*
GEORGI,A MUSEUM OF ART Martha and Eugene Odum Gallery of Decorative Arts October T.g, zoo2, to January 12, 2ooj
ACI(NOWLEDGMENTS I
extend warm gratitude to Mary McCutchen
for her assistance with
this exhibition, for opening her home to the staff of the Georgia Museum of Art, and for graciously loaning so many wonderful objects. This
exhibition would not haue
been possible
without her enthusiasm and
support. Learning about Earl McCutchen's remarkable career has been one
of the pleasures of nry role as curator of decoratiue arts. He is
a ualuable part of the history of the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the Uniuersity of Georgia and of the history of postwar studio art in the United States.
I am delighted that
the Henry D. Green Center
for the Study
of the Decoratiue Arts has been able to present this exhibition, and
I
hope that in addition to meeting the Green Center's goal of increasing the presence of decoratiue arts in the museum,
it will
continue Professor
McCutchen's effo'rts to educate and inspire artists at the Uniuersity
of Georgia. The museum would like to acknouledge the generosity of the W. Newton Morris Charitable Foundation, the Friends of the Museum,
Mr. Louis T. Griffith, Ms. Leila
G.
Allen, and Ms. Anne Thomas.
ASHLEY CALI-A,HAN CURATOR OF DECORATIVE ARTS
COVER
PRECEDING PAGE
Round Plate, n.d.
Earl McCutchen holding
Glass, iron filings I r/4 x l0 (diameter) inches
a slumped boutl, n.d.. Image courtesy of
Collection of Mary McCutchen
Mary McCutchen
FOLLOWING PAGE Earl McCutchen, n.d. Image courtesy of
Mary McCutchen
Eax.r IVIcCt"rrCF{EN (rgr8-r985) was an artist, a craftsman, an
educator, and a scholar. He approached ceramics and glass
with an interest in their chemical properties, their aesthetic possibilities, and their potential
for engaging the minds and talents of his students. His efforts played a significant role in the development of the department
of art at the University of Georgia, and his artistic experimentations
helped push the boundaries of stirdio production. \..-\'--.,''.
McCutchen was boritn"[da
..)aqi., \. \ engineering at Iowa State Grove, Iowa, and studied
\
University from 1936 to 1939. He attended The Ohio
l
State /
University from 1939 :until l9*{, when he received his B.EA. In "19!p--he-reeeiV6d
his M.A. in
ceramic art from The Ohio State
University, which is located in
a
region where ceramics technology is important to the economy and
which is known for producing graduates who have played significant roles in ceramics education and production.I From 1942 to 1945, after a brief time in Georgia, McCutchen returned to the area and worked as a research engineer at The Ohio State University Research Foundation.
o3
In
1941 McCutchen established
the first university ceramics department in the southeast at
the University of Georgia. He later recalled that to his knowledge there was, at the time,
"no
full-fledged ceramics department
in any college south of Columbus, Ohio."2 McCutchen worked as l.
Decanter, 1948
an instructor at the University of
Earthenware
ll x
5r7a
Georgia from
(diameter) inches
Collection of Mary McCutchen
l94I to 1942, an
assistant professor from 1945 to 1955, an associate professor from
to 1963, and a professor 1963 until 1983, when he I97I he was named an reti 1955
Alumni Fouri
o4
g Distinguished
2. Earl McCutchen on WGTV, 1948 Image courtesy of Mary McCutchen
Professor, and
in
a vacuum, that he must understand
1984 the
universityt Board of Regents named him an Alumni
his social and cultural milieu,
Foundation Distinguished
McCutchen explained that the
Professor Emeritus of
finances, even world affairs."
