Exploring sculptural ceramics

Transcription

1 Exploring sculptural ceramics Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Krouser, David James, Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 14/08/ :07:12 Link to Item

2 EXPLOHIIG SCULPTURAL CERAMICS. W ' :' David Krouser : An Essay Submitted in Lieu of Thesis. To the Faculty of the. DEPARTMENT OF ART In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of :> MASTER OF FINE ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This essay has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this essay are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. APPROVAL BY PROJECT SUPERVISOR This essay has been approved on the date shown below: a dia MAURICE K. GROSSMAN Associate Professor of Art

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 0 o o, «0 «", o INTRODUCTION.0-o o o SCULPTURAL -OERAHIOS 0 o o =» 0, 0.= o o. o, o.». =. o' c o o o o,.

5 LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS Pigure,;-. ;,' \ 7 :. to Modular Oonstructidn o c o o o o..2o Rsopl Pot O 0 O O O O O 0 0 o -3o ^b9i]pliysi08.1 Poll -o. o o o o A*0 L8iH*t>61*23, NOo 1 O O 0 O0.0 o o o o.o o 6 '5, Laiitern N 0o -2 6 Relief Sculpture o b o o b o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o. o o o o. o*b o o o o o 0.6. O o 5. t :. 7 9 \ ;, '9 9 / 7 o Sculpture Based on Female Figure. o o o 8 Free Form Sculpture. 9.' Bottles and Slab Construction. 10 Carved Bowl - - :, o b o o 6 b o o o b Assembled Forms >.. o o o o o1- o- d o 15 : 12 Assembled Bowls b o o o b o,6- d o 6. d o. o' 6 o 'r:\' r i

6 INTRODUCTION The greatest mystery is not that we have been flung at random between the profusion of the earth and the galaxy of the stars, but that in this prison we can fashion images of ourselves sufficiently powerful to deny our nothingness0 Andre Malraux The fashioning of images has occupied man8s creative nature since his existence» It appears to be part of his being to recreate himself in this manner» Sculpture as a form of man8s expressive image making has probably existed as long as man, although the earliest recorded examples date from the late Paleolithic period which begins about 10,000 BoCo Ceramics as a sculptural forming material appears to have made its inception at about the same time since finds dating from the Paleolithic period include clay buffaloes and other animal So (Praeger, 1958,. p» 102) However, according to Glenn Nelson (i960, Pe 152) no one culture invented ceramicso And the truth of this statement is clearly seen from the great number of uses to which man has put clay to list only a few examples: prehistoric figurines, Summer!an writing tablets, Minoan. fertility goddesses, pre-columbian terra-cotta statues$ Chinese tomb figures. The concept behind ceramics, as most everything in bur present culture, is in a state of change» For much of

7 recent history, pottery has been concerned with the containing, utilitarian, form,; And for good reason; they were need- 2 ed0 And still in most of the more primitive or less technologically advanced cultures, the potter has..a very necessary and important function to make useful containing formso Man*s need for utilitarian ware has not diminished, but in the more sophisticated cultures, the method of making them no longer demands the services of the potter; he has been replaced by advanced technology* This change has given the potter greater freedom for more aesthetic and expressive considerations* The potter, in the transition, has become more an artist and less a craftsman producing an economically necessary object* A shift in ceramic thinking has taken place and can perhaps best be seen in what is known as Abstract Expressionist ceramics* The new movement began in 1954 with the coming of Peter Voulkos to the Otis Institute in Los Angeles* (Coplans, 1966b) The beliefs of the Abstract Expressionist potters broke with tradition and are well expressed in an article by Helen Giambruni in which she states that "* **the almost universal clay aesthetic**oheld that a good pot was a useful object, a vessel, and should express both the nature of the material from which it wa.s made and the method by which it was formed* The Los Angeles potters had no program **obut they acted bn the unspoken premise that there was

