by Carole Epp | Apr 2, 2011 | Uncategorized
American curator, writer and historian, Vicki Halper is visiting Australia in April from 1 – 21 April 2011. Craft Australia is bringing her to Australia because of her expert knowledge of contemporary craft and visual arts practice. This was the basis of her recent book, Choosing Craft: A History Told by Artists, which describes the influences that have shaped American craft through the writings of the artists.
Throughout her tour, Vicki will be giving talks about Choosing Craft, her focus will be on the roles of tradition and innovation within current craft practice. This includes her perspectives on the relationships between craft and design in industry and the historical foundations for this way of working. Vicki proposes to talk about these themes in her lectures. She is also interested in doing critique sessions with the students at the art schools in the universities she will be visiting. The other significant part of the tour is meeting some of the key makers and emerging artists in their studios. Proposed visits
Proposed talks:
More info here.
by Carole Epp | Apr 2, 2011 | Uncategorized
Below is from the Milwaukee Art Museum website.
What is contemporary craft? Craft theory from the late nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth century valued the artisan’s hand over the work of the machine. Thus, historically, the artisan has represented an important social virtue. The New Materiality: Digital Dialogues at the Boundaries of Contemporary Craft presents the work of sixteen emerging and established American craft artists who blend traditional craft materials such as fabric, glass, wood, metal, and clay with digital technologies and, in turn, blur the boundaries between the traditionally established categories of craft, art, and design. Works in the exhibition range from an eleven-foot portrait of Madam CJ Walker made out of combs to glass reliquaries containing videos of extinct objects such as encyclopedias and typewriters. One of the largest pieces, Donald Fortescue and Lawrence LaBianca’s Sounding (2008), explores the relationship between not only craft, art, and design, but also technology and nature. Inspired by Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, the artists lowered a cabriole-legged table into the ocean, together with a hydrophone to record the ambient sound, and kept it there for two months. The work is exhibited with an oversized hornlike funnel, tied together with zip ties, to amplify the recorded sound. ”The New Materiality shows us that the lines between art, design, and craft are becoming more porous as each co-opts various theoretical, technical, and philosophical aspects of the other, asking us to scrutinize the distance between them in contemporary creative practice,“ said Fo Wilson, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor and curator of The New Materiality. Also represented in the exhibition are Brian Boldon, Shaun Bullens, Sonya Clark, Lia Cook, E.G. Crichton, Maaike Evers, Wendy Maruyama, Christy Matson, Cat Mazza, Nathalie Miebach, Mike Simonian, Tim Tate, Susan Working, and Mark Zirpel. The New Materiality: Digital Dialogues at the Boundaries of Contemporary Craft is organized by the Fuller Craft Museum and is organized at the Milwaukee Art Museum by the Chipstone Foundation. It is curated by Fo Wilson, assistant professor in the Department of Art and Design at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
by Carole Epp | Apr 1, 2011 | Uncategorized
On exhibit from April 23 through June 25, 2011.
This modish and very chic exhibition places the work of world-famous designer, Eva Zeisel (born in 1906), side by side with contemporary ceramic designers such as David Pier, Heather Mae Erickson, Peter Saenger, Shawn Spangler, Hiroe Hanazono, Mia Mulvey, Karen Swyler, Marek Cecula, Klein Reid and many others who favor a minimalist aesthetic, producing clean, simplistic forms, organic curves and orderly compositions that reference nature by design. The emphasis of producing limited edition multiples through the use of molds, yields an expression that relates to the mid-century modern design movement and pays tribute to the Scandinavian architectural model influenced by the Bauhaus style. In Ceramics: Post-digital Design, each artist presents a unique perspective with their own ceramic processes and designs that continue a dialogue examining the future concepts in ceramic art. Because technology is continually advancing, we question, how far we can go? What will the future of industry, commerce and even art be like? New technology brings new advancements with a multitude of opportunities and ideas, but we question if there will be a point where the human footprint will be lost, or if we will return to traditional methods for creating and communicating due to our communal nature. Ostensibly, the future holds a hybridization of all the above; as technology grows, humans evolve, and societal networks change, art is expressed in new powerful ways. The idea of a “Post-Digital Age” is upon us, and many art historians believe therein lies the future of art. Artist and educator Mel Alexenberg, author of The Future of Art in a Post-Digital Age, writes about new emerging art forms that “address the humanization of digital technologies” and explores post-digital perspectives that are “rising from creative encounters among art, science, technology, and human consciousness.” Although the fundamentals of ceramics are rooted in traditional use, concepts and designs have evolved to keep up with a continually advancing aesthetic. Technology has not only transcended the process in which ceramics can be made and modified, but it has also transcended the way artists conceptualize their artwork. AMOCA’s exhibition, Ceramics: Post-Digital Design exhibits the very principals of Alexenberg’s thesis, that artists, no matter what medium, are making “interactive and collaborative forms, resulting in a fusion of spiritual and technological realms.” American Museum of Ceramic Art 340 S. Garey Ave, Pomona, CA 91766
(909)865-3146
Fax (909) 629-1067
[email protected]
www.ceramicmuseum.org
by Carole Epp | Mar 30, 2011 | Uncategorized
In the days following the devastating 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Brisbane-based Japanese ceramic artist Kenji Uranishi and his wife Sonia felt overwhelmed with sadness and a sense of helplessness being so far away and unable to help. Turning their grief into positive action, a call went out to their network of artist friends and colleagues for help and was answered by more than 20 talented artists from around the country.