Art.
function of a teacher was to
Georgia, McCutchen sought
in which students could explore their own ideas, and that in his case, he wanted his students to "find
to provide a curriculum in which
themselves in clay and reflect
students would develop "creative
their own environment in clay."5
create an environment
In organizing the
ceramics
department at the University of
independence and profession capabilities as producin g aylists,
McCutchen was interested
designers, and schola
particularly in the science behind his craft, especially as it concerned
t gets his
glazes.
tends to see. But we try
In
an article
to show him he's not working
1944 he published
in
The Journal of the
American Ceramics Society on
o5
3. Set of Mugs, 1950
Earthenware
Approximately 5 x 41.14 x 3:7+ inches each Georgia Museum of Ar1, University of Georgia; gift of Daniel A. Huff cMoA 2001.196-203
strontium (an alkaline earth metal)
McCutchent educational activities
and its properties in glazes.6
beyond the classroom were exten-
In the summer of 1949, he worked as an instructor of glaze work at the School for American Craftsmen in Alfred, New York. Andy Nasisse,
sive and indicate a strong passion
chair of the ceramics department
oflen taught courses outside of
at the Lamar Dodd School of Art
the university, and juried many
at the University of Georgia, noted
regional exhibitions. From 1952
that McCutchen's "glaze calcula-
tion class was notorious as a
to 1953, after receiving one of the first Sara Moss Fellowships at
place where professor and student
the university, he traveled to
told anecdotes about eutectics, quartz inversion, genealogy . . ." and major figures in the field
Florence, Italy, where he conducted
for his craft, for teaching, and for learning. He served on numerous committees at the university,
advanced study in ceramics at
the lnstitute of Art.
of ceramics.T
In
1960 McCutchen worked
with
the university's television station,
4. Lidded casserole dish, 1957 Stoneware 6t12 x ll s/a (diameter) inches
Collection of Mary McCutchen
WGTV to develop a thirteen-
McCutchen's early works in clay
episode series entitled About
are generally small, turned,
Ceramics, which he both wrote
functional vessels with controlled,
and presented, and through which
primarily linear surface decora-
he demonstrated techniques used
tions. His works from the I950s
by potters
(see Figure
z).ln196l
and 1960s often feature surface
the National Educational Television
decorations that reflect the quick,
and Radio Center carried a second
gestural markings of the Abstract
titled
Expressionists, as seen in Figures
About Ceramics, which was pre-
3 and 4. The works he created in
series of six programs, also
sented across the country for over decade.s From 1961
a
to 1964,he
Italy, inclu ding Figure 5, show
a
markedly different palette and
served as a representative to the
texture than his other works,
Southeast Regional Assembly of the
possibly because of the different
American Craft Council, and then
materials available there and the
from i965 to 1968, he served
as a
different environment. McCutchen's
craftsman-trustee on the board of
Iater works, such as Figure 6, were
the American Craft Council.
often larger, hand-built, unglazed
{.* t
.E
5-Yq*, l!Ii)
Erttcrsc LOtl+t'Itpt 3ryr;rrs ConFrEr
d[ry
XcQrtcheu
6. Vase, rd,. Stoneware
l2tl2 x
17 rl4
x
7s7a inches
Collection of Mary McCutchen
o8
objects with rough surface textures. He noted changes in ceramics
production late in his career: "There is more sculptural use of clay, less pot-making . . . Ceramics is now more of an art in which each piece is embodied with an idea, not just a function."e
Around 1950, McCutchen began experimenting with glass, utilizing both his knowledge of clay bodies to create molds and his ceramics pro-
duction equipment to heat the glass. In an article he wrote for Craft Horizons
in
1955, he noted that
it is possible "to carry on a limited kind
of glass molding in any studio that is adequately equipped for fundamental ceramic activities."l0 The glass working techniques McCutchen
in which glass is heated until it bends, often to fit a mold, without noticeable difference in the thickness of a cross section of the glass), fusing (a process in which compatible sheets used included slumping (a process
of glass or other vitreous materials are heated until they bond chemically), and laminating (a process
in which materials are fused between layers
of glass). Consistent with his desire to explore the various properties of clays and glazes was McCutchen's interest
in learning to combine successfully
a
variety of materials in his slumped and laminated glass objects. Though
it is difficult to determine who first experimented with these techniques in postwar America, the artists at the forefront of the field were Earl McCutchen, Maurice Heaton (American, b. Switzerland, 1900-I990), and Frances and Michael Higgins (American, b.
