What a great chapter, Art Deco mixed in with Native American and Appalachian work. A totally different view of the 1920's that is presented in history books.
When you have time, and this is not an assignment just shared information, check out American Craft Magazine (americancraftmag.org) if you live near a large town you should be able to find it in your favorite book store. This is the magazine I keep by my bed to read before I fall asleep. And Spoonflower.com, which is a wonderful site that allows you take your paintings and turn them into cloth, that can be sold by the yard. If you go to the site look up the work of Helen Klebesadle.....her watercolors are amazing.
Now for the extra question this week. What is the story you want told about you? In 3-5 sentences write a short description of you and your work. Imagine you are in this book...how would you want to be represented?
I enjoyed this chapter. For starters I enjoyed reading about Native American pottery and crafts. Native American art has always had a place in my world. My grandmothers grandmother (so my great great) was 100% Cherokee. She was on the Trail of Tears and her American name was Mary Mariah. My grandmother was fascinated by her Native American heritage and used it as inspiration in her paintings, decor, etc. Majority of my childhood was spent with my grandmother and her many Native American things. Naturally I am drawn the the patterns and colors of that culture, it reminds me of my grandmother. I liked reading about Nampeyo's pottery. I appreciated that they included the part about her never signing her work because she didn't know English or how to write her name. I've thought about this and I actually find that tid-bit fascinating. There's so many artist that want to be recognized for their work and part of that recognition is signing your work. Not knowing how to sign and never signing your work has to mean something outside of not knowing how to do that right? Does it mean she was so in love with the creation process that she didn't care about the recognition of what she did? Does it mean her culture doesn't put an emphasis on self-recognition? Or is it something else? I just couldn't help but overthink that.
ReplyDeleteThings I found insanely beautiful were Magnussen's Cubic Coffee Service and Ben Owen's Bowl. Magnussen's Coffee Service is breathtaking and I am left wishing I owned something as beautiful and edgy as that. I'm pretty sure as soon as I saw Ben Owen's bowl I made a audible noise of "ahhhhhh" love that. The colors and textures are perfection in my eyes. I gravitate towards that aesthetic. The story of Jugtown was one I enjoyed as well. I liked this idea of a tea room in NYC where some of the most famous people came to enjoy artwork in a utilitarian way.
Extra Question: My work is pottery (bowls, cups, plates, vessels). Aesthetically I like my work to have a "juicy" feel to the glazes and combine that feeling with raw areas also in my pottery. A mixture of the natural look the kiln environment provides combine with preferably a cool colored glaze create a desired look in my eyes. I am drawn towards the utilitarian value pottery brings. It is usable art that takes on additional meaning with every use it gets. Memories are made while drinking from my cups and eating from my dishes. They are more than mud to their owners and I love the ability to create from such raw, natural materials.
The work was not signed because the culture did not see anyone owning a work (clay or weaving) earth..mother earth..gave you the clay, trees supplied the fuel, sheep gave the wool. And often many members of a family worked on a piece. It was a part of life/family not something that stood alone. Just as no one owns land.We are just the caretakers.
DeleteWhen I purchased an amate folk art painting in Mexico a few years back, I asked if I could have it signed. They had told me that since a lot of people in that area sell their paintings to benefit their community, no one signs their art as a way to allow all proceeds to be received anonymously. I don't remember what particular town I bought it from.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteFuture- great input. I didn't think of it in that way but that makes sense because of so much they gave back in the process of taking from the Earth.
DeleteThank you for clarifying Future. That makes so much more sense. Love that idea and the fact their culture is so respectful of the earth.
DeleteClay is earth. I had never thought of pottery like that before, which I realize is kind of dumb because earthenware is a common term and I've heard it before, but still it never really clicked. When you buy a piece of pottery you are essentially buying dirt, a piece of land. In that regard potters are real estate agents. A vessel could be titled ".0001 acres of prime hill country property". Put it on a shelf by a lake and it's now waterfront property. Again, dumb thought, but it's a viewpoint I've never really considered, that the materials used in making something often grow out of the ground, or in this case ARE the ground. It makes sense that in a culture of people who didn't believe that anyone could own the land, a piece of pottery would remain unsigned. The artist didn't "make" the clay, just molded it into a different shape. I guess that can be said for almost anything that a craftsperson "makes". It's physically impossible to actually create anything, because everything you use already exists. Nothing is created, it's just changed. I've clearly had too much coffee this morning because all I was trying to do was my homework and instead have driven myself into facing an existential crisis.
DeleteDamn Shelbi, back at it again with that first post!
ReplyDeleteI grew up with summers spent in Phoenix, with artist grandparents, who took us to several Indian pottery galleries in the southwest region. My great great grandmother was 1/2 Cherokee in the Tennessee area. I like the question you raise about Nampeyo's lack of signatures on her pots; i'd like to think she just loved the creative process and that was her glory.
DeleteMy next question, what does it mean to have a "juicy" feel to glazes on pottery? I've had a little experience with clay and working with it - I found it the hardest medium to work with, also I love that you combined sentiment (memories) and functional use in your def. of your work.
Gail, juicy is a lose term that usually refers to the glassy-ness of a glaze. Where as a matte glaze with be the antithesis of a "juicy" glaze. Now there is a certain je ne sais quoi about the glassy-ness of a glaze, speaking for myself at least( thought I know Shelbi and I share the same aesthetic on this).
DeleteIt's not just a glaze with a high silica content that makes a juicy glaze. For example pieces fired in electric oxidation kilns can produce a finish that is high gloss, but lacks the glassy juicy finish usually associated with atmospheric high fire like soda, salt, or wood firing. However not everything that comes out of a soda kiln will have this juicy glassy look. It's the right combonation of clay-body, glaze, and even location in the kiln that achieve the look.
A juicy piece will look like it has been dipped in liquid glass, over the existing glaze in a way that there is clear or lightly tinted glass over the actual colorant of the glaze. It will pool is certain areas of a piece that have incised areas or at the bottom of a ridges and feet.
Said perfectly Daniel. Thank you.
DeleteLoose term*. I really wish you could edit post instead of having to delete and re-post.
DeleteThanks Daniel - I appreciate your post and "clueing" me in!
Deleteyes, I did not know that term either..thanks
DeleteI want a juicy glass! I am intrigued
DeleteI have never heard of the term "juicy" being used in art...or even in ceramics but then again, I'm not a ceramics person! And thanks to someone for clearing that up! Very interesting meaning!
DeleteI think your story for how you would like to be remembered, your memories is very inspiring! I like your thoughts on someone using your pottery and thinking of you or the artist in general. I just bought some gorgeous dining ware and now i will think of the person who intricately painted them.
Thank you for this definition I thought "juicy" meant the clay itself was a little juicy.
DeleteI also love your your story especially about the coffee mugs and memories.
Next time we soda fire, I want to put a piece in the middle of the kiln. I don't think I got a juicy one last summer! Who's taking clay this summer with Von?
DeleteI am! The edges and near the flume actually get the best action. In the middle the flames don't flow as well, they go for the past of least resistance.
DeleteKim and Michelle, I would point out this is a casual term and about as farm from academic as one gets. I have noticed potters use it in different parts of the country via instragram post, so I don't think it is a regional thing.
DeleteNow for the extra question this week. What is the story you want told about you? In 3-5 sentences write a short description of you and your work. Imagine you are in this book...how would you want to be represented?
ReplyDeleteWow in 3-5 sentences this is hard...Telling a story about me?...I took my first art lesson with an adult art class at the age of 7, at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, over 50 years ago and after winning a 50.00 set of oil paints that year for my first still life made with oil paints,I was hooked and have been painting ever since then.It is still my passion and my lifeIt is who I am and it is what I do.... I know nothing else.my work is informed by literature about women who have suffered a trauma and their journey to heal.My intention is not to illustrate these stories rather to paint my emotional response to them.My works are typically 10' x 5' and emphasize emotive mark making and color.I have been nicknamed"Kandinsky"whilst working on a PHD in art in Australia.I leave you with this thought..Robert Frost said his poems must "begin with a lump in his throat"my art embraces this attitude.
Nice. The intent was to see how you see yourself and what you value in your work.
DeleteOK, this is going to be a huge quote, but when I read it, it made me wish the rest of the book had this type of descriptive language. It really painted a picture of how the work was made, which has been difficult for me to grasp sometimes with my limited pottery vocabulary. It is my favorite excerpt from the book so far.
