1
2014 NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition Award Sponsors Aardvark Clay Purchase Award AMACO - brent Purchase Award Ceramics: Art and Perception/TECHNICAL Merit Award (2) KBH Merit Award Laguna Clay Company Merit Award MKM Pottery Tools Merit Award Mudtools Merit Award Paperclay Merit Award Retired Professors Award (Merit) Smith-Sharpe Fire Brick Supply Merit Award Studio Potter Graduate Merit Award (2) Studio Potter Undergraduate Merit Award (2) NCECA Graduate Award for Excellence 1st, 2nd, 3rd NCECA Undergraduate Award for Excellence 1st, 2nd, 3rd
This exhibition is presented by NCECA in cooperation with:
Š 2014 NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without prior permission of the publisher. Cover Image: Nicholas Oh, Rocket #10 Catalog Design: Candice Finn
www.nceca.net
2014 NCECA NSJE Participating Artists
Liana Agnew | Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Patrick Kingshill | San Jose State University
Crista Ames | University of Montana
Benjamin Lambert | Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
James Barker | Kansas State University
Yeon Joo Lee | Rhode Island School of Design
Rickie Barnett | California State University, Chico
Jessi Li | Virginia Commonwealth University
Tristyn Bustamante | Arizona State University
Jessica Longobardo | SUNY New Paltz
Hannah Cameron | Ohio University
Roberto Lugo | Pennsylvania State University
Joshua Clark | Cranbrook Academy of Art
Wade MacDonald | Michigan State University
Trisha Coates | Wichita State University
Marsha Mack | Syracuse University
Heather Couch | Arizona State University
Shalya Marsh | University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Virginia Eckinger | The University of Alabama
Sharon McCoy | Fort Hays State University
Thomas Edwards | University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Sarah McNutt | Kansas State University
Marty Fielding | University of Florida
Nicholas Oh | San Francisco State University
Marisa Finos | Virginia Commonwealth University
Ginnifer O’Keefe | University of Missouri, Columbia
Michelle Florence | Virginia Commonwealth University
Brooks Oliver | Pennsylvania State University
Forrest Gard | Louisiana State University
Anthony Pearson | Southern Utah University
Michael Gesiakowski | Southern Illinois University
Jordan Pieper | Oregon College of Art and Craft
Gustav Hamilton | Kansas State University
Tai Rogers | Indiana University
Seana Higgins | Ohio University
Erika Sanada | Academy of Art University
Andrew Hoeppner | University of Washington
Phyllis Schlessinger | University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Jocelyn Howard | Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Justin Schortgen | University of Iowa
Michael Hurley | California State University, Chico
Melanie Sherman | Kansas City Art Institute
Kahlil Irving | Kansas City Art Institute
Rachelyn Spry | SUNY Buffalo
Victoria Jang | California College of the Arts
Iren Tete | University of Missouri, Columbia
Ben Jordan | Northern Arizona University
Kodi Thompson | Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Sarah Justice | Georgia State University
Adriel Tong | Rhode Island School of Design
Nina Kawar | Clemson University
Lauren Tucci | Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Gunyoung Kim | The Ohio State University
Nicholas Wells | University of Minnesota
Jin Kim | Cranbrook Academy of Art
Bill Wilkey | University of Missouri, Columbia
Trevor King | University of Michigan • Graduate • Post-baccalaureate • Undergraduate
Student Director At Large | Kevin Ramler
Quality & Variety As I consider the work selected for the 2014 NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition, I am struck by both the quality and variety of the work being produced by ceramic students across the country. Our largest student exhibition to date has everything from interactive performance to elegant abstraction, from wry figures to exquisite vessels. Ceramic culture is more diverse than ever before and the students here represent a continuing commitment to that diversity, pushing at the edges of our ever-expanding understanding of our shared material. I would like to express my gratitude to the amazing jurors, Tara Wilson and Jeffrey Mongrain, for their insightful analysis and commitment. I would also like to thank Mark Lawson of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design for hosting the exhibition and Linda Ganstrom, NCECA’s Exhibitions Director for the guidance and assistance.