What resulted was i heART japan, a beautiful collection of work by a talented group of artists including ceramicists, painters, photographers and designers to be auctioned on eBay over a 2.5 day period starting Friday 8 April (3pm EST) and ending Sunday 10 April (8pm EST). http://myworld.ebay.com.au/i_heart_japan
The work can be previewed on Facebook in advance of the auction: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=196940070336811&aid=45605 Net proceeds of the auction will be donated to the Red Cross Japan and Pacific Appeal 2011.
(NB: inspiration for this auction was taken from the talented Mr Vipoo Srivilasa’s flood relief auction. We are grateful for the wealth of support and guidance Vipoo provided us along the way!)
Participating artists:
1. Anna Davern (http://annadavern.com.au/)
2. Dai-li Daws (www.daili.com.au)
3. Dan Brock (www.danielbrock.com.au)
Fukutoshi Ueno (www.idee247.com)
5. Gemma Smith (www.milanigallery.com.au)
6. Joseph Daws (www.josephdaws.com)
7. Julie Bartholomew (www.juliebartholomew.com.au)
8. Keikio Matsui (http://keikomatsui.com.au/)
9. Kenji Uranishi (http://kamenendo.blogspot.com/)
10. Kylie Johnson (www.paperboatpress.com)
11. Martin Smith (www.martin-smith.net)
12. Matt Dwyer (http://fio-contemporary.com/matt-dwyer)
13. Mel Robson (www.feffakookan.blogspot.com)
14. Miles Hall (www.miles-hall.com)
15. Mitsuo Shoji (www.mitsuoshoji.com)
16. Pru Morrison (www.bumcrane.blogspot.com)
17. Robbie Rowlands (www.robbierowlands.com.au)
18. Sophie Milne (www.sophiemilne.com.au)
19. Toni Warburton
20. Vipoo Srivilasa (www.vipoo.com)
21. Vicki Grima (www.vickigrima.com.au)
Extra information:
· To be notified when the auction is online or for further information please contact Sonia on email [email protected]
· Sonia Uranishi is authorised as the promoter of the event.
Red Cross Supporter Number: 26521163
· The auction will be live from Friday 8 April (3pm EST) – Sunday 11 April 2011 (8pm EST).
· Net proceeds of the auction will be donated to the Red Cross Japan and Pacific Disaster Appeal 2011.
· Starting bids are at the discretion of the donor artist and will range from AU$50 upwards. Freight/insurance and any additional fees are to be paid by the successful bidder and arranged with the respective artist.
by Carole Epp | Mar 29, 2011 | Uncategorized
I’m desperately trying to get a message across to old man winter.
If you see him, tell him to move on,
come back later,
visit someone else for a change,
or simply just get lost.
Oh well, I guess there are more imporatant things to worry about.
At least I have a bit of spring in the kitchen.
by Carole Epp | Mar 29, 2011 | Uncategorized
From their website:
“Interest in ceramics education is dwindling: our response is a national clay programme to ‘refire’ kilns in schools and inspire learners. About the programme
Firing Up is a new national programme of highlighting clay and ceramics. The initiative has been development by the Crafts Council through a steering committee of representatives from NALN, NSEAD, University of the Arts (London), Clayground Collective and Ofsted. The core elements have been designed to:
1. Raise awareness of the importance of clay in our everyday lives and in world cultures;
2. Support schools in using this medium creatively and confidently, and in optimising its educational value for students and creating sustainable local links;
3. Showcase and exhibit the work of young people; and
4. Demonstrate the links between clay-work and the wider creative industry sector showing that working in ceramics is a viable career choice.
The programme uses a ‘cluster’ format that will be constructed around the ceramics departments within partner Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Each regional cluster will consist of one HEI who will supply a ceramics ‘ambassador’ (usually the ceramics course leader), a technician and up to ten students, and five secondary schools.
It includes the following core elements:
• ‘Kiln Rehab’ – the rejuvenation of clay facilities in participant schools, supported by the expertise of ceramic –specialist staff from partner HEIs.
• ‘Clay Skills Training’ – twilight CPD for cluster teachers to build confidence and expertise using clay in the classroom.
• ‘Project Clay’ – an innovative creative workshop programme designed by Clayground Collective and delivered by local practitioners to enthuse and inspire the school community through a collaborative project.
Each phase of the programme has been carefully designed to support and inspire schools in using this magical material confidently and creatively with their pupils, in as broad a way as possible. In particular, we hope that through the building of sustainable relationships with HEIs and local schools, as ‘critical friends’, schools will feel inspired to take risks and enlarge upon the scope of the medium in a cross-curricular dimension as part of a creative curriculum.
Firing Up is generously supported by a 3 year grant from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Paul Hamlyn Foundation.”Please visit the UK Craft Council’s website for more info.