ReplyDelete“The rise of the individual artist in Pueblo pottery began with Nampeyo (ca. 1860–1942), a Hopi potter in the village of Hano on First Mesa, in northwestern Arizona. (Figure 4.3) (Her name, Nung-beh-yong, Tewa for “sand snake,” has been rendered in various phonetic spellings.)8 As was traditional, Nampeyo was taught to make pots by her mother. She was gifted at the making of undecorated utility pots and decorated polychrome ceremonial wares, which were common women’s products. She must have found nearby sources of red, yellow, and gray clay, which she carried home, pulverized, and mixed with water she had carried from the springs below the mesa in a ceramic canteen strapped to her back. She probably used her feet to mix the clay. She would have made a sort of pancake of clay to lay in the puki (base mold) and added to it thick coils of clay that she would smooth with a stone or shell, periodically setting the vessel aside to dry until it was strong enough to support additional coils. She might coat it with white slip and then paint it with mineral colors she obtained and prepared, applying them with a piece of fibrous yucca that had been chewed into a brush. The pot might be wet-burnished with a smooth stone. It would then be baked in an open fire consisting mostly of piled-up sheep dung supplemented with pieces of local soft coal, protected from direct flame with shards.(p. 111)”
I was surprised that a department store displayed paintings by Picasso, Braque, and Derain. I recently read In Montmartre: Picasso, Matisse and the Birth of Modernist Art by Sue Roe. It’s a pretty fun, narrative read if you’re curious about the period. Anyway, their inclusion by Macy’s and Lord & Taylor just stuck out to me (p.116).
Can I add an answer for amused? I will anyway. Although a childish one, I got a good laugh at the thought of pottery designed for animal husbandry (p.139).
I found Erik Magnussen’s cubist tea set amazing. It just never occurred to me that someone would try to translate cubism into a tea set.
My take away has to do with all the Native American influence and participation in pottery in this period. I’ve been thinking a lot about the white(male)washing that art history has received throughout history. I feel some responsibility to unravel that in my classroom. I was specifically thinking about diversity this month, being February and all, and I became very aware of the western cannon narrative that moves from one white genius to the next, when it would be so easy to interweave the whole story which naturally includes both genders and many cultures. For instance, when talking about post-impressionism, the same weight should be given to the Japanese print makers that influenced most of these artists, but rarely is that the case. In most big art history tomes, Japan is left in a chapter all its own. Same with the elegant silk designs bought by the Roman Empire from China. The African masks that are instrumental to Picasso’s development of cubism are usually just tossed in as a tidbit. Why do we call Picasso’s Cubism genius, but not the work of the Africans making the abstract masks that inspired him? I am hoping soon to have a completely representational curriculum for my Art 1 students. This just adds to that.
On remembrance, I doubt I would ever want to be in a book like this. It seems so impersonal. I don’t think I would want to be remembered in association with my work, not that I’m not proud of it. I would just rather the work be the work, and I be me. My Uncle Michael constantly repeats the bad jokes my grandfather used to tell him when he was a kid. He only occasionally mentions the association with Grandpa Mac. He just tells a really lame joke whenever given the opening, but I know every time he tells one, he’s remembering his father. I’ve been thinking about that with my own daughter. I’ve noticed I repeat some of my father’s expressions or games or voices. I think that’s the only way I want to be remembered, as an odd voice or weird expression that carries on, with no real understanding of where it came from; just a slight imprint that continues on indefinitely. I don’t know exactly how to describe it, but I wouldn’t want anyone to have access to my story that didn’t earn it personally.
DeleteJustin - It is baffling how things are labeled in this world! I sometimes find myself looking at art as indicitive of the times or a response to what our emotions are to our culture and change! My pedagogy will place craft alongside fine art in those art appre. classes!
DeleteYour definition of being remembered calls me to look up your work and explore it!
Nice response. Have you read "The People's History of Art" it will really undo alot of the white washing. And there is a very old educational film on Maria Martinez that shows exactly how she worked.Including blessing the earth for the clay. A whole different approach to art making. It was shop owners who pushed for works to sale and names on works...the "market" mentality.
DeleteI have not. I did just purchase the The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. I have only just begun to thumb through it. I will put it on my list.
DeleteOne of my hopes in asking you to write about yourself was to get you to begin to image being in a book like this because of your work or maybe a catalog of your work from a show. Justin, I understand the separation between life and work but if you want to show your work and as I recall you do show, the viewer wants to know more. It is not an insult. Paintings actually do not talk and can not answer questions.
DeleteI had to chuckle when I read about Maria Martinez. When I decided to teach art, I was asked to substitute an eighth grade art class and show the old movie about Maria. Not only did the movie remind me of the old shaky films we watched when I was in school, but the students were totally bored by the calm narrative voice and soft music. When they started to sit on the desks, facing backwards and talking, I stopped the movie and almost begged for their attention. One student said, “Mrs. Gates, this is the third time we have seen this movie.” I had to laugh and make a quick change of plans. The redemption, about 4 years ago I found the movie on Youtube. My 5th grade class thoroughly enjoyed learning about Maria Martinez and we made coil pots in her style and even pit fired them. Here is a link to the 1972 VHS, now on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkUGm87DE0k
DeleteJustin I have personally seen your work (it has expression and tells a story) and you are really good about talking about it one on one, now just pretend you are talking to one person. You are a great writer (I wish that I had half of the talent you have at expressing yourself) and think about what you would like your daughter to remember why you made your art.
DeleteMy hesitance wasn't that I didn't feel comfortable talking about my work. I think there is a broader question of how one wants to be remembered. Surely, my response was a bit of a cop out, but I am just not sure how I want this whole life thing to play out. I feel as if I am at a bit of a crossroads, being pulled in multiple directions, and I am having trouble making the decision as to which way I am going to go. Therefore, I don't know how I would want to be remembered. The only thing I know for sure is how I want to be remembered as a person. But as a professional, I am just not sure. I've written many statements of purpose, artists statements, given talks, and been interviewed. But I really couldn't tell you how I would want to be remembered because I don't yet know what I want to do, or what my next step is going to be. For now, I am just going to continue to do everything that comes to me to the best of my ability.
DeleteAlso, thank you Kim for those very kind words.
On America Craft magazine,issue February/March 2016 issue,..Not too sure if this is where and what I am to do but, I bought it yesterday and some of the articles are really resonating with me... so I will discuss one article, briefly.Page 97 "from The Darkness"talks about a craft exhibition called "Mindful:Exploring Mental Health Through Art".This article talks about how this show came into fruition and the importance of it.It discusses the research behind the exhibit."Why do you think the show has engaged so many people?Well,it's a topic that really touches all of us in some way-but it isn't really talked about."says Janet McCall,executive director.She goes on to say that this topic is usually hidden and that more people than you know suffer from some type of Mental Illness.She hopes that art helps one maintain a balance in their personal life but so many people think art has nothing to offer them in their life and that are not creative.The works range from small intimate hand held objects to large sculptures.,In Flight is a wavelength of light typically used in light therapy used to relieve stress.there is a "kreepy doll"exhibit titled Making as Therapy using re-purposed materials and simple dolls.I have just completed a series of large wall paintings called inside madness,15 large wall paintings informed by stories about women who have suffered from Mental Illness.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes think art can help us connect the dots! lol! as well as bring awareness, create community and so on....
DeleteYES!
Deleteoops/..... meant to add this at the end of the paragraph above.....so this is why the story I mentioned,above/// from the Crafts magazine... resonated with me....sorry was teaching at Fort Hood till 8 and then 2 hour drive home....ok..Page 109..I have to start with this..... Hosteen Klah who was a Navajo medicine man and believe it or not he wove blankets..this is surprising isn't it?..the dates are 1867-1937...and he also was invited to demonstrate weaving rugs at The Columbia world's Fair..pretty cool and surprising as this would not have been typical work or appropriate for a male but it is...so surprising and then even more surprising is and even more cool to me is this idea of "weaving sand painting motifs." he used symbolism..also way cool.. and later this was said about him.."He wove sand painting rugs only for the chants that he was qualified to sing..."I can almost hear those emotional chants... he was said to be honored by the gods with both male and female attributes... thus he could do the typical women's work of weaving.. and he had a great gentleness...I will take away that after he died other people continued this type of work, weaving sacred symbols calling them "figure blankets".I also like the story about Mary Meigs Atwater and how she set up workshops to teach weaving and those who could develop the skill could use it for pay. and later she worked with wounded veterans,and since I work with the military I am interested also in this part of her story.The shuttle Craft Bulletin lived on for 30 years,pretty amazing for a periodical...Her recipe book is pretty cool also..page 125"It is to be a book for weavers on the plan of a cookery book..most of the recipes are taken from unusually successful actual weaving"..I have to go onto page 131 where I am drawn to the beautiful Cowan figure with this special ivory glaze. The grace and essence exhibited in this minimalist, beautiful piece...is a WOW and something to remember.
