I created Bones for Laurie Beth Clark’s Ossuary. I have yet to decide on a title, so feel free to suggest one. To see more of Bones, click the image below.
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“Doctor Bones” Teapot
Posted in Art, Sculpture
Tagged Doctor Bones, Laurie Beth Clark, Leonard McCoy, Ossuary, Star Trek
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Pity (from the International Council on Cross-Cultural Dynamics)
Pity is the first in a series of steaming teapot sculptures entitled I3CD, or the International Council on Cross-Cultural Dynamics. Read about it here, or check out Pity by clicking the image below.
Article in Ceramics: Art and Perception
My article on Teri Frame’s six part performance series Pre-human, Posthuman, Inhuman, first performed at the Project Space of the 2011 NCECA Conference in Tampa, FL, has been accepted for the December, 2012 issue of Ceramics: Art and Perception.
Posted in Art
Tagged Ceramics: Art and Perception, NCECA, Pre-human Posthuman Inhuman, Teri Frame
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Ceramics Monthly Review
My sculpture, Steeped, will be featured in Tony Merino’s review of the 2011 NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition, appearing in the September 2011 issue of Ceramics Monthly.
Sunken Congress Ends Session Early
It seems the Sunken Congress has given up its deliberations and gone home. Below is an image of where they were last seen. No sign of them remains.
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Steeped in Progress
Stephen Hawks, ceramic artist and fellow Florida State University MFA Graduate, just sent me an old picture of me working on Steeped. It’s always interesting how alien figural work looks when midway through the process. See Stephen’s functional pottery and sculpture at his website.
Kimmel Harding Nelson Residency
I have just accepted a two-week residency at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts in Nebraska City, NE. I will be there July 11 through 22. Though a brief stay, this will nevertheless be sufficient time to work on maquettes for several projected sculptures, and possibly to do a little painting.
…and Possessing Youth Eternal
…and Possessing Youth Eternal is the first in a series of three projected sculptures based on prominent art historical antecedents. In this instance, the reference is to Michelangelo’s Bacchus. A youth of indeterminate age stands with an Xbox 360 controller in his left hand in place of the original grapes; the system itself is at his foot in place of the Satyr. In place of the wine bowl he holds a cell phone. He is reading a text message.
The figure, which is four feet tall, or approximately 2/3 life size, stands atop a “pedestal” of conceptually informing objects: an ottoman, cushions, and comforters, all of which suggest ease and comfort. This “pedestal” serves the practical purpose of elevating the figure to a height appropriate for viewing, but is also a conceptual play on the pedestal in fine art, integrating and contextualizing the figure rather than isolating and decontextualizing it, as pedestals traditionally do.
Sculpted in oil clay, the finished figure is cast plastic painted in oil. Plastic is, for me, the material of appearances, of seeming to be, of faux pearls and wood veneer, but also of media representations of reality, 24-hour news and talk-radio.
The title is a line describing Bacchus from Longfellow’s “Drinking Song.” The sculpture likens the perpetual revelry of Bacchic rites to the perpetual adolescence encouraged by consumer capitalism and, in turn, likens the loss of self associated with the consumption of wine with capitalist consumption.
…and Possessing Youth Eternal. Plastic, oil paint, silver serving tray, cushions, blankets, ottoman, wood, steel, epoxy. H:82” W:30” D:24” 2011.
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Word from the Sunken Congress
George Blakely, FSU professor and avid canoeist, happened upon the sunken congress on one of his trips. He didn’t know about the project, but recognized my work and sent me a very nice e-mail and several pictures. It is surprising to me how clean they have remained. I had expected them to quickly be obscured by silt and weeds.
George adds that, though they were about eighteen inches underwater when he passed them heading upstream, they were partially above water on his return, due to the tide having gone out.
Sunken Ceramics
One of the primary difficulties of working in three dimensions is the question of storage. This problem becomes particularly pressing when one is planning an 1100-mile move, as I currently am. Over the past several weeks I have discarded much old work—work that I am no longer satisfied with technically or conceptually, or that I no longer believe represents me as an artist.
For some out-of-date or unfinished work, however, I retained a fondness that prevented me from simply throwing it away. I gave a few pieces to friends. For the rest, I thought of a more interesting and entertaining solution—to sink them in a river where people might happen upon them, a discovery to be met with, I would hope, both surprise and delight.
Ceramic is the perfect material for this kind of project, because it’s durable, weathers well, and is non-damaging to the environment. And, of course, there is a long-standing history of finding interesting ceramic things in the ground. Much of archaeology is based on just this.
So, on Sunday, June 5th, Windham Graves, Ryan McCarthy, and I ventured out on the St. Mark’s river with two glazed busts and 65 bisque-fired, stretched slab faces (from a never-finished project).
We sank the faces first. I am calling them the Sunken Congress. Here they are from the boat, and me photographing them with the underwater camera:
And here are several images of them underwater:
From a distance, they are surprisingly visible, appearing as an eerie square of light beneath the water:
And here is their precise location: Sunken Congress on the St. Mark’s River. Somewhat further up the river we photographed the two busts, Green Lady and Blueman:
Green Lady we left well concealed amid foliage almost exactly the same color as she. She is hard to see, but if you pass close by in a kayak or canoe, you may find her.
Blueman remained with Windham, who will take him on his travels, photographing him in various local waterways.