Hal Giddens on tue 6 apr 04
I am surprised that other than a brief comment by Tony C, I haven't seen any discussion about the Tom Turner interview and essay in the March/April issue of Clay Times. As one who does not have any art experience in the academics I wonder what other potters feel about his opinions on how pottery is taught in the art programs in schools today.
Are his opinions right on the mark?
Are the American pottery traditions and history being ignored by the academics?
Should pottery be taken out of the arts departments?
Is it too touchy a subject to be discussed?
Hal Giddens
Home Grown Pottery
Rockledge Ga.
kenhal@bellsouth.net
Vince Pitelka on tue 6 apr 04
Hal -
Tom Turner is a fine potter, among the best in the US, but he has some
pretty sour attitudes about academia. I do not know why he feels that way,
and this is not the place for such conjecture, but I wonder.
> Are his opinions right on the mark?
In regards to some universities, yes. But there are plenty of schools that
do an excellent job of teaching pottery skills.
> Are the American pottery traditions and history being ignored by the
academics?
The American pottery traditions and history don't really have much to do
with this issue, because they have always been ignored in academia, except
by pottery teachers who are specifically intersted in those traditions, or
by a few remarkable departments where they actually teach ceramic history
courses.
In most art departments, the power structure rests in painting and
sculpture, and when push comes to shove financially, traditional craft media
and process get screwed. Also, as has been pointed out so many times, many
of the big university art departments seem to be swinging hard and fast
towards conceptual and installation art, with less concern for process and
technique, and certainly very little concern for issues of practical
utility.
> Should pottery be taken out of the arts departments?
Forgive me, but I don't see this as a practical question. Pottery already
has been taken out of at least 50% of the university art departments.
Ceramics is often still present, but pottery has often dissappeared. But
in general terms, what could be gained by a generalized statement saying
that pottery should or should not be taken out of the art departments? It
depends entirely on the individual department and the level of commitment of
the faculty and administration. If they do not support the teaching of
pottery, then of course it should be taken out of the department. If they
do support it, then of course it should remain.
> Is it too touchy a subject to be discussed?
On the contrary, it is a subject we NEED to keep discussing. Thanks for
bringing it up. As a university educator committed to teaching pottery AND
sculpture, in a school committed to the highest quality professional fine
craft education, I know that pottery can be effectively taught in a
university setting, and that it belongs there just as much as any other art
discipline.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
Hal Giddens on wed 7 apr 04
>
> From: Vince Pitelka
>
>> > Should pottery be taken out of the arts departments?
>
> Forgive me, but I don't see this as a practical question. Pottery already
> has been taken out of at least 50% of the university art departments.
> Ceramics is often still present, but pottery has often dissappeared. But
> in general terms, what could be gained by a generalized statement saying
> that pottery should or should not be taken out of the art departments? It
> depends entirely on the individual department and the level of commitment of
> the faculty and administration. If they do not support the teaching of
> pottery, then of course it should be taken out of the department. If they
> do support it, then of course it should remain.
>
Vince, thanks for your input. I just want to clarify that the above question I asked was taken from the Tom Turner Clay Times interview. Tom Turner stated "Maybe ceramic art education shouldn't be in the art departments of the universities. Let the universities play artists and let the potters play potters"
Hal Giddens
Home Grown Pottery
kenhal@bellsouth.net
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