6
Host Venue Statement | Mark Lawson
The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) is pleased to host the 2014 National Student Juried Exhibition for this year’s National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference. As Wisconsin’s only independent college of art and design, MIAD is committed to providing a quality education in the arts, and to increase public awareness of the value and importance of an education in the arts. The exceptionally high quality of the artwork juried into this exhibition is a good indication of the overall quality of student work being produced in ceramic programs around the country. We are glad to have a role in communicating this level of educational excellence to the diverse audiences who will attend this year’s exhibition. We welcome these talented young artists into the professional exhibition field. The NSJE will be shown in MIAD’s Frederick Layton Gallery which was established in 1992 when we relocated into our current main campus building. This venue was named after the founder of Milwaukee’s first art gallery, and a key figure in founding of our predecessor educational institution, the Layton School of Art. The Layton Gallery presents exhibitions of diverse subject matter and focus, ranging in scope from the international to the local. Additionally, MIAD has five other exhibit spaces, which all together stage approximately thirty art and design exhibitions per year.
7
Juror Statement | Jeffrey Mongrain
The NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition is consistently one of the great venues for presenting student artworks on a national and international stage. It was an honor to be selected to jury the 2014 NSJE along with Tara Wilson. It was a most enjoyable but also difficult task due to the many noteworthy works submitted. We had the pleasure of reviewing artworks of the highest quality that demonstrated a significant diversity of imagery. I personally found the intelligence and clarity of content to be incredibly impressive from students of both the undergraduate and graduate levels. NCECA has provided a wonderful opportunity for young artists to be to represented at this worldrenowned conference. I would like to thank all the NCECA personnel who made this process so pleasant. I wish the best of luck to all of these incredible and serious young artists. Jeffrey Mongrain creates both gallery-based works and site-specific pieces. The sited works are primarily located in spiritual spaces. His gallery-based sculptures are reductive and generally reference iconic forms. Scientific findings and religious philosophy are the conceptual foundation of his emotive forms. Some of Mongrain’s recent solo exhibitions include the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art in Sedalia, Missouri; the San Angelo Museum of Fine Art in San Angelo, Texas; the National Museum of Catholic Art in New York City; the Diego Rivera Museum in Guanajuato, Mexico; the Temple Gallery in Rome, Italy; the Newcastle Regional Art Gallery in Australia; the Museo de Antropologia in Mexico; the John Elder Gallery in New York City; and the Perimeter Gallery in Chicago. Mongrain is currently scheduled for a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in the Dominican Republic. Jeffrey Mongrain has been a Professor and Head of MFA Sculpture at Hunter College in New York City since 1995 and has recently been promoted to Distinguished Professor. He previously taught for seven years at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland.
8
Juror Statement | Tara Wilson
NCECA’s National Student Juried Exhibition celebrates the work being produced by students from across the country. This show is among the favorites at NCECA for many young artists as well as educators. I feel honored to be selected along with Jeffrey Mongrain to serve as a juror for the 2014 NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition. I take my role as juror very seriously, understanding the importance this exhibition has for many young artists. The quality and breadth of work submitted was impressive making the selection difficult. My goal as a juror was to showcase the diverse range of work being created by students from across the country by including work from various styles and genres as well as work created by graduate, undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students. I feel our selection represents the high quality