l9l2
and American,
b. England, I908-1999). Frances Higgins, who along with her husband made a lifelong career of producing this type of glass, taught at the
University of Georgia in the I940s and was a friend of McCutchen's. An article in Craft Horizons in I960 discussing the historical influences and socio-economic conditions affecting the growing popularity of glass as an art medium noted that the processes used by McCutchen,
Heaton, and the Higginses had been employed for years in making
curved automobile windshields.ll The article's author, Paul Perrot of
o9
the Corning Museum of Glass
where glass of all varieties of
in Corning, New York, wrote, "Through [the artists'] efforts
thickness, texture and color
a new dimension has been given
[could] be found in abundance," and added that "in addition to
to glass, and the contemporary
the very low cost of such scrap is
scene has been made
brighter
with the countless variations and fantasies which they have
the advantage of unusual fired properties that are unobtainable when new glass is employed."I3
produced."12 Perrot noted that these artists benefited from
Rather than use commercial glass
contemporary technology's ability
that would have resulted in easily
to produce pure and consistent
controlled reactions and consistent
materials, such as glass of different
objects, McCutchen sought the
colors that could be fused together
unexpected results of using found
successfully. (Glass cools at various
materials. McCutchen's enthusiasm
rates depending on its chemical
for both the artistry and the
composition, making
it difficult to
science of these experimentations,
combine different types of glass
and his desire to encourage other
without breakage.)
artists, is conveyed though this statement from his article on glass
McCutchen, however, often used
molding: "To an artist who brings
antique glass or scrap glass and
invention and studious insight
combined it with a variety of
to this method of molding glass, it
materials including copper screen,
offers an endless variety of orna-
aluminum screen, chicken wire,
mental possibilities. This article
metal foils, iron filings, colored
can do little more than suggest
frit (small particles of glass), and paper. His success with these
It remains for others to try them in the light
disparate materials involved both
of their own ideas, and to add to
an understanding of chemical
the experimental vocab ulary." t+
some of the possibilities.
reactions and the patience to overcome many unsuccessful
McCutchen's works in glass
attempts. McCutchen noted that
primarily took the form of func-
"an excellent source of flat glass
tional objects, usually shallow
for experimentation [was] a junk yard or glass and mirror shop,
bowls or plates-shapes that lend themselves easily to formation
7. Round plate, n.d.
foil, glaze x 9 il4 (diameter) inches
Glass, aluminum
tl2
Collection of Mary McCutchen
8. Square plate, n.d. Glass, aluminum
lTlsx l4tls x
foil, paper, glaze
14r7z inches
Collection of Mary McCutchen
9. Round plate with butterlTy motif, n.d. Glass, aluminum screen, iron wire, glaze, aluminum z1+ x l0 (diameter) inches
Collection of Mary McCutchen
foil, paper
l
I
I I
I
I r
":t.
. r
,"{ ,.
ti:,r
I
'1
{
:' .r:
I !
.:
:,
1
I 1
I
l i
I0.
Vase, n.d. Glass 6314
x 27ls (diameter) inches
Collection of Mary McCutchen
-l
with
to clay molds. Through the use
were produced in glass factories.
of multiple sheets of glass,
All of the individually produced
McCutchen created works
objects were made through the
with unusual visual depth.
',,r
:
,
,
studio craftsmen; the majority
sheets of glass conforming
slumping and laminating processes.
The
third national
and opaque materials within the
conference of the American Crafts
layers of glass further enhanced
Council in Lake George, New York,
the visual complexity of the
McCutchen served with Frances
works. McCutchen's early slumped
and Michael Higgins and Paul
and laminated objects include
Perrot on a panel discussing the
both striking geometric compo-
artistic potential of glass. Harvey
sitions, as in Figure 7, in which
Littleton (American, b. 1922), who
he carefully controlled the forma-
chaired the panel, proposed that
tion of bubbles in a grid pattern,
artists should begin to explore hot glass techniques (glassblowing).
that suggest
The members of the panel chal-
. Colkges, aq:in,:lFzgure 8. McCutchen
also created a number of plates
lenged Littleton to do so, and in
and bowls with butterfly motifs,
1962,
iuch
a
s Fryytre 9. He often
a groundbreaking
Ohio, Littleton effectively
elements such as aluminum foil
papgl so transformed by the firing process ihat'they are virtually unreQognizable in the
with
glassblowing seminar in Toledo,
included
r'-.and
'
1959, at the
AIso
,,'2nd abStiact works
,
in
juxtaposition of transparent
:
initiated the studio glass move-, ment. In 1963 he introduced the first hot glass classes into
university curriculum. Around
finjshed obiects. Experimentation
a
was a key element in his glass,
I965 McCutchen developed
which resulted both in Iimited
hot glass classes at the University
production and in unique objects.
