Expanding the Parameters of an Ancient Medium

Expanding the Parameters of an Ancient Medium 

"Something Stinks" by Lesley Baker

(l. to r.) "Sand", "Stash", "Headlights", by Lesley Baker

"Royal Pain" by Lesley Baker

Installation (detail), by Future Retrieval

Mallets 1, 2, 6, & 7, by Future Retrieval

"Beon Cloud Scoop" by Malcolm Mobuto Smith

"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 /

www.cantonart.org        https://www.lesleybaker.com/

   http://www.futureretrieval.com/    http://www.malcolmmobutusmith.com/ 

   “…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.