of work being produced in academia today. I’d like to thank NCECA for providing this premier exhibition opportunity to young artists. I’m confident that many of the artists represented in this exhibition will continue to play an active role in the field of ceramics in the future. Tara Wilson is a studio potter living in Montana City, Montana. Wilson received a BFA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2000 and her MFA degree from the University of Florida in 2003. She has been a resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation and the Red Lodge Clay Center. Wilson was selected as an emerging artist for the 2006 NCECA conference and was a presenter at the 2006 International Woodfire Conference in Flagstaff. She has given lectures and workshops throughout the United States; and her work has been exhibited internationally. Wilson was a demonstrating artist at the 2009 NCECA conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
9
Liana Agnew, Flower Brick, 2013 Porcelain, underglaze, high-fire reduction glazes 6.50” x 9” x 6”
10
Crista Ames, Dairy Queen, 2013 Porcelain, underglaze, china paint, acrylic paint, water color, mid-fire electric 16” x 12” x 12”
James Barker, Brown Plague, 2012 Stoneware, underglaze, terra sigillata, glaze, sandblasted, oxidation firing 35” x 26” x 9”
11
Rickie Barnett, Sea Sick Sail Boy, 2013 Stoneware, slips, underglazes, glazes, low-fire, multiple firings 12.25” x 7.75” x 9.25”
12
Tristyn Bustamante, Plug, 2012 Stoneware, textured slips, copper rod 15” x 6” x 12”
Hannah Cameron, Self-Help Sardines, 2013 Ceramic, mixed media 72” x 32” x 16” Photo: Jacob Koestler
Joshua Clark, In what image, 2013 Ceramic, low-fire black glitter glaze, chartreuse glaze, C.N.C. cut M.D.F. foam, plastic 48” x 18” x 6”
13
Trisha Coates, Nothing Twice, 2013 Porcelain, decals, high-fire, photographic transparency projection 10” x 10” x 0.50”
14
Heather Couch, Site Extraction 251, 2012 Raw bisque stoneware, wood, monofilament 4” x 48” x 3”
Virginia Eckinger, Charm Means Getting Yes as an Answer Without Ever Having Asked a Question, 2013 Ceramic, mixed media 31” x 20” x 23” (figure)
Thomas Edwards, Twelve, 2013 Wheel thrown porcelain, concrete 24” x 24” x 3.50”
15
Marty Fielding, Teapot, 2012 Hand-built earthenware, terra sigillata, underglaze, glaze, low-fire 8” x 9” x 5”
Marisa Finos, Depart (24 frames per second), 2012 Courtesy of Franz Rabauer and Brian Dagget Terra cotta 7” x 108” x 4.50”
16
Michelle Florence, Bacchus: Self Portrait No. 1, 2011 Low-fire white earthenware, glaze 17” x 12” x 12”
Forrest Gard, Arcade Ball Ramp, from the Make it/Take it series, 2013 Ceramic, mixed media 72” x 48” x 84”
17
Michael Gesiakowski, Degraded Mug, 2013 Stoneware, slip, underglaze, glaze, high-fire reduction 4” x 5” x 4”
18
Gustav Hamilton, Detroit Lakes, MN, 2013 Ceramic, mixed media 50” x 42” x 24”
Seana Higgins, I’ll Just Call with My Banana, 2012 Earthenware, slip, glaze, epoxy, fabric, concrete 22.50” x 11.50” x 4.25”
Andrew Hoeppner, Sticks and Stones, 2013 Hand-built and thrown stoneware, low-fire glazes, mixed media 63” x 46” x 26”
19
Michael Hurley, The Narrowing Ledge for the Wyoming Wolf, 2013 Hand-built and slip cast stoneware 5.50” x 27.25” x 3.25”
Jocelyn Howard, Tension, 2013 Stoneware, slip, underglaze, mid-fire oxidation 16” x 12” x 32”
20
Kahlil Irving, Metamorphosis, 2013 Porcelain, stoneware, yellow earthenware, black stoneware, fabric, wood, plastic, paper (burn out), steel, acrylic paint, clear glaze, high-fire reduction 9.50” x 6” x 6.50”
Victoria Jang, Untitled, 2013 Stoneware, stains, glazes, mid-range firings 48” x 62” x 32”
21
Ben Jordan, Uprooted, 2013 Slip cast porcelain, white stoneware, steel, bare clay, low-fire electric 65” x 33” x 33”
22
Sarah Justice, The Dance, 2012 Mid-range, dark brown stoneware, porcelain slip, satin ribbon, tea stain, acrylic paint, recycled tree trunk 67” x 26” x 23” Photo: Eddie Ing
Nina Kawar, Order I, 2013 Hand-built porcelain, mid-range firing 39” x 9” x 9”
Gunyoung Kim, Possession, 2012 Figure: White stoneware, terra sigillata, matte glaze, gold luster, mid-range electric Base: Terra cotta, terra sigillata, gold acrylic, low-fire electric. 25” x 20” x 8”
23
Jin Kim, Rice Cakes, 2011 Ceramic rice cakes, pine needles 22” x 88.5” x 51”
Trevor King, My Grandfather’s Pots, 2013 Low-fire earthenware, colored slips, terra sigillata, sandblasted 36” x 48” x 48”
24