8 nothing inherent to their medium which should delimit an artist "s imagination*.'"they 'respected; 'tta rules, not even, utility; rather, they impressed their own wills on the material and suited their methods to their individual expressive needs," (1966, p«17) That pottery has become more sculptural in its form can certainly be seen in the works of the Los Angeles potters which include men like Peter Youlkos, John Mason, and Paul Soidner As ceramics has become more sculptural in its aesthetic, is;there still a distinction.between what is sculpture and what is pottery? Sculpture, as defined by Susanne Lahger (1953, pp 86-92), creates visual space, but not a space of direct vi^ sibn for volume is really given originally to touch, both haptic touch and contact limiting bodily movement Sculpture is concerned in making tactual space visible A piece of sculpture is a center of three-dimensional space and is / -..what Langer calls virtual kinetic volume which dominates a surrounding space This created environment then derives all its proportions and relations from the piece of sculpture itself, just as our environment does from us. Though a piece of sculpthre is an object, we do not tfeat it as such, we see it as a center of a space all its own If we accept Langer8s definition of what sculpture is and the traditional definition of pottery, then the difference between the two seems to be that we treat a pot as

9 aja object arid a piece of sculpture we do riot. However, in view of the new movement in ceramics the traditional concept of pottery no longer appears valid; and the difference be=* tween pottery and sculpture becomes &ore one of materials than aesthetic intento : The potter by implication of what a potter is, is limited to ceramic material* Although this limitation is not totally applicable, as other materials such as metal and plastics have been combined with ceramic material to create forms. The potter still is primarily concerned with ceramic materialo The sculptor is not; no such limitation by implication or otherwise is placed upon him. Another limitation which may be placed upon the potter is that of the methods in which he may work. Traditionally the potter utilizes three methods of forming his materials the potter s wheel, coiling, and slab construction. Each method has its particular characteristics which tend to dictate certain forms, as all wheel-thrown pottery is circular in nature. But each method, in spite of its inherent limitations, may be manipulated so the potter as an. artist may achieve his desired image, An example o f.this would be the paddling of a cylinder into a non-cylindrical or rectangular shape.

10 5 Figure 1 MODULAR CONSTRUCTION Height: 40 inches

11 SCULPTURAL CERAMICS ' My investigations into sculptural ceramics have been greatly Influenced by the recent break with tradition* I am not necessarily concerned with the containing form, and my work as a result is basically sculptural in concept* However, I have not completely broken with tradition as much of my work consists of constructions or embellishments of.. traditional ceramic shapes* My exploration of sculptural ceramics, consequently, may be grouped into two categories: (.1) forms based upon manipulations of traditional ceramic forms and. (2) forms which use ceramic, materials but are traditionally sculptural in concept* By so grouping I do not mean to imply that the first group is less sculptural in concept as this is denied by the work itself, but only that the second category does not use so-called pot forms* The only works that do not fall into the first category are figures 7 and 8* The remaining illustrations are then all examples of the first category* Within my explorations I include functional as well as hon-functional ceramic works* As an artist, I am ihdifferent to the distinction between the two and view both as valid creative expressions* Both of the lanterns (figures 4 and 5) are functional in the sense that they may serve the.x

12 7 Figure 2 PEOPLE POT Height: 22 inches Figure 3 METAPHYSICAL POT Height: 21 inches

13 function that a lantern ought * to give lighte The carved bowl (figure 10) is a bowl in the traditional concept0 The outside has simply been embellished by a sculptural technique, that: of,carvings Generally speaking, in the work of the first category, 1 have juxtaposed thrown forms with non-thrown of slab formso Often the slab forms are textured as a contrast to the untextured and more mechanical thrown form's0 In many of 5 the works*, the thrown forms have been manipulated by paddling or by other means0 Figures 11 and 12 are good examples of how thrown forms may be manipulated0 The modular ^ :-c (figure 1) is also an example of what can be done by assembling simple thrown forms, as bowls and flat slabs have been assembled into modular units». On the.technical side, all of the pieces were fired v.to- cone five or 2230 degrees fahrenheit0 Usually when firing at this temperature a low fired stoneware clay body is usedo In all pieces.except figures 6, 7, and 8, 1 used a commercially prepared stoneware clay body which is produced :;by Westwood Ceramics0 When unglazed, and fully mature, the fired clay is deep, brown in color and when struck produces a melodious ring indicative of well fired clay0 For the sculptural forms which include figures 6, 7, and 8, 1 needed a modeling clay that would be open to facilitate drying and would also allow me to build forms of an : inch or more in thickness. I also desired a color that was