of Georgia,,,
In
untit,:thg:,i ooos,, att gtassblowing
1959 McCutchen's
work was
took place in factories, but as tech-
included in the landmark exhibi-
tion G/ass
59:
A
"
nology' evoived, indlviduals were
Contemporat))
able to create small furnaces
WorLdwide Suruey at the Corning
and
i"
Museum of Glass.In this exhibition less than ten percent of the objects
produils were' produced through'
were produced by individual
mass manufacturing techniques,
r3
.
:''
the craft of glassblowing opened to the art world. In I968 McCutchen stated, "Glass work can almost become a piece of sculpture...We don't
worry about function...the factories take care of that...we are free to create any form we desire. The need for this art is aesthetic and not economic. Beauty and usefulness is not, however, an either or proposition. Art can serve both purposes."ls ln 1967 a writer for Craft Horizonsnoted that McCutchen's work with glassblorving \\'as "a natural have to
extension of his award-winning rvork in l2minated and molded qlass," and described his nerv rtork "botties. borr-ls.:nd r-ases " - - bXonn i:io
irregular, curving shapes rrith flort1ng Prorutlennces isine trom lhe bases and doubling the surfaces to create faceted light effects"":' McCutchen's blown glass, such as Figure /0, closely resembles the initial
works created by other early artists experimenting with this technique. His blown glass objects capitalize on the fluidity of the glass and the forms it naturally takes when worked in a molten state, a marked contrast to his slumped and laminated works' When McCutchen first began experimenting with glass he wrote, "Just as different painting techniques offer their various and peculiar advantages to the painter, so the several ways of working r,vith glass
present unique qualities."IT Mccutchen's work with ceramics remained strong throughout his career, and as a ceramics instructor, he played
in the development of art education at the University of Georgia. As an artist working with glass, Mccutchen was at the forefront of his field. He adopted the material years before it became
a significant role
popular with individual studio craftsmen, constantly experimented with innovative laminating techniques, and created a remarkable and
distinctive body of work. Though the slumping and laminating glass processes are largely overshadowed today by the subsequent studio glass movement, which focuses on glassblowing, McCutchen's role as a pioneer is an
important element in the history of glass in America.
ASHLEY CALLAHAN
r4
Norrs l.
Charles Counts, "Introduction," in Continuity and Change: Three Generations American Potters lexh. cat., Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art] f.Loretto,
Pennsylvania, 1982), n.p. Roger Bonham and Roy Overcast, "The University of Georgia," Ceramics Monthly 2a (May 1976), 44.
Bonham 1976,44. 4.
5.
6.
g.
lo.
tl. 14.
15.
I6.
t7
Bonham 1976,46.
of
CnncrrrsT oF THx ExnrBrrroN l.
Lamar Dodd (American, 1909-1996)
8.
Earl McCutchen
Portrait of Earl McCutchen, 1945
Set of mugs, l95O
Oil on canvas
Earthenware
2I
x
25 r1z inches (frame)
x
19 r7z
r1z
Approximately 5 x
inches (sight) Collection of Mary McCutchen I5
s7a
4z1a
x
3r7a
inches each
Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; gift of Daniel A. Huff
cMoA 2001.196-203 2. Earl McCutchen (American, 1918-1985)
9.
Vase,194I Porcelain
x
4t1s
Earl McCutchen Bird- shaped.
5t1a
(diameter) inches
u e s sel, 19
52
Earthenware
Collection of Mary McCutchen
6 t1+
x
x
14 t 1z
4 r7z inches
Collection of Mary McCutchen
l.
