ATCRIST on thu 18 dec 97
Hi All,
I went to a holiday party last night and was introduced to a woman who owns a
designer showroom in the interior design trade hall here in Dallas. The
showroom is supposed to be one of the better ones and it carries furniture and
decorative accessories. The hostess of the party has one of my pots and she
showed it to this woman. She really liked it and said she'd like to consider
placing some of my work in the showroom. I was pleased until she told me about
all the "real artists" work she carries. I guess to her pottery is not real
art, and I'm sure she had no idea that she was insulting me. I've encountered
this attitude before. I consider what I do to be real art, and will work to
educate this woman as to why. But I'll wait until I get to know her. To me
educating the public is vital.
Beverly Crist
atcrist@aol.com
Ric Swenson on fri 19 dec 97
Beverly,
OH OH....you opened an issue that I will now mistakenly persue....
(Here we go......adjust KEVLAR shorts !...)
Although strides have been made in the thirty years I have spent involved
in the arts/Arts/ARTS/crafts/Crafts/CRAFTS biz, there is indeed MUCH
education still to do. I recall the first CERAMICS MONTHLY I read in 1967
had an article on the definition of craft vs art. The saga has continued
for a very long time. I heard F. Carlton Ball talk about the same issues
he talked about with Frank Lloyd Wright in the thirties when Carlton made
and installed the cast bronze window fixtures ( locks/pulls, etc.) on
Wright's properties near Carbondale, where F.C. was a student. Is window
hardware an art or a craft? I suppose it depends on the appreciation the
owner has for the object.? ( Wright once said " Physicians can bury their
mistakes, but an architect can only suggest that the owner plant vines...")
My first love is clay, due to the influence of George Roskos at PLU in the
sixties and F. Carlton Ball at UPS (MFA, Ceramics) and Alex Combs at
ACC/ UAA in the seventies, but I have an appreciation of two dimensional
work, because my BFA and subsequent work and experience in teaching has
included a body of work in mixed media, sculpture, drawing and painting.
Teaching college level art history for a number of years also gave me a
wide appreciation of all avenues of expression. Even with all that
experience and knowledge, I still have no definitive statement to offer to
answer the eternal question: "Is it art or is it craft?"
I might offer a smattering of information, learned from one of my art
professors,
Lars Kittleson, in an introductory class, at PLU. He stressed that no
matter what media you worked in, there was a craft, a skill, a level of
expertise to be reached. ie. A wonderful painting, if done on a poorly
stretched bit of canvas was not well crafted. The bookbinder's act was
every bit as important as the oil painter's act. The bookbinder's product
might be viewed by the general public as finely crafted and reach a level
of art that a poorly crafted painting might never reach. This, even if the
painter had a compelling creative idea, but produced it poorly on canvas.
The issue of clayart/clay sculpture/pottery vessels being art ( or Art or
even ART ) is similar to the idea of furniture being art. Because it is
utilitarian, does that in itself preclude it from inclusion with museums
collections of paintings, sculptures and drawings? Is it because
craftspeople are not necessarily graduates of fine arts schools? Is their
art/.craft less worthy because they have no sheepskin diploma...or a
diploma from a small school rather than a big one? ( In that aspect, it's
a bit like a 'pissing' contest isn't it? ) Does making the clay object
un-useful. make it QUALIFY as ART ?......as in Peter Voulkos making a
sculptural artistic statement in clay by stacking teapots in a column?
Are Picasso's functional pottery pieces considered any less ART? ....or was
he just exploring media and seeking materials that suited his need at the
time?
This is indeed a subject that is deep and wide. As I said, I have no
definitive answer. (Could it be "42" ? ) What was the question again?
I have given myself a headache, with all this cerebral wandering.... and
will now return to throwing pots.
Happy Ho Ho to all !
TTFN
Ric
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Hi All,
>I went to a holiday party last night and was introduced to a woman who owns a
>designer showroom in the interior design trade hall here in Dallas. The
>showroom is supposed to be one of the better ones and it carries furniture and
>decorative accessories. The hostess of the party has one of my pots and she
>showed it to this woman. She really liked it and said she'd like to consider
>placing some of my work in the showroom. I was pleased until she told me about
>all the "real artists" work she carries. I guess to her pottery is not real
>art, and I'm sure she had no idea that she was insulting me. I've encountered
>this attitude before. I consider what I do to be real art, and will work to
>educate this woman as to why. But I'll wait until I get to know her. To me
>educating the public is vital.
>
>Beverly Crist
>atcrist@aol.com
#####################################
From: Ric Swenson, ( home ) : P.O. Box 494,
North Bennington, VT 05257 - 0494 U.S.A
home telephone ( 802 ) 447 - 4744
( work ) : Bennington College, Route 67 - A
Bennington, Vermont 05201 - 6001
( 802 ) 440 - 4621 ( fax 440 - 4582 )
email: rswenson@bennington.edu
#####################################
"Outside a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside a dog, it's too dark to read."
.....Groucho Marx
Jawoodside on fri 19 dec 97
Yes Beverly there is definitely a need for public education about pottery!
Much of public perception today about what art is (and what is art) was
created in the media in the middle of this century . Many continue to believe
that art is unfathomable, expensive and esoteric and if something is not all
of those it is not art. Where the media appreciate the potters art, so does
the public. One evening I accidently caught a Japanese news report and the
third story of the report (after terrorist bombings and an economic update)
was about a father and son who had recreated an ancient glaze. This would
hardly be considered news here. Lots of us write to each other on CLAYART and
a number of us write very well. I submit that we are preaching to the choir
here and should try writing for the mainstream media, invite local art
critics and other media to our shows, make ourselves available for radio and
television interviews etc. Why have I never heard a potter interviewed on
National Public Radio? One way you might persuade the lady who distinguished
your work from "real" art is to present her with your "artist's statement" and
a photo when you deliver your work. Over time you may be able to accumulate
press clippings to help enhance your image as an artist. In the meantime don't
feel bad; the Dutch painters of the 17th century, including Vermeer, all
considered themselves craftsmen and their work was no lesser for the
terminology.
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