Patrick Kingshill, Cup, 2013 Porcelain, glaze, wood, metal, ink 16” x 24” x 6.50” Photo: Thomas Webb
Benjamin Lambert, If a Bear Falls in the Woods, 2013 Earthenware, terra sigillata, glaze, milk paint, wax 36” x 36” x 72”
25
Yeon Joo Lee, VS., 2013 Hand-built stoneware, low-fire 14” x 20” x 14” Photo: Rick Haynes
Jessi Li, Gloria, 2011 Stoneware, acrylic, fabric, epoxy resin, wood, metal leaf 13” x 24” x 9” Photo: Daniel Fox
26
Jessica Longobardo, Nontraditional Holy Families, 2013 Porcelain, steel, plywood, hardware 22” x 108” x 3”
Roberto Lugo, Oppression, 2013 Porcelain, slip, china paint, luster, high-fire reduction 9” x 20” x 8” (figures)
27
Wade MacDonald, Invitation 1: Orange, 2013 Red earthenware, underglazes, wood, Plexiglas®, LED lighting, acrylic paint 55.50” x 48” x 28”
28
Marsha Mack, Snippet, 2011 Low-fire paper clay, underglaze 27” x 13” x 12” Photo: Jay Jones
Shalya Marsh, I Dream (U Think), U Think (I Dream), 2012 Earthenware, terra sigillata, oxides, low-fire oxidation 16” x 40” x 5”
Sharon McCoy, Help With Flying, 2013 Porcelain paper clay, underglaze, glaze, engobes, post-fired finishes, found objects 36” x 36” x 48”
29
Sarah McNutt, The Pygmalion Project, 2013 Low-fire clay, video projection, wood, acrylic 30” x 13” x 13”
30
Nicholas Oh, Rocket #10, 2013 Mid-range white stoneware, inlay, glaze 18” x 16” x 9”
Ginnifer O’Keefe, Sieve with Ladles, 2013 Earthenware, white slip, enamel, glaze, low-fire 27.50” x 27.50” x 12”
Brooks Oliver, Let’s Talk, 2013 Porcelain slip cast from rapid prototyped mold, high-fire, nail polish 6” x 31” x 7”
31
Anthony Pearson, Platter, 2013 Slab-built high iron stoneware, high-fire, reduction-cooled 4” x 17.50” x 8.50” Photo: S. Harris
Jordan Pieper, Celadon Tulipiere, 2013 Porcelain, celadon glaze, high-fire reduction 9.50” x 15” x 6” Photo: Courtney Frisse Photography
32
Tai Rogers, Hormuz CV, 2012 Low-fire clay, terra sigillata, printed with letterpress type 36” x 48” x 5”
Erika Sanada, Opposite, 2013 Ceramic, glaze 5” x 11” x 3”
33
Phyllis Schlessinger, Target, 2013 White stoneware, white porcelain slip, clear glaze, ceramic decal, mid-range electric 11” x 17.50” x 19”
Justin Schortgen, Life Cycles, 2013 Porcelain, Arduino sensor, metal, low-fire electric 36” x 18” x 18”
34
Melanie Sherman, Table Setting I, 2012 Porcelain, glaze, decals, gold luster, pins, high-fire reduction 4” x 12” x 11” Photo: EG Schempf Rachelyn Spry, Heart, 2013 Off-white mid-range stoneware, glass apothecary jar, resin, dirt, live moss 18” x 8” x 8”
35
Iren Tete, Mug 1, 2013 Porcelain, slips, glazes, high-fire soda 5” x 4” x 3” Photo: Amanda Wilkey
36
Iren Tete, Mug 2, 2013 Porcelain, slips, glazes, high-fire soda 5” x 5” x 3.50” Photo: Amanda Wilkey
Kodi Thompson, Splat Mug, 2013 Porcelain, airbrushed underglaze, clear glaze, mid-range 3.50” x 4” x 3.25”
Adriel Tong, Hammer and Sickle #3, 2013 Earthenware, acrylics, stains, wood, low-fire electric 55” x 17” x 16”
37
Lauren Tucci, Self Portrait, 2013 Stoneware, underglazes, terra sigillata, stains, glaze, paste, wax, liquid latex 14” x 13.50” x 8.50”
38
Nicholas Wells, The Pugilist, 2013 Press molded stoneware, vitreous slip, colored slips, Arduino board, Distance sensor, Servo Motors, fabric, steel, wood, low-fire 50” x 36” x 36” Photo: Charlie Cummings
Bill Wilkey, Two Quart Lidded Juice Pitcher, 2013 Thrown/altered stoneware, flashing slips, glazes, high-fire soda 12” x 7” x 4.50” Photo: Amanda Wilkey
Bill Wilkey, Sugar Jar, 2013 Thrown/altered stoneware, flashing slips, glazes, high-fire soda 6.50” x 4.50” x 4.50” Photo: Amanda Wilkey
39
NCECA Exhibitions Director | Linda Ganstrom Express Yourself. In its fifth year as a national competition and exhibition, the 2014 NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition hosted by the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design is the largest in number of works presented, exhibiting 59 works by 57 artists from across the USA. Juried by Tara Wilson and Jeffrey Mongrain, the NSJE showcases authentic and relevant art created by the emerging talent in the academic ceramics scene. Expressive, experimental and emotionally charged; the desire for a deeper, more profound understanding of personal and cultural identity is the exhibition’s dominant theme, finding voice through figurative, abstract and functional genres. Seeking to make a cultural impact through communication, connection and community involvement; hope threads through a variety of strands that resonate with