Expanding the Parameters of an Ancient Medium
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| "Something Stinks" by Lesley Baker |
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| (l. to r.) "Sand", "Stash", "Headlights", by Lesley Baker |
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| "Royal Pain" by Lesley Baker |
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| Installation (detail), by Future Retrieval |
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| Mallets 1, 2, 6, & 7, by Future Retrieval |
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| "Beon Cloud Scoop" by Malcolm Mobuto Smith |
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| "Hetet Cloud Scoop" by Malcolm Mobuto Smith |
By Tom Wachunas
EXHIBIT: DRAFTING Dimensions – Contemporary Midwest
Ceramics / On view through July 21,
2019 at The Canton Museum of Art (CMA), 1001 Market Avenue North, Canton,
Ohio / 330.453.7666 / Viewing hours: Monday – Closed; Tuesday - Thursday -
10am-8pm; Friday - Saturday - 10am-5pm; Sunday - 1pm-5pm /
“…Artists who make work with ceramics often
find themselves pigeonholed by the material. Pre-conceived notions of what the
purpose or use of what an object is or might be abound. The motivation behind
this exhibit is to push beyond the traditional thought process for clay and to
embrace a more modern approach of using the material as a way to communicate a
message or form more than any purpose or use….”
- Anderson Turner, curator of the Drafting Dimensions exhibit at the Canton Museum of Art
An especially edifying aspect of this exhibit
is that it’s not an ordinary display of ceramic statuary or utilitarian vessels
set on pedestals or tables. The context here is much more engaging and complex
than you’d encounter at a typical crafts show or art fair featuring works in
clay.
One way to think of
the exhibition is as a visual essay on the artists’ respective processes of
arriving at the particular objects we see. Those processes embrace a wide
spectrum of ideas, decisions, and influences – both historical and contemporary
– all nurtured by varying studio disciplines (drawing, painting, and other
methods of design and manufacture). So if the exhibit as a whole is an
intriguing essay on modern ceramic practices, then the actual clay objects you
see (porcelain, stoneware, etc.) could on one level be considered as
comprehensive, summary paragraphs.
Lesley Baker’s
ornate pieces recall an old tradition in the world of ceramics manufacturing –
the mass production of decorative souvenir plates or figurines to recall a
place or a time. Her objects are intricately detailed with sumptuous textures, vivid
color glazes, and printed images (digital decals). But these exquisitely
crafted pieces aren’t merely trite mementos of idealized flora and fauna. Threaded
through them is a distinct sense of social commentary, such as in her porcelain
plate, “Something Stinks.” Is that skunk poised to flee from, or spray on, the
towering construction crane invading an otherwise idyllic landscape? Nature
disturbed.
“Patterns on wares sometimes
tell a story,” Baker tells us in her
statement. Referencing a recurring visual motif in several of her pieces here,
she continues, “One recognizable image
pattern is called ‘Willow,’ a Chinese export created for the European market. I
see this pattern, a made-up love story, as a symbol for world trade, sometimes
to the potential detriment of the fragile environment.”
Future Retrieval is the name of the
studio collaboration of Guy Michael Davis and Katie Parker. Here’s what they
tell us of their work on their web site (hyperlink posted above): “The pieces created utilize
three-dimensional scanning and digital manufacturing of found forms that are
molded and constructed in porcelain, mimicking the history of decorative arts
and design. Our process addresses the conceptualization, discovery, and
acquisition of form, to make content-loaded sculptures that reference design
and are held together by craft. We incorporate an interdisciplinary approach to
our work, striving to make influential historic objects relevant to today.”
The magnificent centerpiece of their
contribution to this exhibit is like a panoramic period room. In this immersive
tableau, an impressively rendered porcelain Rhesus monkey is perched atop an
antique wood table, flanked by three ancient-looking vessels. Behind is a wide,
curved wall depicting a lush, sprawling landscape. It’s a kind of technicolor
paradise, meticulously constructed entirely from hand-cut painted paper. Future
retrieval indeed, the monkey is posed like a serene king, surveying a world
where nature has finally won out.
Writing about his
stoneware “Cloud Scoop” pieces, Malcolm Mobuto Smith explains, “My work is guided by improvisations that
merge volumetric form with graphic flatness.” His playful and somewhat
enigmatic configurations are in turn sparked by his interests in graffiti art
and comic book graphics, along with his passion for Jazz and Hip Hop. The clay
forms - which suggest amorphous teapots – are placed on small shelves against flat,
brightly colored cloud-like shapes. Those fluid, organic shapes look as if they
could have been ladled out on to the wall from the clay “scoops.”
Smith’s combinations
of 2D shapes and 3D forms make a fascinating harmony. It’s a harmony which effectively
echoes the overarching spirit of this exhibit - pushing traditional parameters
of the ceramic medium beyond everyday functionality and into more purely
contemplative realms.