DeleteSusan, I was so struck by the same thing about Klah, where he would only weave the chants that he was qualified to sing. He was so authentic to his culture, not to the money. I loved that honor.
DeleteYes!It intrigued me and today one of my sons who is living in Russia, this year... told me about the chants from Chechnya... religious chants, I mean which he hears every morning and their beauty yet haunting sounds.I asked him to somehow tape it for me,as I thought it would be cool to make a clay piece inspired by that religious chant.
DeleteYes I liked that part as well I can see how certain rhythms occur in weaving.
DeleteGlad you could find the magazine. I just wanted you all to see crafts TODAY. I believe the line between what is often called fine arts and what is pushed aside as craft has blurred and for been erased.
DeleteIt's unfortunate how many people are discouraged to at least try art. People seem to have a mindset already that they will never be good at art to the point where I believe they only steal their own joy in even trying it.
DeleteIt was surprising to read about Klah! I found him to be the most interesting to me because of what he is known for his weaving, though he was a male. It's interesting how even in his own culture this was a unique gift/ work for a male to do.
DeleteKlah was respected as a male and a female.His art work is amazing and so is his work as a healer.
DeleteI am so into Klah I just had my daughter (who shows sheep) bring me bags of wool to use for upper art students. My students are so excited to use it (they are into dying now after learning a simple Batik method)
DeleteNoemi, I think there is a larger conversation culturally that needs to be had about how we define success. Why do people always have to be good at something to enjoy doing it? Why does it diminish people's accomplishments if the person next to them is more successful? I often times find myself pondering the meaning of success. I had a friend tell me once, that they enjoyed my art talks so much, that they would be surprised if I continued teaching for much longer. "You're just too talented to stay teaching," he said. I knew he meant it as a compliment, but why is teaching well not seen as success? Why isn't a person's joy the largest indicator when measuring success?
DeleteThis chapter left its impressions on me based on family heritage of immigration, broadening the definition of craft, comparing contemporary times with the definition of the department museum store and public perceptions to design and craft.
ReplyDeleteThe design that impresses me is the art deco and the avant garde sophistication that appealed to the audience of this era. I am always fascinated with why and what people are drawn too, there is not rhyme or reason of predicting that except that it was new and modern for the new age of industrialized art. I enjoyed reading about Rose Iron Works and Ilonka Karatz because of the Hungarian descent. Immigrating to America didn’t hold these two back! Today, Rose Iron Works sells candle stick holders, 12”, for $1,200 each and art deco sconces for $4,500 each. Also, I’m a fan of the show American Pickers, again fascinating to me what people hold on to and judge valuable or likeable. On an episode they found some art deco sconces and Mike Wolf said on the show anything with art deco is a high dollar resale.
Illona Karasz immigrated to America the same year as my grandfather’s mother. She was defined as a modernist designer that seemed she was so into the creative work that she worked in textiles as well as a multitude of items to design. I also envy that she was in an area that had such a spectrum of opportunities to work like that in the industry.
What surprises me is the evolution of the craft definition. It began to introduce elements of beauty to the definition and a distinction was made between industrial art and craft. Folk craft was also labeled and targeted to tourist industry, still having elements of geographic boundaries.
What I take with me is the concept of the department museum store asserting its role as a living museum of decorative and industrial art, informing the public as newest trends in décor and in the wisdom with which the selection is made exerting a strong formative effect upon public taste (p116) This definition made me think in contemporary times what this looks like: Chip and JoAnna Gaines have defined this in their work for the Magnolia Market in Waco TX and perhaps Pottery Barn falls into this definition of wood craft with newest trends defining them for us.
I’m a fan of the magazine, American Craft and usually spend the first Friday afternoon after its arrival reading it. Feb/March 2016, I enjoyed reading about Maren Kloppmann who immigrated to Iowa and continued in her pottery career. Her pottery isn’t functional but explores perception of space. Quite interesting and appeals to me because she followed her heart and “craft” has answered that calling!
My definition of my work and my story:
Gail Dentler is a self taught artist unitl in her 40’s she sought academic challenge with her art. She likes to evoke sentiment and emotion and uses representations from a Texas landscape to create the designs. Images of nature and color are designed into my quilts to allow a story that calls to mind an emotional expression. My work explores relationships and changes in our culture and the response to it in her textile medium.
(Sorry for the book, lol)
Gail,the department store museum was kind of strange to me. Who is determining the taste of the time, the store, who profits from it, or the consumer? What comes first, the chicken or the egg? Doesn't the store make more if it keeps changing its "museum" in hopes of selling more?
DeleteAmen Chris - I think that is why I am struggling with it - using capitalization to call it craft but to me their method isn't really about the evolution of craft (in sincere and generosity of art/craft) but corporate gain on profits! It kind of angered me that they used paintings and art to lure people into Macys for corporate gain but at same time allowed people to see a work of art by a master who might not have gone to a museum.
Deleteit is so true,but as they say, there are two sides to every coin ..on the one hand,well as you said..more public exposure but at what cost to the artist? at the risk of capitalizing on a true artist's work for the gain of the department store.... not always the artist, however that being said,even though the artist's intent may have been different he/she does get exposure...
DeleteIn Austin for Andrea's MAE exhibition, so I took the time to visit Salado Glassworks and Ro Shaw's clay studio. What a wonderful reminder of the energy of making a space to do the art they want and make a living. I thought about our readings and how so many of the artists we read about did this same thing..accept your passion, find a space (next to friends helps)and make enough inventory to pay the bills. The aspect of doing demos on a weekly bases becomes import to help the visitor "understand" what it takes and thus "understand" the price.
DeleteI have a show near there... in Belton at U of Mary Hardin Baylor if you hav e time to stop by and at Temple College in Temple..
DeleteThere is so much in this chapter, I am still have a few pages to left to read ( and reference on my Ipad1), however there has been so much that has resonated with me.
ReplyDeleteI loved that cubist tea service, the work looks like a Picasso painting! Erik Magnussen really captured the style of cubism in that work. It may only be the style of it, but it sure looks great!
What surprised me was one simple little sentence on page 121 about Samuel Yellen, the blacksmith. "The next year, he opened his first blacksmithing forge-on the fourth floor of a downtown apartment building." That sentence ended with a period. HOW IN THE WORLD can you do that... the hammering, the heat, the furnace.. seriously!!! I thought it was a joke at first. Did anyone else catch that!
Mary Meigs Atwater was a weaver, I guess, but I could not find any pictures of her work, only her books and instructions. What a teacher and supporter of the craft of weaving. And her life, she joined the army, was a therapist, created courses for weaving. After her husband died, she raised two kids, and still founded guilds and everything else. She researched weaving patterns and published them. Held workshops and classes. Just on and on, and then, by the way she wrote novels, short stories and published a detective novel. Holy Cow!!! I go home and pass out!! Amazing.
My takeaway, How the Cowan pottery, after it went into receivership, continued to produce work until the materials were used up. The artists' works became more creative when the commercial incentive was gone. Interesting.
My blurb.
Chris Moorehead Brandt, who studied drawing and painting at The Ohio State University, created a body of work based on how people departmentalize their lives. Using paint, clay, and even textiles, she looked at how the various facets of her life fit, or did not fit, together. She also used the drawings of her special needs daughter as the basis for embroidery, combining the folk-art work of her daughter with a skill Chris learned later in life.
Chris - Its amazing to read your definition and view your work you have been posting on FB since last summer! You have really done a great job!
DeleteThe cubist tea service jumped out at me too. I am enjoying the occasional reminders as to how much the work of the painters of the period interact with the everyday. I think because of the way that contemporary education works, painters have always been compartmentalized for me as people responding to the world, but not interacting with it. It's fun to see how that worked and to think about how contemporary artists influence things like fashion and graphic design today.
DeleteHey Chris,I am working on a project a bit similar to the last sentence of your statement, as my husband's brother suffered with schizophrenia and created many drawings when he was alive, that are precious and have an "Outsider" feel to them with raw emotional simple imagery and lines.
DeleteYou know I feel like though I read that it didn't hit me he was on the 4th floor. Shows how much I was paying attention there. Haha. Thanks for pointing that out!
