Vince Pitelka on mon 1 may 00
>What really matters when the dust clears,( no pottery pun intended) is the
>work, and only the work,IMHO. What we don't see is that all these
>techniques are skills, and thats all they are. They allow you to express
>your own pottery vision in whatever appropriate ways you wish. In and of
>themselves they are just ways of working. What we have done is ascribed
>value to them. The nobility of throwing....the scourge or slip casting.....
>the demon of RAM=A9 pressing, and the list goes on. God forbid we should =
>ever
>talk about the need for good design, or talk about the methodology of
>design, the design process for pottery. The reason is that we don't design.
>In fact, I would posit that many potters haven't the faintest idea of what
>it is to design their work. And that is precisely why the work is so weak.
>But that's for another rant.
Jonathan -
I wondered how long it would be before you just could not stand it any more.
You always have good things to say about this subject, but none of us on the
list can afford to say this is a done discussion. It has come up again and
again, and it will continue to come up again and again, because it is so
worthy of discussion. There is much left to be hashed out, obviously.
The only thing that matters is the work? I cannot agree. Ultimately
handmade work with bad design is crap, and slip-cast work with good design
is a joy to use and to appreciate. I have never said anything to the
contrary. I am perfectly comfortable with the assisted technologies. My
entire point here is that when the artist makes the transition to assisted
technolgies, and thus to a cottage-industry semi-mass-production operation,
she/he steps out of the role of the one-of-a-kind craftsperson, and that is
a very significant step, not to be taken lightly. As you and I both agree,
it requires that the artist be completely upfront with the consumer about
the means of production, and that the work be entered in appropriate
exhibition and sales venues.
In the mid 19th century, William Morris, bless his soul, advocated the
making of beautifully designed, well crafted objects and decoration for the
home and business, and thus was born the Arts and Crafts Movement, and out
of that the studio craft movement in Europe and America. William Morris and
his disciples never said the work must be individually handmade. There is
nothing wrong with employing high-production methods, if one is
incorporating good design and good craftsmanship in the creation of the
prototype, and the finishing of the final product.
But if the final product is made by assisted technologies, with nothing else
done to it but minor finishing and glazing, Then it should not be
represented as handmade, and it should not be entered in competitive
exhibitions of handmade work.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Home - vpitelka@DeKalb.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
List Moderator on mon 1 may 00
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>------------------
>So what's the point to made anyway?
>
>Why are we, as potters, ceramic artists, makers of ceramic art and makers
>of useable pottery so bent out of shape over the issue of slip casting, the
>issue of defining what is handmade and what is not, or better put, what
>fits into the parameters of one's own ego, so to speak, of what is handmade
>or not. I think we are so wrapped up in this that we are failing to see
>what really matters. And what really matters, after you discard all the
>verbage, the diatribe, the endless banter, the endless self promotion, the
>whining and compaining, is the work, and only the work. If you are honest
>and clear with yourself and what you make, how you make it is not really
>the issue. In fact, it is such a non-issue that I am again, both quite
>humored and annoyed to see how many times and in how many different forms
>this issue surfaces, disappears, and resurfaces again on this list.
Jonathan,
You won't get the last word on this one. the reason why we rant is that we
are trying to make a living at this and some of us believe there should be
better standards for behavior and integrity in the market place. this is my
rant.
Yours ad infitum is design design etc.
I can respect your rant if you respect our rants.
Don Jones
http://www.highfiber.com/~claysky
God forbid we should =
>ever
>talk about the need for good design, or talk about the methodology of
>design, the design process for pottery. The reason is that we don't design.
>In fact, I would posit that many potters haven't the faintest idea of what
>it is to design their work. And that is precisely why the work is so weak.
>But that's for another rant.
>Jonathan Kaplan, president
>Ceramic Design Group
Cantello Studios on tue 2 may 00
Pottery factories have been producing work in the US for many years and this
is a fact. It seems to me that most potters get pissed off when they get
stuck next to said factory at some show. But don't you think this only
happens because the promoters are so money hungry. I think factories should
compete with other factories and stay out of the street fair market all
together and all would be fine. The work must stand on its own. Is this the
five dollar mug thing. Design is very important and I would like to see more
good design. Ok so which side of the fence am I really on, well I just think
that the small street fair market was made for and by studio artist and the
factories need to stay out. When all is said and done if you put your heart
in the work then the customer will reward you. And if that customer thinks
your over priced then let them go to the factories. We all know who's
creating the problem here ( The Promoters ) can't live with them can't live
without them. That's the real conundrum, after all a potters life is not
really about money its about freedom, peace of mind, communing with the
earth and its center, being one with your self.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU]On Behalf
Of List Moderator
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2000 11:27 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: Juryingpots not made by the artist...that handmade issue
again, or the Potter's Folley, the Potter's Conundrum,
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>------------------
>So what's the point to made anyway?
>
>Why are we, as potters, ceramic artists, makers of ceramic art and makers
>of useable pottery so bent out of shape over the issue of slip casting, the
>issue of defining what is handmade and what is not, or better put, what
>fits into the parameters of one's own ego, so to speak, of what is handmade
>or not. I think we are so wrapped up in this that we are failing to see
>what really matters. And what really matters, after you discard all the
>verbage, the diatribe, the endless banter, the endless self promotion, the
>whining and compaining, is the work, and only the work. If you are honest
>and clear with yourself and what you make, how you make it is not really
>the issue. In fact, it is such a non-issue that I am again, both quite
>humored and annoyed to see how many times and in how many different forms
>this issue surfaces, disappears, and resurfaces again on this list.
Jonathan,
You won't get the last word on this one. the reason why we rant is that we
are trying to make a living at this and some of us believe there should be
better standards for behavior and integrity in the market place. this is my
rant.
Yours ad infitum is design design etc.
I can respect your rant if you respect our rants.
Don Jones
http://www.highfiber.com/~claysky
God forbid we should =
>ever
>talk about the need for good design, or talk about the methodology of
>design, the design process for pottery. The reason is that we don't design.
>In fact, I would posit that many potters haven't the faintest idea of what
>it is to design their work. And that is precisely why the work is so weak.
>But that's for another rant.
>Jonathan Kaplan, president
>Ceramic Design Group
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