The unspoken message of ceramics Unspoken, a long-term exhibition by the University of Pretoria (UP) Museums, showcases signature South African ceramics from the Corobrik Collection. But it is so much more than an exhibition of some of the best South African ceramics.
Artist name: Majolandile Dyalvane Medium: Earthware Height: 290 mm Width: 260 mm
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re ceramics more than an iconic art form on the African continent? How do artists view their art and is ceramic art in the eye of the beholder? How has the tradition of ceramicmaking from precolonial Africa been passed on as an Unspoken tradition from one generation to the next? These are some of the provocative questions that the exhibition, Unspoken, aims to explore. Showcasing signature South African ceramics from the Corobrik Collection, this long-term, rotational loaned exhibition by the UP Museums is held in partnership with Corobrik, Ceramics Southern Africa (SA) and the City of Tshwane’s Pretoria Art Museum (PAM). Over 230 ceramics are on display, and the selected ceramicists will be changed each year, to explore their Unspoken biographies. They have been selected to examine how and why their art is influenced by personal journeys, the artistic profession and the role ceramics play within contemporary art. Over time, the exhibition will rotate selected artists annually to feature in Unspoken. This is more than just an exhibition of some of the best South Africa seminal ceramics. It serves to open discussions and questions about how ceramics are currently viewed and interpreted by a diversity of audiences within a university museum context.
A form of social commentary On many occasions ceramic art is a form of social commentary, allowing artists to speak of heritage, politics, or religion. Unspoken aims to remove the boundaries between ceramics as a craft and fine art. Artists utilise ceramics to explore everyday issues, moments, and emotions through their art and to express who they are and their origins. Some artists have been inspired by generations of ceramic-making as a tradition, where skills were passed on from one generation to the next.
46 TUKKIE | University of Pretoria
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