14 9 Figure 4 LANTERN NO. 1 Height: 26 inches Figure 5 LANTERN NO. 2 Height: 27 inches Figure 6 RELIEF SCULPTURE Height: 24 inches

15 different from the Westwood stoneware clay body0 The body used is composed of 42$ Alberhill, a red California clay? 25$ Kentucky Ball clay? and 33$ buff grogo A mixture of both fine and coarse grog was used which gives the fired clay a coarsei, stone-like qualityo The clay, while not highly plastic9 proved very satisfactory as a modeling clay. It has dried and been fired without problems0 This clay was also fired at cone five and has been left unglazed» My manner of beginning a work has been varied» In the two works comprising the last category (figures 7 and 8) I began in the traditional manner used in sculpture by making small three-dimensional sketches» In so doing I made no attempt to completely finish the sketches but used them as a spring board into the larger work0 In the process of constructing the larger work many changes transpired0 I did not feel that I should simply attempt to copy the plasticine sketches -which is one of the reasons I made no attempt to completely resolve them o'- If I had just copied, any freshness and spontaneity: as well as my interest in doing the work would have been lost0 Also doing a small sketch in plasticine is a different experience from creating the larger work in clay9 as many construction problems must be solved that do not exist in the smaller work* While this method of working was no slavish imitation of a smaller form, it was the most exacting0 The second method is hot as limiting but just as conventional0 I

16 Figure 7 SCULPTURE BASED ON FEMALE FORM Height: 32 inches Figure 8 FREE FORM SCULPTURE Height: 33 inches

17 12 would make pencil sketches of an idea to partially resolve ito Once the sketches were made, they were never brought to the work except, as mentally visual images> The method most often used was one in which I had a particular idea of what I wanted to do and simply began the work* Another and very exciting method I found was just to begino This concept in just beginning a work is Abstract BxpressionistiCs, as it basically follows the stated beliefs of such Abstract Expressionist.painters as Jackson Pollock and Willem dekooning (Ashtons 1963b), and as a method of working in clay was introduced by Peter Voulkos (Coplans, 1966b )o This method is quite spontaneous» Although, as I would have a number of wheel thrown forms ready for assembly 9 the very nature of the forms themselves would set certain limitations upon the result,. There were however, no preconceptions as to the final form as has been indicated by the previously listed methods of beginning a piece0 An example of this last and more spontaneous.way of working is figure 11 o V. V. '. '' ; ' '.V In every case 1 try to let the work itself dictate what should, be done0. I may have an idea, but that idea is not so strong that it violates whatever artistic sensibilities I may possess that of feeling or knowing through my

18 13 Figure 9 BOTTLES AUD SLAB CONSTRUCTION Height: 20 inches Figure 10 CARVED BOWL Width: 11 inches

19 14 senses whether a form seems to "work" or does not seem to "work" My exploration of sculptural ceramics has been a development and an extension of my sensitivity. It is in no way meant to be a scientific endeavor and has not been logical in the normal use of the word. I have simply fashioned images of myself in an attempt to give meaning to my existence

20 15 Figure 11 ASSEMBLED FORMS Height: 33 inches Figure 12 ASSEMBLED BOWLS Height: 20 inches

21 REFERENCES Ashton, Pore.: The Unknown Shore, New York, Ball, Carlton, Making Pottery Without a Wheel. New York, 1965* - Coplans, John, Abstract Expressionist Ceramics. Irvine, 1966 c, - ' 'Fiedler, Conrad0 On Judging Works of Visual Art, Berkeley, 1949, _ Giambrunl, Helen, Abstract Expressionist Ceramics", Craft Horizons, Novo-Dec o, 1966, XXVI, Danger, Susanne K 0, Feeling and Form, New York, 1953a Philosophy in a New Key, New York. 1951o. Nelson, Glenn, Ceramics, New York, i960* Praeger Picture Encyclopedia of Art. New York, 195 Rhodes. Daniel, Clay and Glazes for the Potter, New York. 1964* ~. Stoneware and Porcelain: Pottery, New York, 1959a The Art of Hlgh Flred Weitz, MorfIs.Philosophy of the Arts. Cambridge,1950* : "vwhat is Art Today". Time.Jane , 88:24-25= ;