DeleteHa. I didn’t catch that, but after watching the PBS Craft in America on Forging, I can’t imagine how he could get his large supplies, keep a hot furnace and build a gate on a 4th floor! What I did note about Yellin. “He argued that the architect should provide a general description of the job-size, style, function - but leave the design to the blacksmith.” Sometimes dealing with commissions, I am surprised clients don’t trust the artist or in his case, the blacksmith.
DeleteI love how you (Chris) include all of the inspirations in your life that is forming you art. I guess I just love that you are letting it lead your art and you are recognizing that.
DeleteI've been beating on a few pieces of steel in my garage this week, trying to get the curve out of an old tool I bought at a flea market, and the amount of noise I make doing that is amazing. When I read the chapter I kind of glossed over the whole forge on the 4th floor thing, but now reading it again I can't believe anyone would put up with that. He either had the best landlord and neighbors that have ever existed, or the apartment building was abandoned and condemned and he was squatting there.
DeleteWhen reading this I had to go back and check out the section on Yellen, I must have missed that, because I would have remembered that! I can barely manage to do any smithing when I have the ability to move around outside, I can't even imagine working on blacksmithing in those kind of quarters.
DeleteAlso I applaud you for incorporating your family into your work how you do. I would love to see some of that embroidery.
If I were in this book I would want to be represented as an art teacher who believes there is an artist in all of us and we express this in our own unique way - each way being worthy and important.
ReplyDeletemy short bio -
Art for me has always been my safe place. As an Art teacher my art room became a place where I could show students that creating art was a powerful tool for self-efficacy. Through helping others realize their self importance I was able to realize my own. I consider teaching my true art. My personal work in ceramics and mosaics is my opportunity to express my feelings about my adventures here on Earth - the people I meet & the places I go.
I do always love hearing you talk about your time teaching Paula. You carry yourself in the world like a good teacher, very open, supportive, happy, encouraging, and honest. You remind me very much of my high school art teacher, who many times pulled me back from the brink. Knowing teachers like you, and people like you, who are so invested in other people is such a blessing.
DeleteThis is said in a very nice way.Where do you teach?For how long?
ReplyDeleteSusan, I retired from the public school system in 2014 after accruing 32 years of service. All but my first three years were in Northside ISD in San Antonio. Once I complete my MAE I'd love to teach part time at the Community College level and play in my studio.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI had to read you short bio to my husband because I feel that we are cut from the same cloth. I hope that I can write mine as well.
DeleteSister!
DeleteAfter the first intentional contact with Earth by an interstellar being in 2042, the global artistic community found itself facing an identity crisis. The previous 8-year period, during which the first ever oil painter was elected to the office of President of the Pan American Continent, would prove to be the apex of the visual Arts in the history of the human race. With the introduction of psychic communication, of course all visual and tactile forms of media became immediately redundant. The ability to project an image of what any given human was thinking directly onto the collective consciousness in 4 dimensions brought about the death of all previously known forms of communication. Artists of the day began instead to experiment with primitive methods of psychic manipulation. The most successful example during this formative period was the effort of the pschonautic projectionist Malory Nubbs-Bartfast, an early pioneer of the field. During her now infamous neuro-performance piece, conducted from her home in the Texas Colony of Belgium in 2043, Nubbs-Bartfast succeeded in convincing the entire population of Texo-Europa that the ground was made of hot lava, and that the only way to survive was to step only on throw pillows. Successes such as Nubbs-Bartfast’s necessarily halted the international craze with Phenomenologic landscape studies that had begun to emerge in the pre-contact months of 2042. Among the most grievously affected by this shift in trends was the American photographer, Tyler Whitham (1986-2117). Whitham, who had been photographing clumps of grass in culvert ditches for 4 decades without being able to provide a satisfactory explanation as do why he was doing so, had for a very brief moment found enormous success. A retrospective exhibition of his work at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, which had recently been elected as the new Capital City of the Western Hemisphere, was met with critical acclaim. The editor of the Houston Chronical Arts section, who was the first successful genetic clone of John Szarkowski, wrote of the show: “I see what he did there”. Whitham’s photograph Grass in Culvert Ditch with Puddle #37, 2016 was sold at auction for $31,415,926.53 on May 17, 2042, setting the record for the most expensive photograph ever sold. Of course, history recognizes this date as Contact Day, when Gaz the Unfading initiated first contact with Jedidiah Mudson of West Virginia. Before Whitham could cash his record breaking check, all forms of currency were rendered useless as the Planet Earth was ushered into the modern Era. Whitham continued photographing until his death at the age of 131, though he never again showed his photographs to another living being, instead displaying his prints only to trees and empty fields. He died during a family trip to visit his favorite clump of grass located on Sirius Beta 5, when a month into the shuttle ride through deep space, Whitham announced that he had forgotten his keys and stepped into the airlock. As he boiled away into the solar wind currents of the Sirius system, his wife was overheard saying “that man is always loosing things.”
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI guess my iPad think I should be an archer in the future, as I'm always loosing things. Losing things is probably more appropriate...
DeleteGood job Tyler! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your bio.
DeleteTyler!! That. Was. Priceless! Bravo :) Encore, encore!!!
DeleteLOVE IT...not sure I understand it all but what a wonderful story. Good work.
DeleteWow! I love it way to go Tyler. I always lose things also!
DeleteThis is awesome!!!!! Cracked me up!
DeleteLove this....
DeleteClass dismissed. Best response ever. We can all go home now.
DeleteThanks! That was the most fun I’ve had doing an assignment in a long time. Future, a lot of it doesn’t really mean anything, except that in the future Texas will be a world power to be reckoned with. I was basically trying to imagine what a paradigm shift in art would look like, and obviously couldn’t come up with anything because if I could I would be out making it happen. It’s more fun to just imagine a scenario where my work has relevance than it is to try to explain myself. Though, to answer the real question, the value I see in my work is the way I try to approach the world. Phenomenology is a concept I’m attracted to as a philosophy, and as an applied method of exploring the world. One of the main methodologies of phenomenology is the abandonment of any preconceived notions about the things that surround you, and instead pursuing the truth of a thing as everyone collectively experiences it. It’s a methodology used by some sociologists and anthropologists when they attempt to interpret the mindset of a culture by observing the way they interacted with the world around them. The way they built houses, the position of their doorways, the locations of burial grounds and trash heaps, all give insight into what those people were thinking. Scientists sometimes use phenomenology in research, when gathering data without a hypothesis to test. In my art, I am merely trying to show my truth, to add my data to the pool. I was being sarcastic when in my story I said I had been photographing clumps of grass, but I really do love photographing grass. When I see a tangle of dead weeds, I try not to think of it as weeds, because what I see is a beautifully arranged composition of lines and shadows, but I also fully understand that a viewer looking at my work will probably think “why did he take a picture of a weed?” By my looking at a ditch, for example, something that is purpose built to carry what is unwanted away, and exploring it as a place that exists by itself and not in relation to the road that it drains water from, I can add my experience to the collective of how we all experience that ditch. While I’m in the ditch and cars are driving by, the occupants of those cars are experiencing the ditch in their own way, by passing by and ignoring its existence, but that isn’t the absolute truth, because my experience is different. The practical upshot of all of this, is that when the human race is extinct, and an alien archaeologist is excavating our homes and landfills, he will find both bottles of weed killer and my carefully rendered photographs of weeds. I can only hope that will give him something to ponder with at least one of his heads, while the other 3 of his heads watch the VHS of American Gladiators I recorded when I was 7.
DeleteSurprised: I know it’s naïve to be surprised by this, but I was surprised by the Cohns bastardization of the Washoe tribe’s history and culture for the purpose of selling baskets. Inventing a fake back story, and an absolutely ridiculous name for Louisa Keyser. Also making fake ledgers describing her work, and making up lies about her failing eyesight and disappearing craft. Shameless lying and brilliant marketing. I guess what surprised me more than what they did was how readily it was accepted by people who should have known better. The curator of ethnology of what is now the Smithsonian should probably be able to recognize such BS. Her baskets sure are beautiful though, I’ve been looking them up on Google for the past hour or so, along with the pottery of Maria Martinez and the blankets of Hosteen Klah.
