John Baymore on tue 12 sep 00
I have just had the privilege of getting hold of the training documents f=
or
the heavy clay and whiteware industry. Two fat volumes, one for the =
instructor, with instructors instructions and one for the student. Though=
I
have not yet read them other than a quick glance through, there is a vast=
difference between what happens in an industrial training institution an=
d
an academic tertiary institution.=3D20
Not being on your side of the globe, perhaps someone can inform the grou=
p
if this might be a major issue for the NCECA to discuss and resolve next
year.
Ivor,
Ah.... you're probably treading toward a spot here that is "near and dear=
"
for me . Thanks for bringing it up. I'll bet that the technical
training in those manuals is just a tad stronger . I might be going
off on a tangent here from what you are/were thinking but ..............
I'll take the excuse ........
First of all... gotta' say that there SHOULD be a vast difference in the
two as their primary goals are different. But there should be quite a fe=
w
areas of congrunecy ........ and I'll bet there isn't all that much.
=
I've been involved in developing and teaching college technical curriculu=
m
(materials and kilns) for about 25 years now and I was one of the first t=
o
embrace home computers in ceramic studio applications. In my presentatio=
n
at the 99 Columbus NCECA I was addressing the educational side of the use=
of glaze calculation software in institutions. In many ways, this clearl=
y
built on my presentation on a similar subject at the 84 Boston NCECA
conference.
It has been my experience from working with and talking to students from
all over, visiting many institutions while doing consulting or workshops,=
and in talking with other faculty members............... that the general=
level of the technical curriculum in US art/craft (let's not go there =
)
ceramics programs has seen a steady erosion in the past 15-20 years. At
best, I think it has gotten no better.... and that is in spite of vast
leaps in technical understanding and the availibility of new tools over
that time. Generalizations are always subject to the exceptions....... b=
ut
it appears to me that strong technical education isn't really happening i=
n
a great many of the art schools in the US, with a couple of notable
exceptions (some of which happen to have ceramic engineering programs too=
).
Those who subscribe to CLAYART probably have some of the best
non-engineering school technical resources right here in folks like Ron
Roy, Nils Lou, and many others simply too numerous to mention. WOW. =
However, schools that have the likes of a Pete Pinnel as a glaze guru and=
a
Vince Pitelka as a master of tools and techniques are the exception rathe=
r
than the rule. Thank God Ron Roy is running around the world giving glaz=
e
seminars to those who didn't get this stuff in school. And the work of
John Hesselberth is great stuff........ but why is it an independent arti=
st
has to be doing this stuff, and it is not routinely coming from within th=
e
academic world from the major ceramic art schools? =
(Yes........ Alfred (the engineering side) is doing the testing.... but
they are not spearheading and driving John and Ron's work.)
US Industry has basically "moved on" from pottery related work to silicon=
chips, ceramic car engines, sattelite and missle components, and artifica=
l
body parts. We are the group that is left in this country making vessel
related forms fired in periodic kilns. If we are not dealing with the
technicla side of what it is we do.... no one else WILL be doing it. Ain=
't
big enough money in it anymore . Industrial pottery making is happeni=
ng
elsewhere in the world now.
As part of my research for the 1999 presentation, I did a very unscientif=
ic
but still informative survey of the CLAYART members about their experienc=
es
relative to being taught molecular glaze calculation and materials scienc=
e.
The results weren't pretty if you think a reasonable technical backgroun=
d
is at all necessary to gain a BFA or MFA in ceramics. I quoted those
results at my Columbus presentation. The bottom line is that it appears
that mastery of little technical material is necessary to "hang out the
shingle" these days.
Also, it was clear from the survey that STUDENT perceptions of their
technical education was that it was lacking too. I commonly heard it sai=
d
that material on clay bodies, glazes, and kilns was presented as a
"necessary evil" rather than an important component of their education. =
Often students commented that they felt the FACULTY didn't have much
technical understanding. This is particularly sad..... because the
institutions are not fulfilling their students desires for education.
This may reflect a general decline in the standards of US education (whic=
h
I have heard discussion of but personally can't say exists not having the=
broad perspective on it) ..... but I don't have to like it .
In my statements in Columbus ...... being the onery cuss that I tend to
be........... I put forth the challenge that NCECA could and SHOULD serve=
as a clearing house body to work to develop some significant technical
curriculum standards for the granting of degrees here in the USA. The
variation in different schools programs (from the strongest to the weakes=
t)
is AMAZING. It would be nice to think that if someone had an accredited =
US
college degree in ceramics that they could ...say .........maybe look at
simple molecular formulas and understand what they were seeing at least a=
t
a basic level. That is not currently the case. Pretty sad for an academ=
ic
degree in an advanced field of study that has a huge technical aspect
involved in the truly professional execution of work. =
Yes... I realize someone has to graduate "at the bottom of the class in
medical school"...... but this problem goes way beyond that. It is quite=
systemic, I think.
I have no problem with a ceramic artist/craftsperson that produces
wonderful looking work that hasn't got a clue about minimal technical
issues..... as long as that artist doesn't add BFA or MFA after their nam=
e.
The art/craft work, of course, always really stands on its own merits. =
If
the work is sound visually and technically, then fine. But in the case
with the alphabet soup attached after the name, I would think that they
have to answer to a "higher authority", as the hot dog commercial goes. =
I
expect more breadth and depth by the appearance of those few little
letters. =
Now don't get me wrong... I don't advocate that everyone major in ceramic=
art and minor in ceramic engineering. But the LOWEST level standard for=
"technical understanding" in the US is WAY too low, in my estimation. Ho=
w
many US schools would deny a producer of great looking artwork a degree
because the person didn't have a clue about the technical side? Not too
many. How many schools would not grant a degree to a highly strong
technical person whose visual works were mediocre? Far more , I think.
If a degree candidate is working in a functional vessel approach to clay
(not all that many anymore)..... then I think that higher technical
standards are absolutely IMPERATIVE.
What I am really looking for is a good balance between the technical, the=
underlying skills, and the aesthetic. I think the pendulum has swung way=
to the side of the aesthetic, to the overall detriment of the field and t=
he
worth of the degree. I don't want it to swing to the other side...... ju=
st
to hit the middle.
See the NCECA Journal for both the Boston conference and the Columbus
conference for more info.... and check the archives for more about this..=
...
I'd bet the discussion form the time I was doing the survey on CLAYART is=
somewhere stuffed in there.
So Ivor, I don't know if anyone of the "powers that be" in the NCECA
organization listened to that challenge I made. Haven't seen this years
schedule of things yet. We'll see if anything comes out of this over the=
next few years. My guess is that I've just lit a match for some folks =
.. =
I never learn .
BEst,
........................john
John Baymore
River Bend Pottery
22 Riverbend Way
Wilton, NH 03086 USA
603-654-2752 (s)
800-900-1110 (s)
JBaymore@compuserve.com
John.Baymore@GSD-CO.com
"Earth, Water, and Fire Noborigama Woodfiring Workshop August 18-27,
2000"
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