student artists such as psychology, science and technology, design and function, sustainability, play, natural and built environments. Presented in formats that range from large-scale installations to the intimate cup, self-reflective works full of skill, humor, wit and beauty offer insight into the private lives of the artists, while their historical and global references display the artists’ education, experience and motivation in finding their place in the larger culture and age-old ceramic story. A deep vein with many branches, almost half of the pieces are overtly figurative or bear a figurative reference. Intriguing characters frozen in a moment to imply a story is a device employed by many of the narrative artists. Most captivating, Lauren Tucci’s, Self Portrait, mysteriously confronts the viewer from under heavy bangs in a shy/ sly seductive gaze hinting at the dark emotions warring within as she struggles to build her self-esteem and public face. In Depart (24 frames per second), Marisa Finos’s heads appear as stills in a slow motion film, attempting to communicate in a state between sleep and awareness. Windblown, Sarah Justice’s innocent, rather doll-like figure in The Dance, appears apprehensive in her precarious position atop a large stump prompting thoughts of the balance between nature and culture, childhood and death. The figure itself is split in Gunyoung Kim, Possession, as she learns to balance the impact of living in two cultures, as does Victoria Jang in her installation exploring familial roles and power. Jessica Longobardo also investigates and questions the impact of stereotypical family icons on identity in Nontraditional Holy Families. Rickie Barnett’s melancholy character, Sea Sick Sail Boy, sits quietly on a shelf holding a toy boat; his bird skull head cocked to one side as if recalling a personal memory, himself a fragment of imagination remembered from a childhood desiring flight and freedom. Sharon McCoy’s Help with Flying and Marsha Mack’s Snippet employ a bit of whimsy to communicate their character’s lived experience, hope, longings, and desires. Connecting the widening economic gap and apparent disparity in American culture to pinnacles in European court life, a number of artists reference the opulence and cost of privilege and the culture surrounding it. Michelle Florence’s, Bacchus: Self Portrait No. 1, features a lovely white Godzilla swilling a martini and smoking a big cigar while posed on an elaborate base reminiscent of 18th century court porcelain. Pointing out the absurdity of life and art, while calling into question cultural values and appetites, the enjoyment of excess apparently comes
40
with a monstrous cost in personal transformation. Surrounded by luxury, the languid, indolent pose and blank facial expression captured by Jessi Li in Gloria emotes the active sadness of an objectified body unable to control her destiny. Using a Victorian tea table as prop, Roberto Lugo, displays two heads bearing teacups in Oppression, expanding awareness of the race and class distinctions need to support such luxury. Full of innuendo, Virginia Eckinger’s hybrid creature in Charm Means Getting Yes as an Answer Without Ever Having Asked a Question also employs antique furniture to create a repressive vignette for her archetypal figure of a female demurely posed, legs tucked under, but as fertile as a bunny. Animals figure in a number of works. Crista Ames’ sweet little figurine, Dairy Queen greets viewers with a parade wave while displaying the interior workings of the cow along with the cheese it produces in a macabre vignette that focuses our attention on food production, our treatment of and dependence on animals. Hannah Cameron’s SelfHelp Sardines, leaves the viewer to wonder about predator and prey relationships. While Benjamin Lambert in his deadpan, but humorous work, If a Bear Falls in the Woods, suggests something is seriously amiss for Smokey the Bear or the forest. Michael Hurley more clearly questions humanity’s relationship with nature and his creatures in The Narrowing Ledge for the Wyoming Wolf. The red rooster/cock in Adriel Tong’s Hammer and Sickle #3 wryly alludes to a geopolitical agenda. In VS., the active motion of battle between the human-faced dog pulling hard on his leash versus his handler by Yeon Joo Lee, suggests an internal conflict between the wild and tamed sides of nature in an internal or psychological conflict. Erika