ReplyDeleteImpressed: This week it took me forever to get through the readings as I kept having to make detours to investigate the different American Indian artists and their work, most of which I had never heard of. I was really impressed with the works of Klah, Keyser and Martinez. The matte/glossy combination that the Martinez family produced is really great. I especially like the idea of creating work based on archaeologic remains. Very cool. I was also impressed at the mindset of the Navajo people in their acceptance and reverence of an intersex man. Even today, most people like Klah spend their lives fighting discrimination, bullying and ridicule. Klah lived in a time that was much less accepting and was still able to be a respected person amongst his community. His sand painting rugs are really beautiful.
Take away: Primitive methods. This has been something that I’ve been realizing slowly over the last few months, and it seems obvious now, but you just don’t need the newest and greatest to make or do something beautiful. It’s easy to get caught up in technology, especially where digital cameras are concerned, but a traditional woven blanket can be more beautiful than a photograph made with a state of the art camera. A piece of Oakes jewelry (not a primitive method, but still handcrafted and incredibly intricate) is more impressive because of its delicate scroll work made by hand on such a small scale, than the same piece made on a 3D printer.
Tyler, I was surprised/shocked reading that in 1924 the U.S. Congress granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States. CITIZENSHIP! Surely I have read that fact before but it sure didn't hit me like it did now.I loved the new to me tidbits I learned about Maria Martinez - "it was easier to polish the entire background and then apply mat decoration", she was the first Native American artist to submit work to the Syracuse Museum's Ceramic National in 1933(the year my mom was born), and when her husband, Julian, died she mourned for four years.
DeleteI agree Tyler with your thought on hand crafted vs 3D printer made - add in the amount of time taken to hand make something in today's world of instant gratification kind of goes against the grain in our culture!
DeleteInteresting thought, a sense of self reliance to just make art without all the newest/better equipment. One of the reasons I hand sew...for the peace and simplicity of the process.
DeleteI too was surprised by the Cohn's "promotion" of Keyser's craft. "The Cohns' purpose was to attract buyers by emphasizing tradition and making Keyser seem as colorful as possible," (pg 111). I think that very well may be prevalent today in westerners' views/consumerism of other cultures' crafts.
DeleteI am right there with you...shocked on how far they took it. If they truly wanted to "emphasize tradition" they didn't have to make up all of those stories. Going blind?! Really they had to go that far.... I am so impressed on these baskets as well and really look at basket weaving in a whole new light now. I am thinking about working in some textiles and weaving lessons in my sculpture class now.
DeleteThis book just keeps getting better and better! I was impressed with Samuel Yellin's work the most in this chapter. His work ethic and understanding how this line of work seemed to be well thought out and knowledgeable stated on pg.121, "Yellin's skill and knowledge of historical ironwork served him well. Beginning with one assistant, he built a prosperous business. By 1915 he had constructed his own shop. Ultimately, he employed more than 250 workers, producing mostly architectural ironwork. He was pragmatic, understanding that large projects demanded division of labor. Yellin would negotiate with his clients, draw up designs, and sometimes forge studies, but most of the labor was done by his employees." Though gifted he was also very wise in his business.
ReplyDeleteI too was surprised by Klah work and his position in his culture.
I take away a new found love for forging. Samuel Yellin's work was beautifully done, the "Gates for Harkness Memorial Quadrangle" on pg. 122. I have taken a metal fabrication class tat allowed me the opportunity to weld, forge and etc. Because of my experience and the work I produced and looking at Yellin's work I gained again a deeper appreciation to his medal work.
I feel as if what I would have to say about myself wouldn't be the most interesting story to others but maybe it can be relatable to others. But I grew up with an artistic family, a mother who drew as a hobby and a father, who wasn't around much, who left behind alot of his art work behind that inspired my artistic abilities. I started off with simply trying to copy cartoons that I loved and worked my way up to different mediums. Because I could take a pencil and sketchbook every where I stuck with the drawing route in my life.
DeleteNoemi, I too took a metal fabrication class and it was the hardest class I have ever taken in my life! What I did accomplish I am very proud of. I am also very proud of the scar on my stomach from a misplace welding rod. Heck, Yeah!
DeleteNoemi - My grandfather taught me drawing as well using cartoons! Line drawing was very difficult for me when we advanced but I realized (later in life) I draw from understanding of lights and shadows.
DeleteEven if TTU does not have a major in drawing does not mean there artists who do not major in drawing.
DeleteI'm really excited to be taking the metals class this summer at Fredericksburg. Forging is something so foreign to me that I can't even begin to understand how it's done. Welding has always been kinda like voodoo to me too, just because I've never had the opportunity to try it out, and holding a flame in your hand and sending sparks flying everywhere does kind of make you look like a wizard.
DeleteI've always loved learning about Native American history. The traditions, use of the earth, art, ceremonies, and the unfortunate downfall and misunderstanding of their culture. I am surprised to hear about the commissioned work and trade for art for health, similar to the Keyser baskets. They were able to weave in exchange for survival needs. I certainly did not expect a basket at that time to sell for so much, either! I am impressed with the textile and fabric in this chapter and the multiple purposes they have! I think fabric art can be overlooked and these examples definitely made me feel otherwise. I didn't even know that blockprint on fabric was so prevalent at this time.
ReplyDeleteMy work lately has been a lot of self portraits and images with nature as well as experimenting 3D with symmetrical glass vases. I would want to be represented in this book as an independent woman, making art while teaching others about being creative and being inspired by nature.
Surprised:
ReplyDeleteMary Meigs Atwater introduced many weaving techniques to me including osage braids, Peruvian doublecloth, Guatemalan patterning, inkle weaving and lace weaves. I was sort of familiar with macramé (i.e. I thought I knew what it was or what it looked like) because I heard the word used before. This short list of different styles has opened my eyes to weaving. I never took a weaving class before but it sounds like something I could get into. I enjoy having more structure in my material and creation process, following a rhythm, and flowing into a state of relaxation with the medium. The repeating movement or sound is almost meditating and can easily be relatable to the objectives of occupational therapy.
Jennifer, I was able to take a weaving class at North Texas several years ago and loved it!! A lot of set up time, but the actual weaving process was so meditative. I loved what I made, I was surprised at how small changes in the set up or weave would result in such different patterns.
DeleteI feel the meditative vibes in this as well. Like yoga for art ;) I once made afghans and would love the repetition and therapeutic trance it almost puts you in to work on it. These are beautiful examples I enjoyed seeing too.
DeleteErik Magnussen’s Cubic Coffee Service blew me away. Again, just like Adelaide Alsop Robineau’s crystalline glazes in chapter 3, I wish I could get closer to really see it! This is one of those things that I’ve got to go see in real life.
ReplyDeleteAt first glance, I had thought that Magnussen had planned to solely use light in an effort to reflect different colors off of the angled facets. However, I thought it was fascinating that he used different metallic colors to accentuate the facets and push this effect.
I also appreciate how the piece remains interactive, as it holds a mystery within its creation. Are the darker facets just a darker metallic color or do they cast a darker hue because of the play of light and shadow while throwing hints at the name? I wonder if I were standing in front of it, what my reflection would look like, as it becomes a part of the surface, shaping and cubing itself on the faceted and distorted teapot. I would like to move around it and see how the light interacts with the surface, and watch objects cut in and out of the sharply angular surfaces, like moving past the top of the Chrysler Building.
Take Away
ReplyDeleteI’m going to take away Henry Varnum Poor’s quote: “I started doing pottery for the pleasure of decorating it” (132). During last chapter’s comments, Daniel had mentioned the incision and sgraffito techniques that I started playing with during the past summers in Junction. At the time, I felt guilty spending my precious creating time on adding design to the surface of my clay pieces. I felt that I should concentrate solely on making. But, I was drawn to putting textural qualities on the pieces and found myself lost in placing linear qualities on the surfaces. Poor (and Daniel) have given me a bunch of steam to get going on this again!
Are you taking clay this summer? Or are you near a clay facility you can use? Make a bunch of pieces (make sure clay is OK with glaze you will want to use) and then work on texture...real or implied
DeleteYes I am taking clay this summer! Can't wait to try out all these new ideas in my work.
DeleteI resonate with your response on decorating. The glazing and decorating process is my favorite part, I think because I like to draw and paint. I do not think you should feel guilty about that because one magnificently decorated and designed piece is greater than a few pieces not shown that much attention. My opinion at least!
DeleteMy description of me and my work:
ReplyDeleteJennifer Weigand is an art educator and one who embraces the therapeutic purposes of creation. She continues to find inspiration in her studies and students. Weigand joined an art community through Texas Tech University in the early 21st century, and since then has had successes in creating with illustration, painting, and ceramics. She plans to continue to experiment with many different mediums and techniques, and to one day teach mediation through art practices.
