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7973282@N03/
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