Donna Gordon on thu 12 jul 01
Matt,
Your comments really hit me because I am a clay sculptor in just that
transition. Should I "abandon" my potter's past? Is that progress?
I started out as a potter who loves sculpting but I am now more of a
sculptor who loves pottery. I make sculptural pottery not because others
feel comforted by the timelessness of the forms (even though they do), but
because I feel comforted by the forms. It has nothing to do with the cash
( although my husband wishes it did!). I do what inspires me, and I hope
that enough people enjoy it or are moved by it to purchase a piece or two.
As for your comment about the courage required to just do the sculpture,
well, I do both. I am not sure what you mean about courage, but I think you
mean that additional push required to create something entirely new? That
may be true, but I witness creative courage all the time at my local art
center when I watch someone sit down at the wheel for the first time (and
everyone's watching!), or even the 100th . It's all about degrees.
I am certainly not an art historian, but I am aware that the combination of
sculpture/"art" and pottery goes way, way back. Is it possible that we are
just doing the same in a more contemporary way? Is a Ming vase less
desirable if it sits quietly in a corner as a thing of beauty? Is Voulkos
totally out of line?
I am now doing more sculpture than sculptural pottery but I will probably
always do both. (And, by the way, my galleries take both forms of art, which
is a good sign for all clay artists I think) Why is it so bad to combine
something new with something comforting?
Regards,
Donna Gordon
Gilroy, CA
http://www.donnagordonstudio.com/
-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
Behalf Of Matt MacIntire
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 4:54 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Here we go again... (was: vinegar)
Janet wrote:
JK >> But given the versatility of clay and the inventiveness
JK >> of man, why they have to use traditional vessels and forms
JK >> is simply beyond me and my kind!
Matt wrote:
>> Why don't more clay sculptors have the courage
to abandon the idiom of traditional pottery forms and make pure
sculpture?
>>.so the first reason this trend may be popular is that it
presently appears to be an effective way of turning clay into cash.
>>Second, it would seem (to me) that for a clay sculptor to abandon pottery
forms takes great courage as an artist. A clay sculpture that is not about
pottery has a severely limited audience. .... it might be easier to create
an acceptable art object.
>> No wonder so many clay artists
figure the middle of the road is where they ought to find their
inspirations. It seems unfortunate that so many artists choose this path.
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