That was fun :)
DeleteI was wondering if someone can discuss the difference between pottery and ceramics?At my school the term "pottery" is not welcomed to use as it represents commercial or functional art works and is considered a limited term.I really have not heard that term in along time.Any feedback,just curious?Also the term"pop"I have not heard either as we consider this a non professional art term?when students use these terms we cringe...
DeleteSign me up Jenn.
DeleteFor me, ceramics is simply referring to anything made with a clay body as the primary material. This can be pottery, be it functional or sculptural, tile, formal sculpture, industrial slip casting, the list goes on.
Pottery is specifically ceramic vessels. Again this can be something that is purely functional, something that has implied function, or sculptural qualities.
I think that if someone has a negative view of the word pottery it comes out of ignorance of what contemporary pottery looks like. If that kind of thinking persist at an Art / Design School in 2016 it says more about that particular institution than it does about the value and importance of pottery as an Art form.
Well put Daniel. I agree with your definitions and I usually give a similar response to students who ask me that. When a student says they want to be in my "pottery" class I correct them because I teach hand-building and we do not typically make pots unless they are coil pots at the beginning of the year. Respect to both worlds of clay though! I myself am a handbuilder but occasionally throw.
DeleteI find the growing importance of the department stores as a venue for the public (all socio-economic levels) to "assert it's role as a living museum of decorative and industrial art" & "newest trends" pgs. 115,116 so interesting. Growing up, Saturdays meant spending the day at the mall with my mom. I can remember going to a fancy restaurant in Joskes or Foleys when I was little that had Japanese decor. I thought the paintings of flowering tree branches were so beautiful. I was quite impressed in learning that in 1928 Lord & Taylor had a display that included paintings by PICASSO, BRAQUE, & DERAIN. CAN YOU IMAGINE!?!?!
ReplyDeleteMe too! I remember that every Saturday mom and I would go to the mall. We must have been gone to the same mall BlueSky! Because reading your story I could see the Japanese decor and taste my toasted cheese sandwich! Is these a "Joskes" any more.?
DeleteI can't think of a venue where contemporary art culture interacts with everyday life in such a way as those department stores. It's really quite amazing.
DeleteI can't think of a venue where contemporary art culture interacts with everyday life in such a way as those department stores. It's really quite amazing.
DeleteNorth Park Mall in Dallas has Art work prominently displayed in its halls. Not quite at the same level but still very cool to see.
Deletehttp://www.northparkcenter.com/pages/northpark-art-collection
Daniel, I'm there all the time. It's our cold weather walk about. Toddlers need to be run like dogs. I thought about that for a moment, but then dismissed it as the art almost seems passive there and often ignored by the public. Occasionally they have a sculptural work that can't be ignored. But, then again, who nows how they reacted to Picasso in Lord & Taylor.
DeleteJustin, spot on. We have no idea how many people out shopping actually knew what they were looking at, and even if they did they would no possible way to know what the pieces would become with regards to their designated importance. This makes me think back to the idea of what is important and who decides what will and will not be placed in the history books.
DeleteAgain, what I enjoyed most about this chapter was the wood works! I'm just in love with furniture! With Wallace Nutting, i loved how he was a photographer and his passion for perfection in his photographs led him into prop or furniture making, most noticeable his chairs of course, for his subjects. I loved his quote as well! "Let nothing leave your hands until you are proud of your works" Very true! Need to tell my students that!
ReplyDeleteWhat surprised me was the history of Native Americans and their art. Didn't really know much about it before, only the suppression so its interesting that even in the 20s there was a lot of desire for their beautiful art pieces and native practices.
What am I taking away? Theres a lot of revivals going on during this time in the 20s, natively to the country and new things being introduced. I think it must have been a really exciting period in art.
Extra question:
Well this is interesting! I haven't had the motivation or effort to do any art lately! Its been a rough one for me! But I guess if i had to put myself and my art into words:
Michelle Guerra, an artist channeling her emotions through her black ink drawings and photography. She studied Art Education at Texas Tech University which allowed her to really discover herself, learns from others and teach others.
Nice!
DeleteMichelle, I love that you are discovering wood. Keep looking outside of the book for what is happening with wood turning and furniture.
DeleteOne of the Contemporary Craft episodes focuses on an American wood turning family, really fascinating and beautiful work. Check it out!
DeleteI have felt like that sometimes Michelle and the best advice I can give to you is to just CREATE!!!!! Even if it is a tiny doodle drawing in your sketchbook you do while eating lunch at your desk, just do something! I always find myself in a rut and often isolated from other artists but sometimes you just have to find that tiny spark. Sometimes when I get a free minute at school I'll start a drawing or a small clay sculpture to keep myself creative, and it also inspires my students. They love to see that their teacher actually practices what they preach. Good luck in getting back to the art game, it is hard sometimes so take baby steps if needed
DeleteWhat is constantly surprising me throughout this book is how I am laying in all this new historical knowledge of arts and crafts with the history I already know of these time periods. My paternal grandmother's father and brother immigrated to America by hiding in apple barrels aboard a ship bound for New Orleans as young teenagers. They both apprenticed for cabinetmakers. I found the information on Samuel Yellin to be fascinating. As a native of Poland he became a "premire American backsmith of the 20's", pg.121. I admire the way he stayed true to his own beliefs of the plastic properties of hot iron. His gate on pg. 122 is out-of-this-world amazing! I've tried my hand at forging and it is not easy, my friends. The sheer muscle that goes into it is breathtaking.
ReplyDeleteI'm taking away so much from this chapter!! -but I will focus on one of the many things I found so interesting -
Samuel Yellin's "Gates for Harkness Memorial Quadrangle", William Edgar Brigham's "The Argosy", and Frank Koralewsky's Snow White lock have so much work, time, and artistry put into them that they seem to represent the artist's being. They remind me of Sabato "Simon" Rodia, b.1879 d.1965 and his Watts Towers that he worked on from 1921 to 1954. He is quoted differently in many writings as to why he built Watts Towers but basically he said he wanted to do something BIG. I translate this to fantastic. Similar time line too!
Posting last minute...sorry....rough week.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that really surprised me was Herbert Hoover's decision to not send anything to The Paris Exposition of 1920. One of the main rules was “Reproductions, imitations, and counterfeits of ancient styles will be strictly prohibited.” (page 108) I really think there was some modern American art out there, he just didn't bother to look. I found it funny that he sent a committee of 108 Americans to observe the event however. Wow. 108, really? But we couldn't send one artist? I suppose Art Deco was brought over soon after which triggered modernism in all mediums of art. We see it with textiles (Ruth Reeves) and also in metalsmithing (Georg Jensen). The Jensen style fused both the classical and the modern. It was difficult for me to find images of his work, but from what I could find I thought it was amazing work.
I was really impressed Wallace Nutting's story at first. The idea of his “Colonial Picture Houses” was crazy to me at first but I understand the market for it at the time. It would be fun to visit one of those. I think I am mainly impressed by the business man in him, even though he sounded a bit controlling and crazy. He posted his “own Ten Commandments of labor”. I respect that the quality of his furniture he made was too expensive for the mass market. Often good furniture that is massed produced is too poor quality.
I think one of the main ideas I will take away from this chapter is the importance of social service and art. It was an underlying theme towards the end of the chapter. To keep my thoughts organized, I ended up listing some key figures in promoting social service through art. Mary Meigs Atwater (page 125) said “weaving could be a social service project in her small community.” She worked with wounded veterans. Having a Marine brother and seeing the effects of PTSD, I believe that programs modeled like that could also help those dealing with problems other than physical. Also there is Myrtle Meritt French (page 133) who started speical clay classes to foster a sense of community and include minorities. She also sought to find a way to make pottery a source of income for young artists. I'm going to Chicago for the first time the summer and hope to make a stop at the Hull-House Museum. We also can't forget about Miss Lucy Morgan and weaving as a tool for social reform. As an educator, I think I automatically resonate with the idea of art helping the community. How can we not??
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteApril, I too have a Marine brother with PTSD (including depression, anxiety and alcoholism). He's no longer active. He's tried many lines of therapy. And, while I believe that weaving or another form of art making would help him focus, feel productive, and relax, I don't think he would ever be convinced to do it. There is such a stigma with these "tough guys" helping themselves or doing something that appears "feminine" unfortunately. The benefits of these activites really could override mental illness. I read the online version of the American Crafts article, "Out From the Darkness," Gail had referenced above. It relates to this topic, in that it discusses an exhibition of artworks that were created by people with mental illnesses. You might like it.
