James Freeman on sat 27 aug 11
On Sat, Aug 27, 2011 at 12:17 PM, Rimas VisGirda wrote:
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence but that's no
reason to be envious, just spread some fertilizer on your own side...
Rimas...
I believe there is no shortage of "fertilizer" spread on either side! This
may be part of the problem.
Excellent post, by the way.
All the best.
...James
James Freeman
"...outsider artists, caught in the bog of their own consciousness, too
preciously idiosyncratic to be taken seriously."
"All I say is by way of discourse, and nothing by way of advice. I should
not speak so boldly if it were my due to be believed."
-Michel de Montaigne
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesfreemanstudio/
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com/resources
Rimas VisGirda on sat 27 aug 11
From today's digest:=3D0A=3D0A=3D0AIt might be instructive to contemplate t=
he dif=3D
ference between the evolution=3D0Aof glassblowing and the evolution of cera=
mi=3D
cs.=3DA0 Both historically started=3D0Awith production of functional items =
and =3D
both still do some functional work.=3D0AHowever glass seems to have achieve=
d =3D
true recognition in the art world with=3D0Ahigh prices, reviews in art maga=
zi=3D
nes, and significant museum and gallery=3D0Apresence.=3D0A=3D0ACeramics- we=
ll we =3D
can only dream.=3D0A=3D0ASorry, but I see parallels in all the craft fields=
. As=3D
Vince said, Chihuly is one of the glass people at the top and there are so=
=3D
me others that are in the same league, Lipofsky, Carlson, Hutchhausen, etc.=
=3D
In ceramics we have the likes of Arneson, Voulkos, etc. as having been pub=
=3D
lished and collected in Fine Art circles... Within both fields there are th=
=3D
ose that make sculpture and there are those that make pots. The sculptors a=
=3D
re those that seem to get the recognition and attention from the Fine Arts =
=3D
and perhaps rightly so as a sculpture or painting can engage us on many lev=
=3D
els intellectually and emotionally whereas a cereal or bread bowl may be pr=
=3D
etty and considered attractive but doesn't really say anything about oursel=
=3D
ves, our experiences or or society and culture; and so we can have two sepa=
=3D
rate sets within ceramics, sculptors and potters. But since WWII, especiall=
=3D
y in the USA with the rapid expansion in the field through the university s=
=3D
ystem, we can
find some potters that have become dissatisfied with making plain cereal b=
=3D
owls and coffee mugs and while still making pots have tried to imbue an emo=
=3D
tional or intellectual aspect into their work, like Bacerra, Sperry, Higby,=
=3D
Gill, Weiser, etc. I propose that contemporary ceramics as a field can be =
=3D
considered as being composed of the 2 sets, "sculpture" with the likes of A=
=3D
rneson, Spinski and "pottery" with the likes of MacKenzie, Cushing and the =
=3D
intersection of those sets are comprised of a spectrum from one extreme to =
=3D
the other... Each set as well as the intersection will have makers that are=
=3D
more recognized than others within that particular set or intersection but=
=3D
that is not necessarily a reflection on their work, although in many cases=
=3D
it is, but can be a reflection of being in the right place at the right ti=
=3D
me or holding a particular pedigree.=3D0A=3D0AAnd as for glass we can have =
the =3D
set that includes "sculptors" as Chihuly and "potters" as Esteban Prieto an=
=3D
d the intersection of the two as Marquis... The grass is always greener on =
=3D
the other side of the fence but that's no reason to be envious, just spread=
=3D
some fertilizer on your own side... -Rimas=3D0A
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