Yesterday I looked on a list of contemporary artists posted by the magazine Ceramics Today. One lady who had some great works was Ruth Duckworth. She is passed away now, but has some great articles about her, even from the New York Times. Here is one site I googled with an article: http://www.artknowledgenews.com/Ruth-duckworth.html. Here is Ruth's picture:
Like me, Ruth didn't start her ceramics career until she was older - for her that was in her 40's (you didn't really think I was going to date myself, did you?) :) But she has had an illustrious career with lots of great work. I especially am drawn to her wall hangings. Go ahead and google her - some great pictures. I didn't find a website for her specifically - she must have pre-dated web presences. I hope to do some wall hangings in my work too.
Another artist I looked at was Vipoo Srivilasa. He has a website at www.vipoo.com. I like his ceramic sculptures and the comical twists he puts on them. Vipoo is Thai and has lived extensively in Australia, taking cultural influences from each place in his work. Isn't diversity grand? I can't even imagine what those cultural influences are like. Sometimes I feel like life in the US is a vacuum I can't escape. I've never had the money or resources to travel, heck, I've never been west of Las Vegas. What would it be like to be in Bangkok or Melbourne doing art? Vipoo says:
"Most of my works reflect both Thai and Australian cultures which have greatly inspired me. I find it very hard to tell which is which now, since both cultures seem to merge nicely in me. The boundary [between both cultures] is sort of blurred and blend together.
"A good example of this," he said, "is in the Indigo Kingdom series [a 2009 solo exhibition at Anna Pappas Gallery, in Melbourne].
"In this series, I reinterpreted a Thai temple's plan to build an imaginative kingdom that also featured the contemporary human impacts on the Great Barrier Reef."
I looked at the work and thought I could see temple figures with barnacles for decorations on them. Like many contemporary artists, Vipoo likes to do a series of items with a theme. I guess that is what we are supposed to do for senior project, too. I imagine doing a series of patterned surfaces with things breaking out of them. Can you guess the gist of my work? (Anybody reading this please post a note and say hi just so I have an idea you are out there.)
For a third artist to look at here (I looked at several online) I pick Swiss ceramic artist Aline Favre. I love her modern sculptural pieces which have black and white juxtapositions of shape and color. I also want to do work which highlights the dichotomy of shapes and patterns. Aline says:
"In my work, I like creating dialogs. White, pure and delicate porcelain is confronted to other materials as raw and black stonewares, very "chamottés" (grogged [ed.]). Their specific languages allow me to play with and to fit them together into space. Oppositions are made of light and heavy, delicate and raw, white and black. Fire reveals their particularities mixing tightness, collapse, tearing. As life, with its succession of memories and emotions, I carry on the dialog".
A picture of her work:
The other thing this work does that I like is to use repeating forms and possibly extruded forms. Extruding in ceramics is pressing the clay through a cut-out mold like we do to make spaghetti or playdoh when we were kids. I used to love playdoh. How about you?
Okay, so now I'm off to do more homework. TTFN
Bonnie
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