Deletehttp://craftcouncil.org/magazine/article/out-darkness
*oops, I meant Susan, not Gail (def need an edit button)
DeleteAs for the extra question this week : (that's a tough one)
ReplyDelete"April Terry-Griffith shows her emotions and ideas through color and line. Growing up in a mixed up world gave influence to dive into mixed media, using the different tactile characteristics of each medium to convey a different feeling or emotion. Combining materials also allows for experimentation, which is forever necessary."
I was surprised to read about the establishment of the missionary-society outlets. It makes sense that churches supported schools for craft learning, sharing and selling as a common place. The surprise to me is thinking about what a tradition the church bazaar has become and how it started. On page 134, Frances Louisa Goodrich, educated at the Yale School of Fine Arts, went to North Carolina, “saw the work as enabling people to stay on the farms, because it could be fitted into the odd bits of time available in the country rhythm of life.” I looked up a picture of the double bow knot coverlet Goodrich discovered. It is beautiful. I can understand why when, “mountain families were photographed, a coverlet often appeared as the backdrop, perhaps representing their history”.
ReplyDeleteI was impressed with Henry Varnum Poor.
1.He built a self-sufficient French style farm house, dug the foundation, felled and adzed the trees, laid slate for the roof, dammed a creek for water, made the furniture, and even the ceramic door knobs.
2. He dug his own clay and built a wheel out of junkyard machine parts.
3. Taught himself to throw. (This doesn’t come easy to me even after being taught!)
4. He horrified potters by showing warped and cracked plates, yet the show sold out.
5. Even after the stock market crash, he had so many commissions for his bathroom designs his wife wanted him to, “get out of the plumbing business.”
6. On page 133, “When he died in 1970, his kiln was ready to be fired.”
What I am taking away from this chapter is deep contemplation comparing craft of the 1920s of the Native American Indian art to Art Deco and the Southern Highlands craft revival. The chapter shows the diversity in across the United States in culture, tradition, and style.
Reading about Ilonka Karasz on page 128, I would hope my bio may look similar to hers in some ways. The sculptor William Zorach described her as “one of the outstanding personalities of the Village.” The last paragraph of her biography goes on to say she was largely forgotten, “but today her range is admired.” Starting my art career as a graphic artist, I am trained to create art to please others, then becoming an art teacher widened my tool box to teach students a variety of mediums. Therefor, I have a wide range of art, but my emphasis is to open doors exposing students to their creative minds.
Yes to Poor! He was an amazing person. Been researching some articles about him and his Crow House estate. Seems like for a while now, the town and his son have been trying to turn his house into something rather than let it fall into its current state of decay. All of his things are found as he left them - ceramic pieces and paintings. This seems to have been going back and forth for years, all mostly due to funding, and I'm not clear as to what is going on with it now.
DeleteHere are a couple of the articles I read about him, his estate, and more about the tile work he did in NYC. Unfortunately, some of the store front tile work has been removed for updated store fronts. He really impressed me to but saddens me to read about what is happening to his Crow House and art.
"Efforts to Preserve Henry Varnum Poor’s House and Its History Have Stalled" NY Times, August 2015
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/15/arts/design/efforts-to-preserve-henry-varnum-poors-house-and-its-history-have-stalled.html?_r=0
"Poor house: Artist's historic home sits in disrepair" June 2014
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/2014/06/08/henry-varnum-poor-house-falling-apart-new-city/10102179/
"Tiles in New York" January 2013
http://tilesinnewyork.blogspot.com/2013/01/architectural-ceramics-of-henry-varnum.html
"Crow House Rising" American Craft Magazine, June/July 2008
http://craftcouncil.org/magazine/article/crow-house-rising
Thanks for sharing the links, good read! The Tiles in NY has me thinking about a tile group still. Maybe I should start one at my school and create an installation of some sort... I also love that Poor said "...the warmth of some imagery is needed in our buildings." I often remind my students that I spend around 10 hours a day at the school, so we need to treat the classroom with respect as it is my second home (well that is one reason). This is also why the classroom/building as whole deserves some attention od decoration as Poor points out!
DeleteNo apologies necessary, one of the foundations of this program/this class is a true understanding of how hard it is to teach. I too have weeks that seem to have no end nor a break long enough to write much less think and write. You are all doing great. Keep reading and learning and sharing. Still in Austin will post extra question for next week tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI am impressed with a photographer Wallace Nutting who was an ex-minister, photographed old colonial homes with furnishings and a "comely maiden in period costume". He bought houses to stage his photos (which he sold when in debt). The furnishings were becoming popular enough to sell, with all of the photographs "measured drawings and patterns for his workers" he reproduced "flawlessly constructed and nicely finished" furniture. He only employed true craftsmans, machines made larger pieces, but carving was done by hand. He built up to publishing travel guides and books on colonial furniture along with lecturing about the history of this furniture. I was surprised with his conviction to his furniture and the fact that he stayed true to a number skilled craftsman.
ReplyDeleteI was impressed with how much of my life is being affected by this book! Like Hosteen Klah's using natural sheeps wool in the tans in his rugs. And I am teaching my upper arts how to paint with felt/wool, because my grandkids are raising sheep to show and I got boxes of different kinds of wool to use. My Art 1's are doing clay and because in Burnet students have not had art until they get to High school so students are doing their first coil pots and I have quoted "Nampeyo" about her traditions and her coil pots and what she used to smooth sides of it with.
I am taking away the lessons that have been handed down from the indians and trying to give some history and knowledge to the students while I am trying to do clay along with them. Which I am learning is very hard for me, but I am growing with respect daily for those of you do clay
OK This is a tough assignment for me but I will try it. FUTURE!
Kim Timmons was involved in art from a young age and throughout her life in many different avenues from graphic artist, all forms of painting and eventually experimenting with textiles and fibers. Teaching became a love for her in her elderly years (am I elderly now?)she influenced a decade of students that are active in photography, illustration, mixed media arts, architecture and teaching future artists. These students in turn influenced the artist in her to experimenting with different mediums, and committing to new levels of her own art. Her dedication to classical hand craft arts and teaching traditions that come along beside those creations were pasted down through her students.
Kim, I think adding that you think about how people overcome the odds, face challenges. Something along that like that gives such power to your work.
DeleteThata all I ask try, and re consider your opinion of the craft arts.
DeleteSurry Future I meant to say hand crafted art. Should I have said hand "made" art?
DeleteI found Lydia Brush-Brown's work really impressive and the amount of detail she was able to achieve with batik and fabric. Her use of repetition and motif in a city-scape are really interesting to me because I find that is usually utilized more in work focused on the natural world and not man made things and places. The same for Ruth Reeves work, looking at her block prints it feels similar to Italian Futurism in its busy energetic depiction of the changing modern world of the time.
ReplyDeleteI was impressed with the ceramics at the end of the chapter, especially the work and continued existence of the Pisgah Forest Pottery. I was under the impression crystalline glazes where a relatively modern creation so to find out that W.B. Stephen was know for this kind of glazing in the 1920s and 30s was kind of shocking. Having personally tried to create this kind of glazed finish with little to no success with commercially developed glazes in a digitally programmable electric kiln really drives home how impressive it is that Stephens was able to grow crystals on his work using much simpler kilns.
I had never heard of a "groundhog" kiln, had to google that up.
My take away is how American Ceramics has found its own feet and come full circle with regards to tradition and style. It's interesting to read about how early pottery's had to find new ways to stay commercially viable when functional wares were no longer needed due to large scale mass production of glass and metal alternatives. These potters and patrons steered the work towards more decorative " fancy" wares that emulated Wedgewood from England, or traditional Oriental forms to meet the taste of a burgeoning upper middle class.
Now contemporary american Ceramics is having a revival of production of functional wares, albeit with a emphasis on form and individuality, that look back to traditional firing methods such was wood firing and soda ash glazing. Salt glazing that was prominent at the turn of the century however is now known to have some negative environmental side effects, and most use Soda instead, which is fine by me because I much prefer the look of Soda fired pieces when compared to the darker and at times harsher results of Salt fired work.
Take away from the chapter is to not be so judgmental of ceramics that people collect and purchase. My step father has a large collection ( 20 or so pieces) of a local potter in Alabama who carves out scenes on these cookie/ honey jar forms. When I first saw them they felt crafty, in the negative sense of the word, to me. They were a bit heavy, and the carvings had a rough feel. I got excited about the W.B. Stephen crystalline glazes and low and behold on the website, the pottery produces the exact same kind of pots. I'll be damned, time to call up my mom and step father and see if there is a connection.
