Gr. 11 Ceramics Unit 5, Ceramics in the 20th and 21st Centuries

1. Ceramics in the 20th and 21st Centuries

2. Modernism
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In the late 19th and early 20th century.
Rejected the traditional idea of realism, and
replaced it with abstract art.
The mantra, “Make it new!” led to experiments with
abstract form.
Modernist work drew attention to the processes and
materials used.
Simple colour and shape were the basis of modern
art.
Like in architecture, modern art valued simplicity and
rejected decoration.

3. Arts and Crafts Movement
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An international design movement that happened
between 1860 – 1910.
It was led by artist and writer, William Morris during
the 1860s.
The A & C Movement developed first in Britain, but
later spread to Europe and North America.
It was a reaction against big industry and the
resulting abandonment of handmade decorative arts.
The A & C Movement stood for traditional craft, using
simple forms and folk style decoration.

4. Modern Ceramics in Britain
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Modern style: simple abstract forms, with little
decoration.
Lucie Rie (1902 - 1995): an Austrian refugee. Her
work was functional. She is known for her pinstriped bowls and bottles.

5. Modern Ceramics in Britain
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Ruth Duckworth
(1919 – 2009):
German-born,
worked in Britain.
She is known for her
unglazed porcelain
sculptures and wallsculptures. True to
the modernist style,
her work is
characterized by
simplified abstract
forms.

6. Modern Ceramics in Britain
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Hans Coper (1920 – 1981): produced nonfunctional, sculptural pots (which were often
unglazed). He would throw parts on the wheel, then
alter and assemble them. His works tend to have
rough surfaces, and are often coloured with a
brown-black oxide.

7. Modern Ceramics in Britain
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Elizabeth Fritsch (1940 - ): studied
ceramics under Hans Coper at the Royal
College of Art in London, England. She
developed a flattened coil technique that
turned her vessels into 2D profiles. She
painted geometric decoration with slips.

8. Modern Ceramics in Britain
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Bernard Leach (1887 – 1979): although he lived at the
same time as Hans Coper, Ruth Duckworth, etc., he
continued to work in functional pottery. After studying
ceramics in Japan, he established a different style of
pottery influenced by Far-Eastern and medieval
English forms. He fired a lot of his work in wood-burning
kilns. His style became very influential.

9. Modern Ceramics
in North America
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Peter Voulkos and John Mason led the
modernist trend in Los Angeles, California.
They led the abstract expressionist
movement in clay.
Abstract expressionism is characterized by
dramatically large, experimental forms that
expressed the subconscious.
Abstract expressionist ceramics were known for
their “rawness, spontaneity, and
expressiveness” (Richard Marshall).

10. Modern Ceramics
in North America
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Peter Voulkos (1924 – 2002) became known for his large,
aggressive clay sculptures that tore apart the idea of the
traditional vessel.
His sculptures are recognizable by their visual weight,
free-formed construction and energetic decoration.

11. Modern Ceramics
in North America
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John Mason (1927 - ) makes work that focused on exploring
the physical properties of clay and its plasticity.
He was inspired by math concepts relating to rotation,
symmetry, and modules.

12. Post-Modernism
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Post-Modernism started as a reaction against the
rules of Modernism.
In Modernism there was a focus on abstract forms,
truth to materials (clay should look like clay), and
simplicity of form and colour.
Some historians say that Post-Modernism began with
the work of Robert Arneson, the father of the Funk
Movement.

13. Post-Modernism:
The Funk Movement
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Funk Art, like Pop Art, used commercial products
and consumerism as their subject matter.
Unlike Pop Art, which was cool and clean, Funk was
confrontational and messy.
Arneson's work includes a lot of self-portraits, done
with a sarcastic sense of humour.

14. Post-Modernism:
the Funk Movement

15. Post-Modernism & Architecture
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Post-Modern ceramics, influenced by Post-Modern
architects like Michael Graves and Robert Venturi,
became bright, colourful, playful, and decorative.
Graves
Venturi

16. Defining Post-Modernism
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Because Post-Modernism encourages individuality, it
is difficult to define what Post-Modern ceramics is.
There are several trends:
1. bright colour, playful form,
pattern-friendly
7. history & culture
8. image on the vessel
2. Post-Minimalism
9. the vessel as flat
3. pattern & decoration
image
4. the multiple vessel
10. the figure
5. organic abstraction
11. abstraction
6. the super-real
12. Post-Industrialism

17. 1) Bright Colour, Playful Form, Pattern-Friendly
^Howard Kottler
Ron Nagle >

18. 2) Post-Minimalism
(moves past Modernism's focus on simplicity by adding little
embellishments)
Wouter Dam ^
Magdalene Odundo >

19. 3) Pattern & Decoration
< Betty Woodman,
Ralph Bacerra >

20. 4) The “Multiple Vessel”
< Elsa Rady,
Piet Stockmans >

21. 5) Organic Abstraction
Tony Marsh ^
Chris Gustin >

22. 6) The Super-Real
^ Marilyn Levine
Tip Toland >

23. 7) History & Culture
(artists use current events & issues as inspiration for their work)
Richard Notkin
Grayson Perry

24. 8) Image on the Vessel
Kurt Weiser
Anne Kraus
Jason
Walker

25. 9) The Vessel as Flat Image
Elizabeth Fritsch
Paul Mathieu,
Greg Payce

26. 10) The Figure
Viola Frey
Sergei Isupov

27. 10) The Figure
Akio Takamori
Jean-Pierre Larocque
Doug Jeck

28. 11) Abstraction
< Ken Price
Barbara Nanning >

29. 12) Post-Industrialism
(we have moved into a digital age, with most of our industrial
needs being out-sourced to places like China; some artists use
the abandoned factories and industrial sites as inspiration)
Dan Anderson
^ Steven Montgomery >