Sanada creates an equally uncomfortable image of twin pups joined at the spine but moving in opposite directions that pulls on our notions of cuteness and comfort found in pets, while pointing out how our needs restrict their freedom and increase animals dependence on their owners in Opposite. Equally disturbing is our penchant for violence. Phyllis Schlessinger addresses gun violence in Target, inspired by the events at Sandy Hook Elementary School and the deaths of 20 first graders and six staffers. Also alluding to violence in sport and politics, Nicholas Wells’ The Pugilist was created from parts pulled from a mold formed over a 3 feet high model of The Doryphoros by Polykleitos. By assembling sections, but leaving his sculpture clearly degraded and fragmented but clothed in the stars and stripes of the American flag, Wells proves contemporary figurative sculpture is well aware of the classical Greek standard, but employs great freedom of expression, no longer bound by those rules of convention. Another sign of artistic freedom are the myriad materials utilized in developing the surfaces and presentation of these figures. Going beyond glaze, luster, china paint and fired surfaces; the NSJE artists used encaustic, casein, watercolor, acrylic and oil paint, fabric, concrete, epoxy, found objects, projection, electronics, even robotic technology as they invent the contemporary ceramic figure. Joshua Clark, In what image, transforms his ceramic elements with low-fire black glitter and brilliant chartreuse glazes adding elements created on a C.N.C. machine and
41
cut from M.D.F. foam and plastic to create unexpected and sensational sculptures that reference toys and religious icons. The girl in Sharon McCoy’s complex sculpture rides a wooden ship in Help with Flying, a blinking arrow directing the uplifting action and forward motion. By transforming found ceramic with decals and projected images, Trisha Coates investigates the fleeting quality of memory in Nothing Twice. In The Pygmalion Project, Sarah McNutt reverses the classical tale and depicts how a woman can project herself or her idealized imaginary mate onto the form of another attempting an unrealistic transformation. Toys, a number with metaphorical connections, also branch from the figurative vein. The Tension created by Jocelyn Howard’s puppet/doll/figurine hybrid explores how toys allow one to investigate issues surrounding gender, sexuality and adults roles through play. Seana Higgins’, I’ll Just Call with My Banana, implores the worn and battered monkey from within to emerge and join in the fun. The bright colors and shiny surfaces of Andrew Hoeppner’s little red wagon and colorful vessels in Sticks and Stones, helps recall the intensity and fragility of childhood pleasure. Exploring fragility in a more literal sense, while expanding the boundaries of ceramic practice, Forrest Gard encourages his audience to roll the ball to make a basket at the price of breaking the ceramic in Arcade Ball Ramp, from the Make it/Take it series. The boat motor, a big boys’ toy, in Gustav Hamilton, Detroit Lakes, MN, reminds us that leisure and adult play are signs of privilege, power and prestige. Nicholas Oh’s Rocket #10, a beautifully decorated war toy, evokes anxiety as it questions what values are learned through play while displaying how disparate cultures can be brought together through exploration and appreciation of traditional and experimental creative practices offering hope. Issues revolving around the impact of science and technology in understanding our world are at the center of another vein. Tai Rogers’, Hormuz CV, uses the map as a tool of orientation and navigation to explore how abstraction and manipulation aids in developing a clarity and understanding of our physical surroundings and global environment. Jin Kim’s, Rice Cakes, appears to be a three dimensional map created to display the challenge of living in two cultures. Heather Couch employs a pseudo scientific method to gather data which she abstracts and uses in Site Extraction 251 to assist the viewer in looking more deeply into their natural surroundings. Questioning our isolation from nature, James Barker points a warning finger in Brown Plague, just as Tristyn Bustamante spotlights our dependence on technology for work and pleasure in Plug. Sealed in a glass jar referencing Enlightenment practices, Rachelyn Spry’s Heart, echoes the cry of danger