Another take away was the mention of community fostering in the Hull House pottery. I am really drawn to that element of ceramics. The sense of unity and team when working in the studio and especially firing a kiln. Everyone is a shareholder in the outcome and you have to work together, even when you might not want to. There is a lot to be learned from that kind of working environment that has nothing to do with pottery,sculpture, or art.
As for the extra question on how I would want to be described, or how I would want my work described....
I'll put that with the pieces I posted in the main blog.
I find it extremely interesting the thought patterns of "Potters" and the idea of "unity" and working as a group it is so different from that of us painters.It is interesting the divisions in art departments; ceramicists versus art educators versus art history majors etc I wonder if these divisions still are going on as much today as when I was in college, In my art department where I teach it is more of a blurred division because I think,we are such a small department..any thoughts?
DeleteI think a lot of it has to do with the nature of the various disciplines will attract different personalities. An Introvert isn't going to be drawing to spending 40 hours firing a kiln with 10 other people in the same way that sitting in a painting studio for days on end with a book will.
DeleteUnderstanding that one discipline isn't more important than the other, to be inclusive and not divisive, is where an individual can really grow. If you set yourself up in a hierarchy then your really just shutting yourself out of new experiences and ideas.
How large is your department? Do the Art Historians get along with the Painters, Ceramics, and Graphic Designers?
Attitude change one person at a time. We all go to our studios, sometimes alone, sometimes in a shared space. We crate. We dream. The process can be solitary or it may require help...it is all about the spirit of creativity. So if there is division where you art, be the first to cross the line and just see what they do...ask questions...listen without judgement. One step at a time.
Deleteyes, Good advise....thanks...
Deleteand ,Daniel, No our art department consists of myself and my husband..haha..so we teach everything from art history to ceramics to crafts to painting etc ,we are all the same ..I love that I taught Crafts this year and changed the name to Contemporary Crafts with students having a whole new attitude and approach towards making "Crafts"...But we do have to admit that in larger schools these divisions do exist...and even at art conferences you can see the little groups of painters at one table and sculptors at another etc...
Susan - it is funny you relate "unity" with potters because at Junction last summer our small group of 4 in the metals class commented on how much unity and comradery was within the ceramics group. That medium requires group/team effort and more sense of community in my opinion. Firings, making clay all take multiple people usually. I too am curious on divisions currently in departments. I can't speak for college, but obviously there are at the high school level where I am. The arts are often shoved in the corner and put on the back burner!
DeleteGlass is also a community...you have to have help when you blow.I think last summer all the classes formed communities and then became a larger community/family.
DeleteI was especially interested in the Southwest Indian Arts section. I have always been interested in learning more about Native Americans, as the lack of/misinformation--with the exception of 1 passionate teacher in my high school--permeated my K-12 education. I was surprised how signing artworks began a shift in the popularity of Native arts and crafts. "All these steps toward Anglo-style professionalism supported the increased valuation of craft..." (pg 109). Although, it makes sense... as anglo ideas tend to be individual-centered, while many other cultures, including Natives, are more communal.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I studied abroad in Kenya, and spent a lot of time talking with the craftsmen/women (also never signing their works) who made a living carving soapstone animals you'd find on a safari. I wondered--and even asked a few closer African friends--why they didn't do anything new... try something "original" or of the animals and city life that they actually encountered on the coast. They were making the same thing as the shop two doors down! They could advance SO much further if they just separated themselves a bit and made something truly unique. But I came to understand that they didn't value becoming greater than their neighbor.... I suddenly began to see how my western eyes influence even my artistic choices.
I think the mindset is very different and personally I admire that..not signing the art,not wanting to be better than your neighbor...I think you have to get into their minds to understand their actions.
DeleteWhoa! Kenya! that must have been a surreal and once in a lifetime experience, What was the course? I would love to see how the students were impacted if it was an art class you were able to teach them. Interesting too about the soapstones. Was it mostly for tourists to buy?
DeleteHow would I want to be remembered? I'm not sure I would. I would hope that whatever is written about me would have something to do with how I helped people... somewhat like how Berea College began to help the poor, through education. I feel like if anything of me is to last, I want it to be in a few marginalized having a slightly better life. And my best tool I have to offer towards that endeavor is Art Education... so hopefully through that I make a unique impact!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this chapter, it definitely talked about art in the 20s in a different way than you usually see. With the exception of the US Art History class I’m currently taking, I have rarely ever seen Native American art discussed in textbooks, arguably because of how it never fit into the western canon like East Asian, Islamic and African art did. (I say “fit in,” I really more mean it was never appropriated into the western canon.)
ReplyDeleteWhen reading I didn’t really think about Nampeyo not signing her work, but reading this thread, and reflecting on your question, I’m starting to think more about it. I know many artists make works because they want to be recognized or remembered, and I don’t mean that in that I think they’re narcissists, just that they’re trying to fill a very basic human need for recognition and acceptance. I know a few artists who say they’re work is about loss or non-permanence, so they make non-permanent, delicate, breakable objects so that they’re objects “don’t outlive the artists,” however they heavily document their work, arguably defeating they’re purpose.
What surprised me, and what I might be taking away from this chapter was the change in the definition of craft. When creating my work I attempt to make something that could be arguably art over craft, I think this is largely due to the academic spurn of craft, which I am constantly trying to break myself of.
I do love American Craft, we sometimes keep it in the VRC and it makes for some quick, but very interesting readings during my class breaks.
I’m honestly not sure if I’m to a place where I can reasonably or definitively say what I want said about me, or my work. I’m 21 years old and have only been doing art (of any kind) for 7 years, however I will try. I would want to be represented honestly, as someone who often struggles with creating. I work in many mediums, but photo and jewelry take my focus, though rarely I feel like my photography is finished until I’ve implemented it into some wearable works. My work often has something to do with the forgotten and the dismissed, in my photography this means I focus on things people have let behind, in my jewelry it focuses on who has been left behind. I don’t know where my career is heading, so I cannot comment on that, or exactly how I as a person would want to be remembered, but I’d hope that I am remembered fondly, not just for my art, but also for being a strong, aware, open, community-driven woman. Because I’d rather be remembered for who I was than any one object I created.
I really enjoyed this chapter, it definitely talked about art in the 20s in a different way than you usually see. With the exception of the US Art History class I’m currently taking, I have rarely ever seen Native American art discussed in textbooks, arguably because of how it never fit into the western canon like East Asian, Islamic and African art did. (I say “fit in,” I really more mean it was never appropriated into the western canon.)
ReplyDeleteWhen reading I didn’t really think about Nampeyo not signing her work, but reading this thread, and reflecting on your question, I’m starting to think more about it. I know many artists make works because they want to be recognized or remembered, and I don’t mean that in that I think they’re narcissists, just that they’re trying to fill a very basic human need for recognition and acceptance. I know a few artists who say they’re work is about loss or non-permanence, so they make non-permanent, delicate, breakable objects so that they’re objects “don’t outlive the artists,” however they heavily document their work, arguably defeating they’re purpose.
What surprised me, and what I might be taking away from this chapter was the change in the definition of craft. When creating my work I attempt to make something that could be arguably art over craft, I think this is largely due to the academic spurn of craft, which I am constantly trying to break myself of.
I do love American Craft, we sometimes keep it in the VRC and it makes for some quick, but very interesting readings during my class breaks.
I’m honestly not sure if I’m to a place where I can reasonably or definitively say what I want said about me, or my work. I’m 21 years old and have only been doing art (of any kind) for 7 years, however I will try. I would want to be represented honestly, as someone who often struggles with creating. I work in many mediums, but photo and jewelry take my focus, though rarely I feel like my photography is finished until I’ve implemented it into some wearable works. My work often has something to do with the forgotten and the dismissed, in my photography this means I focus on things people have let behind, in my jewelry it focuses on who has been left behind. I don’t know where my career is heading, so I cannot comment on that, or exactly how I as a person would want to be remembered, but I’d hope that I am remembered fondly, not just for my art, but also for being a strong, aware, open, community-driven woman. Because I’d rather be remembered for who I was than any one object I created.
Also it's always surprising to me how the design of holloware, specifically, has remained static over the past 100 years. Works that look like Marie ZImmerman's and Erik Manussen's could be found in silversmith's shops throughout the country, granted many holloware smiths call themselves modernists to this day.
Delete