Confrontational Clay: The Artist as Social Critic opens at the Museum of Arts & Design
Exhibition Dates: January 18 – March 16, 2001
New York – This January the Museum of Arts & Design will highlight the work of artists who push the boundaries of form and content with Confrontational Clay: The Artist as Social Critic. The exhibition features twenty-eight contemporary ceramicists whose work addresses social, political, and cultural issues. Artists represented include Robert Arneson, Howard Kottler, Wesley Anderegg, Richard Notkin, Les Lawrence, Matt Nolen, Sergei Isupov, Mark Burns and Nancy Fried.
“We are proud to present this thought-provoking exhibition at a time when craft has taken center stage in the world of contemporary art.” says Holly Hotchner, Director of the Museum of Arts & Design. The New York showing of Confrontational Clay will benefit from several additional loans; these include additional works by Burns, Notkin, Arneson, and Kottler, as well as works by Ann Agee, Cindy Kolodziejski, and Paul Mathieu.
The works presented in Confrontational Clay are a radical departure from the traditional history of ceramics, in which objects tended to reflect, rather than subvert, cultural norms. One only has to picture a gilded Sevres teapot to see how ceramic art of the past tended to support established social and political structures – and those who dictated them. Form and function were king; satire and social commentary were practically unknown.
World War II changed everything. In the second half of the 20th century genocide, nuclear war, rampant materialism, and radical politics caused artists, especially in clay, to embrace issues and content in their work as never before. The spontaneity of modern jazz and the emotional force of Abstract Expressionism provided new inspiration and innovative working methods for ceramic artists. No one illustrated the raw confrontation between materials and emotion better than Peter Voulkos. His poking, slashing, and tearing into clay redefined the vessel form, and with it, some fundamental principals of ceramic art.
The 60’s and 70’s saw the rise of a truly American confrontational style in clay. The civil rights and feminist movements, mind-altering drugs, and anti-war protests were all catalytic factors. Howard Kottler’s American Supperware Series uses store-bought plates and commercially available decals to show us the image of a fragmented American Flag – a country divided by the Vietnam War.
Ceramic artists approached the last decades of the 20th century with apocalyptic zeal. Images of nuclear horror, capitalist giants, unapologetic sexuality, and glorified violence forced the viewer to confront a visual distillation of modern life. Robert Arneson shows us a gruesome image of nuclear war in the form of a decaying head, while Sergei Isupov soothes the eye with graceful lines only to jolt the viewer with his dreamlike psychosexual imagery. Their methods are various – irony, parody, mystery – yet the objects are unified by a desire to reach out and involve each of us in the struggle for awareness. “The artists represented in this exhibition have produced a body of work that calls attention to and confronts issues that constitute a vital part of our lives. They question, joust, harass, and attempt to use their art to force us to confront reality in ways that are idiosyncratic and often disturbing.” says Judith Schwartz, Guest Curator of the exhibition.
A number of special educational programs have been planned in conjunction with Confrontational Clay. “It is extremely important that we take this opportunity to explore the entire notion of freedom of expression, where it comes from, who grants it, and what are its limitations,” says David Revere McFadden, Chief Curator and Vice President for Programs and Collections. Recognizing the need for discussion of these issues in a broader cultural context, the Museum of Arts & Design is hosting a symposium on Saturday, January 27, 2001 on the 1st Amendment and Freedom of Expression. For further information please contact our Education Department at 212 956-3535 x126.
Confrontational Clay: The Artist as Social Critic was curated by Judith Schwartz, Ph.D., and toured by ExhibitsUSA with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Dr. Schwartz is Associate Professor in the Department of Art and Art Professions at New York University. She has published articles in both national and international journals including American Craft, American Ceramics, Studio Potter, and Ceramics Monthly.