The Ninth San Angelo National Ceramic Competition 1 2 - PRINTER VERSION
>> Steve Davis-Rosenbaum's platter is not unlike Edmonson's vase in that it appears on the surface to be rather simple and artless. Rosenbaum's platter also has about it a sense of incompleteness. I do not mean to suggest that it is unfinished, rather that the incompleteness is purposeful, designed to allow the viewer room to maneuver and participate in the aesthetic equation in the most obvious manner available to them—use. I do not refer to the mindless utilitarianism to which we subject our machine made (albeit often expensive) porcelain. This platter is not so accommodating, its thin salt glazed surface, the poured glaze decoration and its somewhat narrow base are not only the aspects of the piece that we find aesthetically pleasing, but also are the elements that make it difficult to easily use. It requires us reexamine our notions of use and beauty and shows us that they are not mutually exclusive.
Jeff Filbert's tile on the other hand was designed to be read as ceramic painting. His use of plain white commercial tile as a background made sure that we would focus on his painting. What I found intriguing was the messiness of his technique and how that purposeful messiness not only made us look closer to decipher his imagery, but also allowed us to imagine for ourselves what other more abstract elements in that imagery might be. It could have been a trite and cloying subject, but instead it was compelling and personal.
Finally I must confess that I did not feel the pressure some jurors feel to make the exhibition appear "broad based". I accept, without reservation, the idea that significant ceramic art can and does occur in all types of expression. The simplistic notion that certain areas of ceramic art like the gallery vessel or ceramic sculpture hold exclusive claim to so-called art status, is a fallacy that I trust will be laid to rest soon. Each form of ceramic art has a unique language it uses to communicate feelings and ideas. None of these languages is inherently more eloquent or expressive that the other. To expect that pottery will reveal its message to you in the same manner that figurative ceramic sculpture does is akin to someone who understands only German saying they prefer German poetry to Spanish poetry. The bottom line is, of course, whether or not an artist is able to move us to a higher level of understanding and awareness. I believe art should, as the late English critic Peter Fuller said, be "...a means of revelation and celebration of that which lies beyond the reach of sense."
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© 1980 - 2024 Rob Barnard . All Rights Reserved. Site design: eismontdesign
>> Steve Davis-Rosenbaum's platter is not unlike Edmonson's vase in that it appears on the surface to be rather simple and artless. Rosenbaum's platter also has about it a sense of incompleteness. I do not mean to suggest that it is unfinished, rather that the incompleteness is purposeful, designed to allow the viewer room to maneuver and participate in the aesthetic equation in the most obvious manner available to them—use. I do not refer to the mindless utilitarianism to which we subject our machine made (albeit often expensive) porcelain. This platter is not so accommodating, its thin salt glazed surface, the poured glaze decoration and its somewhat narrow base are not only the aspects of the piece that we find aesthetically pleasing, but also are the elements that make it difficult to easily use. It requires us reexamine our notions of use and beauty and shows us that they are not mutually exclusive.
Jeff Filbert's tile on the other hand was designed to be read as ceramic painting. His use of plain white commercial tile as a background made sure that we would focus on his painting. What I found intriguing was the messiness of his technique and how that purposeful messiness not only made us look closer to decipher his imagery, but also allowed us to imagine for ourselves what other more abstract elements in that imagery might be. It could have been a trite and cloying subject, but instead it was compelling and personal.
Finally I must confess that I did not feel the pressure some jurors feel to make the exhibition appear "broad based". I accept, without reservation, the idea that significant ceramic art can and does occur in all types of expression. The simplistic notion that certain areas of ceramic art like the gallery vessel or ceramic sculpture hold exclusive claim to so-called art status, is a fallacy that I trust will be laid to rest soon. Each form of ceramic art has a unique language it uses to communicate feelings and ideas. None of these languages is inherently more eloquent or expressive that the other. To expect that pottery will reveal its message to you in the same manner that figurative ceramic sculpture does is akin to someone who understands only German saying they prefer German poetry to Spanish poetry. The bottom line is, of course, whether or not an artist is able to move us to a higher level of understanding and awareness. I believe art should, as the late English critic Peter Fuller said, be "...a means of revelation and celebration of that which lies beyond the reach of sense."
<<
© 1980 - 2024 Rob Barnard . All Rights Reserved. Site design: eismontdesign