in isolating and exploiting elements of nature without a full understanding of the impact caused by that act. Life Cycles by Justin Schortgen, employs sensors that change the color of the objects as the viewer nears evoking a sense of emotion and danger associated even with the act of observing. Abstraction with an emphasis on materials and design is prominent in a number of surprising works. Kahlil Irving, explores materials and processes revealing inner relationships in Metamorphosis, created from combining and firing porcelain, stoneware, yellow earthenware, black stoneware, fabric, wood, plastic, paper, steel, acrylic paint, clear glaze, high-fire reduction, then cutting the mass open with a saw. Shalya Marsh’s coded text reading I Dream (U
42
Think), U Think (I Dream) reads an enigmatic textural abstraction. Nina Kawar’s Order I and Ben Jordan’s Uprooted are organic abstractions full of life force and energy. Utilizing LED lighting, Wade MacDonald’s Invitation 1: Orange is a call to compare architectural and sculptural impulses. Elegantly simple and boldly colored, Brooks Oliver’s vessel, Let’s Talk, is a porcelain slip cast abstraction created from a rapid prototyped mold, high-fired, then decorated with nail polish expected to expand notions of the vessel in contemporary art and design. Possibly the most intimate of all ceramic creations the cup engages the body by requiring the users to bring it into their mouth and place their face inside the vessel. Luscious, soda fired Mug 1 and 2 by Iren Tete are well considered functional forms decorated with the attention of a dress maker and tailored for sensuous handling intended to enhance the enjoyment of the present moment and daily drinking experiences. Kodi Thompson’s Splat Mug is decorated with a fragment of a graffiti painting for a fresh spontaneous appearance in contrast to Michael Gesiakowski’s Degraded Mug, which evokes the melancholy nostalgia of the post-industrial age with its patina. Separating the viewer from the sensuous engagement of the cup, Patrick Kingshill’s Cup rests on a small shelf attached to a wall piece forcing the viewer to experience the vessel only as a visual element in an abstract composition. Existing in the overlap of decorative object and functional pottery, Bill Wilkey’s Two Quart Lidded Juice Pitcher and Sugar Jar are handsome, practical functional forms. Equally compelling, Marty Fielding’s Teapot’s bold geometric design and contrasting color scheme demands attention while offering service. A fresh relic, the earthy textures and colors in Anthony Pearson’s rustic Platter invite touch with an openness intended for display and offering. Completed only when in service, Liana Agnew’s Flower Brick sports a decoration created from repetitious text elements intended to display facility at brushwork rather than content. Simply elegant, Jordan Pieper’s Celadon Tulipiere references the sensuous curves and folds of the body. Nearing the non-functional boundary of the vessel, Melanie Sherman’s Table Setting I is a fascinating set of three objects referencing 18th century European porcelain, with a twist. With further references to upholstery and textile patterns, these pleasurable objects beg for handling in order to satisfy appetites having nothing to do with food. Using the vessel as content in an installation intended to connect ceramics with a more pedestrian view of handmade pottery, Trevor King creates forms based on a trucker, his grandfather’s ideas and sketches of ceramics in My Grandfather’s Pots exploring the relationship between concept, drawing, line, form, surface in an unexpected and intriguing collaboration. Similar to the Georgia O’Keeffe motivation to enlarge flowers to a point where their beauty could not be ignored, Ginnifer O’Keefe’s Sieve with Ladles, enlarges everyday objects until we notice their sculptural qualities. The spare and dynamic nature of Thomas Edwards’ Twelve exposing in X-ray fashion a dozen bowls imbedded in concrete to form a wreath, reveals the beauty of ceramic’s underlying structure or skeletal bones. By entombing, then unearthing this cross section of the bowls, the sculpture’s open interior forces an enhanced understanding of the hollow or inner volume that is the essence of function. Perhaps handmade pottery is superfluous in modern life, yet these beautiful bowls clearly provide an aesthetic treat when function is denied and sculptural qualities revealed.
