Eric Hansen on thu 18 jun 09
Lee: I see Marko Fields - still - has not learned how to make a pot. I
imagine he never will. There is nothing new in what he does.
I like your work about 1000 times more -
good job
congratulations
h a n s e n
On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 10:07 AM, Lee Love wrote:
> http://tinyurl.com/nccmcknight
>
> or
>
>
> http://www.minnpost.com/from_our_partners/2009/06/17/9539/mnartistsorg_se=
eing_six_mcknight_artists_at_the_northern_clay_center
> --
> Lee Love, Minneapolis
> "The tea ceremony bowl is the ceramic equivalent of a sonnet: a
> small-scale, seemingly constricted form that challenges the artist to
> go beyond mere technical virtuosity and find an approach that both
> satisfies and transcends the conventions." -- Rob Sliberman
> full essay: http://togeika.multiply.com/journal/item/273/
>
Lee Love on thu 18 jun 09
On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 4:48 AM, Eric
Hansen wrote:
> Lee: I see...
http://tinyurl.com/nccmcknight
You know what you like. ;^) It certainly was a diverse show.
I was juried into the McKnight residency when Ron Meyers was one
of the judges. I was happy when I heard that, because I have always
respected and enjoyed his work.
I met Marko at the opening and chatted with him about NCECA.
He does their publication. He said they are trying to bring NCECA
to Minneapolis for its 50th anniversary. I hope so! Then I will
be able to afford to go! ;^)
--
Lee Love, Minneapolis
"The tea ceremony bowl is the ceramic equivalent of a sonnet: a
small-scale, seemingly constricted form that challenges the artist to
go beyond mere technical virtuosity and find an approach that both
satisfies and transcends the conventions." -- Rob Sliberman
full essay: http://togeika.multiply.com/journal/item/273/
Lee Love on fri 19 jun 09
On Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 3:09 PM, steve graber wrote:
>
> meanwhile, this other guy made "rocks" that were cups, bowls, platters.=
=3D
=3DA0 imagine a
>camp in the woods where all around you were pieces of earth to use for eat=
=3D
ing?
I typically like work that isn't like my own. I have few
prejudices that way. There are two ways to judge works without
using aesthetic judgment: 1. the objective perspective where you
match the makers intent to how he has accomplished what he intended
and 2. and the subjective, if you simply "like" the work. As Hamada
said, "The best pots for me are the pots I like."
I'll try to put up Rob Sliberman's other essays on
the show (I've only shared the one about my work so far.) He does a
really fine job.
--
Lee Love, Minneapolis
"The tea ceremony bowl is the ceramic equivalent of a sonnet: a
small-scale, seemingly constricted form that challenges the artist to
go beyond mere technical virtuosity and find an approach that both
satisfies and transcends the conventions." -- Rob Sliberman
full essay: http://togeika.multiply.com/journal/item/273/
Eric Hansen on sat 20 jun 09
vince - Actually I went to school with Marko, there were a few of us old
folks going back. I think his approach is indicative of what I see more and
more of all the time, the actual pot beneath the surfaces doesn't have voic=
e
of its own. It's a shame but you know what? It takes many long years to
learn to make a basic form that really sings, & nobody has the time for thi=
s
anymore. He ridiculed me for my approach, so turn about is fair play. I
suppose that sounds mean spirited, but since he holds a BFA & MFA as well a=
s
teaching clay, I feel his work pretty much stands for what he stands for.
There was a lot of bitter politics (debate wasn't allowed) about these
issues at the University of Kansas, the idea of a well designed work of
craft was widely considered to be inferior, a waste of community resources,
and somehow morally wrong. It don't get it. I consider the grand old pots o=
f
the Song Dynasty and the Momoyama era to be the greatest works of art I hav=
e
ever seen. This isn't just about the art vs. craft argument, it's about
something designed well inside and out. But you know what they say
"whimsical art sells" but I pretty much hate most of it.y o u r s,
h a n s e n
On Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 2:19 AM, Vince Pitelka wrote:
> Eric Hansen wrote:
> "Lee: I see Marko Fields - still - has not learned how to make a pot. I
> imagine he never will. There is nothing new in what he does.
> I like your work about 1000 times more."
>
> Eric -
> It's great that you like Lee's work so much, and his working is certainly
> deserving of admiration. But what a bizarre and misplaced comment on a
> public forum. How is Lee's work more "new" than Marko Fields's? Is it
> that
> you don't like handbuilt work? Or that you don't like sculptural vessels=
?
> I imagine that for most people who appreciate the full range of aesthetic
> possibility in ceramics, including sculptural interpretations of the
> vessel,
> Marko Fields's work could be considered quite extraordinary. He certainl=
y
> has a facility with surface decoration. I am intrigued with the piece he
> has in the McKnight exhibition at
> http://www.northernclaycenter.org/see/exhibition_current.php, and would
> love
> to see it in person.
> - Vince
>
Eleanor on mon 22 jun 09
Lee Love said:
> As Hamada said, "The best pots for me are the pots I like."
Vince Pitelka said:
> give us your opinion of the work and the concepts we are discussing.
I am in no position to judge whether Marko Fields has learned to make
a good pot but I took one look at the example in the McKnight show
website and it was hate at first sight. I followed that up by looking
at more of Fields' work; hatred confirmed.
I did like Greg Crowe's pot and Lee Love's; I looked at Crowe's other
work and I've been looking at Love's for years (my, how he has
grown!). I liked what I saw.
The teapot has many elements that can be played with: body; handle;
spout; lid; foot. And that, I believe, is my point: it's Play, it's
not Creativity, not Art.
Play is as necessary to life as Food, Clothing and Shelter. Play
relieves tension, generates happiness; it's fun. It's fun to play
around with a teapot, to see how you can distort its parts, decorate
it, make it dance. And when you are done playing, you have a dancing
teapot; you can't serve tea out of it and, IMO, it's not Art.
Creativity is the act of plumbing one's consciousness, one's soul if
you like, to find expression for feelings, ideas and experience. Art
can be the result. Some people are better plumbers than others; some
are eloquent, some are less so. Some think they are creating but they
are really only playing. Maybe that's part of what prompted Eric
Hansen to say Fields never learned to make a good pot---he's too busy
playing.
Crowe and Love aren't playing; they have perfected their Craft,
plumbed deeply and produced Wonders. The two pots in the McKnight show
are obviously functional but are so beautifully formed and finished,
so pleasing to look at, so expressive of their souls that they can,
IMO, be considered Works of Art.
A vessel-morphed-into-sculpture doesn't compute for me.
Just my 5 bucks (current values).
Eleanor Kohler
Centerport, NY
".... philosophers lay down many precepts fair in argument but not
applicable in use"
--Sir Francis Bacon
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