Earl McCutchen Pitcher, 1942
10. Earl McCutchen
Earthenware
Vase, 1953
4t1+x6x4rTainches Collection of Mary McCutchen
Earthenware lOtl+
x
7
t1z
x
3 t1z
inches
Collection of Mary McCutchen 4. Earl McCutchen
Bowl, 1942
11. Earl McCutchen
Earthenware 3
r1a
Vase, L953
x 9 (diameter) inches
Earthenware
Collection of Mary McCutchen
11 s7s
x
6z1a
x
3s1e
inches
Collection of Mary McCutchen 5. Earl McCutchen
Bowl, L948
12. Earl McCutchen
Stoneware
Wine bottle, 1957 Earthenware
5s1tx14x9r7zinches
lltlt x 3 i7z (diameter)
Collection of Mary McCutchen
inches
Collection of Mary McCutchen 6. Earl McCutchen
Decanter,1948
ll.
Earthenware
LI x
5t1+
(diameter) inches
Collection of Mary McCutchen 7. Earl McCutchen Lidded uessel, n.d. Stoneware 10r7a
x
6r7a
(diameter) inches
Collection of Mary McCutchen
,4.
22. Earl McCutchen
i1. Earl McCutchen Vase,
n.d'.
Stoneware 8r7e x l3r7z x 5r7a inches
Round PLate, n.d. Glass, coPPer screen, glaze
(diameter) inches Collection of MarY McCutchen
Collection of MarY McCutchen
'
n.d. .I
Vase,
,-
Glass, aluminum
Stoneware l2r1z x'17
11+
i
7Ya
rl2
inches '
24..
17. EarlMcCutchen Vase, n.d. 1211+
inches
L4t 1a x l4t 1z inches
Rectangular Plate, n'd' Glass, coPPer screen, PaPer,
aluminum foil, glaze 8t1z
x
x
15
t1z
(diameter) inches
Collection of MarY McCutchen
10274
2s1z
x
15:,1t (diameter) inches
Collection of MarY McCutchen 26. EarlMcCutchen
19. EarI McCutchen
x
2s1z
Glass, PaPer, aluminum screen
Collection of MarY McCutchen
t1t
EarlMcCutchen Round bowl, n.d.
Round bowl, n.d-
Square Plate, n.d. GIass, glaze
x
9:7a (diameter) inches
21. EarlMcCutchen
18. Earl McCutchen
s1z
glaze
Glass
Collection of MarY McCutchen
I
x
foil,
Collection of MarY McCutchen
Collection of Mary McCritchen
Stoneware 28 x l2t1z x
9t1s
21. Earl McCutchen Round Plate, n.d.
16. Earl McCutchen
"
x
t1z
inches
Round bowl, n.dGlass, paper, aluminum foil, copper screen' glaze 2r1+ x L5 (diameter) inches
Collection of MarY McCutchen
Collection of MarY McCutchen 27. F;arl McCutchen Square bowl, n.d.
20. Earl McCutchen Square Plate, n.d. Glass, aluminum foil, PaPer, glaze
ltla x
L4t1*
x
l4r1z inches
Glass, glaze 421+
x
LO t1+
x
10;7s inches
Collection of MarY McCutchen
Collection of MarY McCutchen 28. Earl McCutchen Square botul, n.d'
21. Earl McCutchen
Glass, glaze
Round Plate, n.dGiass, iron filings 1r7a
x I0 (diameter)
l718x8x7 inches
Collection of MarY McCutchen
518
inches
Coilection of Marv McCutchen
Partial support for the exhibitions and programs at the Georgia Museum of Art is prouided by the W. Neutton Morris Charitable Foundation and the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. The Council is a partner agency of the
National Endoutment for the Arts. Indiuiduals, foundations, and corporations prouide additional support through their gifts to the Uniuersity of Georgia Foundation. This exhibition is generously sponsored by the W. Neuton Morcis Charitable Foundation, the Friends of the Museum, and by benefactors Mr. Louis T. Grffith and Ms. Leila G. Allen.
(]Fr}R(iIA
NATTSFTTIU
r)E ART
Performing and Visual Arts Complex University of Georgia (706) 542.GMOA www.uga.eou/gamuseum
I{r)TTI?S
l0amto5pm lOamto9pm
cRApHIC
on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday on Wednesday and I pm to 5 pm on Sunday
rirstcN: wendy@garfinkeidesign.com
GEORGIA MUSEUM OF ART
o
THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA