Chapter 11: Flirting with Function

1. Chapter 11: Flirting with Function Art vs. Craft

2. Mariam Schapiro’s Personal Appearance #3 1973Acrylic and Fabric on canvas Here we see a work of art that looks like a quilt (a useful object) but is not one. Many artists today challenge our idea of “function,” by creating works of art that resemble useful objects (like Schapiro’s work) or by creating useful works of art that are so beautiful that you do not want to use them.

3. Art as function Clay, Glass, Metal, Wood, Fiber

4. Clay • Clay comes from the soil, mixed with water! It is easily modeled and hardens when exposed to heat. • Ceramics – the art and science of making objects from clay. A person working with clay is a ceramist, and one who specializes in making dishes is a potter.

5. Different types of Clay bodies: Porcelain, Earthenware, Stoneware

6. (Above) Betty Woodman Divided Vases 2004 Earthenware Adrian Saxe Les Rois du Monde Futur 2004 Porcelain (body), stoneware,overglazed enamel Peter Voulkos Untitled Plate 1989 stoneware

7. The Potter’s Wheel What is a potter’s wheel? Where was the potter’s wheel invented?

8. What was Peter Voulkos’ contribution to ceramics? Peter Voulkos is responsible for the acceptance of stoneware as an art form (rather than simply a utilitarian object). He found ways to incorporate abstract designs into his techniques. Voulkos treated his ceramic pieces as paintings and drew into the surface of the clay.

9. Compare and Contrast these 2 Techniques (page 179) Peter Voulkos (Stoneware) 1989 Toshiko Takaezu(Stoneware) 2002

10. Glass Glass is closely related to a ceramic glaze. Hot or molten glass can be shaped by blowing, casting or pressing into molds Molten glass requires speed and skill and handling. Glass Blowing in Jamestown, VA Glass molds

11. Glass, as a sculptural medium. With a team of fellow artists, Dale Chihuly created a series of seaforms made from glass. In this series, he arranged groups of pieces and lite them to create the illusion of an under the sea world.

12. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBt7S4EdCcQ The video above shows Etsuko Ichikawa’s process of achieving drawings with molten glass. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6KwBtiGZDI In the video above, Ichikawa combines installation, fibers, molten glass and video!

13. Wood – a favored material for human use and for art pieces. Gilpin heard that an elm tree had fallen near his studio. The piece that he obtained was some what distorted due to the condition that the tree was in. He decided to use this “happy accident” and mount it on top of another wooden frame. The piece is barely usable because of the distortion. To honor the dead tree, Gilpin used red stain and dripped it at the feet of the table. This work is not simply a warped table, but a meditation on life and death. Henry Gilpin used wood from an elm tree for his Curiously Red 2006, art piece.

14. What was 16th century Persia noted for producing? Beautiful Fabrics Carpets Cats Elaborate Dresses The Ardabil Carpet. Tabriz 1540

15. Fibers • Using a Loom “Often the warp fibers are installed on a loom, a device that holds them in place and may pull them apart for weaving.” page 183 The warp fibers are crossed with the weft fibers (where the word weave comes from). To create patterns, weavers change the placement of the threads that are interwoven. Here, you see a “weaver” working on a large tapestry sized loom.

16. Weaving combines and interlaces lengthwise and cross fibers, called: Piles and Knots Warp and Weft Woof and Tweeter Length and Width

17. Compare and Contrast these 2 works of art (see pages 185 & 186) Jessie Pettway. Bars and String-Piece Columns, 1950s Faith Ringgold. Tar Beach, 1988