43
As NCECA’s Exhibitions Director, it has been my pleasure to oversee the expansion of our student exhibition from a regional to more inclusive national competition that offers an international platform for emerging talent at the annual NCECA conference. I am very excited to share in the effort to create our first NSJE stand-alone catalog. As always I want to acknowledge and offer gratitude to the many people who worked to make such an exhibition possible. Thank you to the exhibiting artists, as well as the many other artists who were not accepted, but helped form a strong talent pool and are the fertile soil from which the next generation of ceramic art will spring. Thank you to their teachers and mentors. Deepest appreciation goes to our jurors, Tara Wilson and Jeffrey Mongrain for selecting a dynamic and vital exhibition. My heartfelt gratitude to Mark Lawson and his staff at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design for hosting this large and diverse exhibition. Another note of thanks goes to our award sponsors. And much gratitude goes out to the NCECA staff and board, especially Josh Green for his leadership, support and detail work in editing and catalog design, to Kate Vorhaus for her support and work with our artists and Candice Finn who has earned a special acknowledgment for her smart catalog design. It has been a pleasure to work with our Student Directors at Large and I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Kevin Ramler and Maccabee Shelley for their roles in bringing the 2014 NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition to our audiences.
44
NCECA Executive Director | Joshua Green Making Matters in a Material World Potter Tara Wilson and conceptual sculptor Jeffrey Mongrain share a deep love and understanding of clay. This common material covers the earth’s surface and has been employed for time immemorial in art and daily life, routine and ritual, science and technology. Clay’s omnipresence and changeable nature make it a uniquely compelling and challenging material whether one’s model of achievement centers on mastery of process or poetic acceptance of imperfection. Ceramics can celebrate that our field is at a moment when we can build on diversity of artistic aims and commonality of commitment to making and material. Not long ago, it would be difficult to get two accomplished artists whose work explores such widely divergent vernaculars of investigation to cooperate closely on the creation of an exhibition like this one. The work Mongrain and Wilson have selected for NCECA’s 2014 National Student Juried Exhibition (NSJE) reveals the extent of divergent thinking that students and their teachers continually bring to reinvestigating clay’s material and historical concerns. Manifested in the exhibition so graciously hosted at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design are a commitment to both basic forms and works that integrate clay with an array of materials and processes that have not historically been associated with ceramics. Drinking vessels and jars dealing with concerns of craftsmanship, utility and design share ground with works that explore strategies of production and presentation. Content ranges from enhancement of life through engagement with well-wrought objects to meditations on the socio-political landscape, the environment and concerns of identity in a changing world. The measure of each work is embodied in the experience of the viewer. It is our job to open ourselves so that we can assess the vibrant senses of fluency and potency each work activates in its own terms. NCECA appreciates the sensibilities, seriousness and collaborative spirit our jurors shared with one another and extended to all of us. We are indebted to the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, particularly Mark Lawson and his team for handling and installing the work with the respect it so deserves. NCECA’s Exhibitions Director Linda Ganstrom and Student Directors-at-Large Kevin Ramler and Maccabee Shelley helped steer this endeavor to completion. NCECA staff members Kate Vorhaus and Candice Finn stewarded every detail of every work and word to bring the exhibition and catalog to fruition. Our generous sponsors have supported awards that will encourage new visions to sharpen in clarity, extend the field’s depth and expand its periphery. Deepest gratitude on behalf of NCECA goes to the maker/artists and their mentors who support and challenge them. Joshua Green NCECA Executive Director
45
2014 NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition
The National Student Juried Exhibition represents an important highlight in the array of experiences that the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) makes possible each year. Founded in 1966, NCECA is a nonprofit organization that fosters global education and appreciation for the ceramic arts, culture’s bridge to the past and future. Because clay connects us to the earth and one another, we believe that learning and working with this material touches lives and builds meaningful connections like no other artistic practice.
NCECA engages and mobilizes creative interests through its annual conference, which garners local, national and international artists to make a lasting impact on the communities we engage. NCECA’s educational, networking, and research opportunities are accessible and vital to the evolving needs of ceramic art and education communities. Exhibitions surrounding the annual conference attract more than 10,000 viewers and represent the work of nearly 1,000 artists.
NCECA’s journey from 100 members teaching in about 80 universities in the US to thousands making, teaching and learning worldwide is a testament to shared passions for clay, art and learning. Today’s NCECA is a community of practice that supports innovative ideas, creative individuals and their work. You can help NCECA sustain the next generation of makers, celebrate and preserve our history, disseminate our research to larger audiences, and expand opportunities for artists and communities in which they work. If you share our belief that art enriches every part of our lives, inciting curiosity,
ISBN 978-1-935046-58-5
90000
47 9 781935 046585