Ceramics: Art or Craft?

Yesterday,  I saw a video where an artist walked into a Miami art museum and destroyed art.  The local offender told an officer that his act was a protest against the gallery's decision to only display international art.   I think there are better ways to use art to protest.  Destroying someone's work is never the answer.  Wonder if he knew the vase he broke was worth $1,000,000.

You can view the article here:  http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/18/world/ai-weiwei-vase-destroyed/

I have a point, so I'll get to it.   There has always been a debate about the acceptance of ceramic art into the world of fine art and valued as such.  Is it a craft or does it deserve to be on the podium with fine art?

Clay is a common material with an ancient history of domestic servitude and minor-arts status.  It lasts longer than almost every other medium.  When we study the culture of a civilization, we often start with all that is left, the pottery.  In today's world, clay is not relegated to the utilitarian uses of it's beginning.  Even today, one may be called a "ceramist" rather than a "sculptor" because of the medium.  An artist is typically called a sculptor when using any other medium.  Maybe it's more appropriate to say "an artist that works in clay."  The debate as to whether clay is a craft or an art seems to be fading into history but the values of ceramic art still has a way to catch up with some other mediums.  

Few artists have changed a medium as single-handedly as Peter Voulkos.  He is one of the pioneers of crossing over into the fine art world.  His work contributed to the demolition of the traditional hierachries between fine arts and craft.   His sculptures are known for their visual weight, their freely-formed construction and their aggressive and energetic decoration. 





While shaping an article, he would vigorously tear, pound, and gouge their surfaces. At some points in his career, he cast his sculptures in bronze; in other periods his ceramic works were glazed or painted and he finished them with painted brushstrokes. 





In 1979 he was introduced to the use of wood kilns by Peter Callas; much of his late work is wood-fired. He loved working with an audience.  Seems he was also a performance artist.  I think he valued the process almost more than the finished product.  He literally worked up to the moment of his death in 2001.

Ceramic art literally changed my life.  After a long period of not doing much art at all, I decided to take a ceramic class at Saddleback College in Orange County, CA on Saturdays. I had not touched clay since high school.

That's all it took to reignite the artistic flame within.  It only took a couple of years before I left the corporate world behind and opened a gallery that allowed me to work in any medium I wanted to.  



I came to class one day and told Professor Steve Dilley that I wanted to build a rake kiln.  He gave me a list of the materials I would need.  The next Saturday, I drove up with everything on the list and he put me to work in the parking lot.  When I left, I was ready to fire that kiln up at home.

One of my former colleagues in banking said, "Wow, you are such a hippie."  

That's cool man.  Call me what you want.  I think it's groovy.  

Have a great day everyone.  Look at a piece of ceramic art and think about what it took to make it.  It's natural and will be here for thousands of years in one form or another.

Peace out! - Renee Bangerter