Abstracts to be presented at the Triennale

Angie Wickenden

This paper will investigate the origins of aneveryday object - the handled cup/mug, considering its introduction,  spread and ubiquity. This object oncedid not exist- the Medieval Pottery ResearchGroup (1998) says “vessels which were designed specifically for drinking arerare before the later medieval period”.

This paper will draw parallels between the emergenceof the individual handled ceramic drinking vessel and emergence of the privatebourgeois individual , as a psychologically new entity . The paper aims to givea historical significance to contemporary life building arguments that thissimple ceramic vessel is a marker for values of capitalist cultures.  It was originally a transitional objectfrom feudalism to capitalism.  It marksthe change from medieval to modern. Its spread represented in 17^thcentury England huge advances within technology and material wealth throughmass production.

I aim toappraise this complex relationship by adopting an bottom-up perspective, with anarchaeological case study of mugs/cups mapping the transition from  Late  Medieval to  theindustrial revolution in south-west England,  building a social biography(Appadurai,1986)using a  framework of  material culture, design history andsocio-economic studies. I aim to elucidate patterns of production, consumption and socialstructures inherent in this.

In conclusion the paper aims to show how the study ofthe design history of an object can map social change incorporating issues ofcolonialism, Diaspora(these pots were also made for export to colonies),  drawing parallels aboutcontemporary  issues ofglobalization.  A final conclusionwould be to show how we make ourselves through our object worlds.

Appadurai, A., (Ed) (1986). The Social Life ofthings; Commodities in cultural perspective. Cambridge, CambridgeUniversity Press.

Medieval Pottery ResearchGroup(1998)A Guide to the Classification of Medieval Ceramic Forms,Publications MRPG.

Dee Taylor Graham

Daggy Potters and Relational Aesthetics:

What dothey have to learn from one another?

All thecool kids are talking about relational aesthetics; in fact they’ve been talkingabout it for so long now that even potters have started to catch on.[1]

But ratherthan bemoan how backwards we potters are when it comes to being fashionforward, I would like to suggest that potters were actually practicingrelational aesthetics long before Bourriaud[2]coined the phrase. In doing so I hope to make a case for exhibition practicesthat will see us getting pots[3]off plinths and if not out of the gallery entirely, then at least in itdifferently.

Pottershave been putting their pots on plinths for years, trusting that the plinthwill elevate their pots to the dizzying heights of Art (note the capital). Indoing so, they’ve separated utilitarian objects from their function and I wouldgo so far as to say, undermined and undervalued their power.

RelationalAesthetics is the term used to describe work that is concerned primarily withsocial interaction. Counter to the modernist view that artworks must be viewedin isolation and respectful silence, relational works seek to generateconvivial relations between artist and audience as well as amongst audiencemembers themselves.

Theinherited wisdom of our potting forefathers tells us that handmade vesselsfunction and convey meaning well beyond their ability to hold food or drink. Ifcontemporary art is looking for ways to challenge the isolationist thinking ofour culture and increase interaction, then what better vehicle for thisinteractivity than handmade pots?

Clarissa Regan

POTS, PUNS& WORDPLAY: HUMOUR AS A SUBVERSIVE DEVICE IN CERAMICS

Abstract:

The deviceof humour and textual wordplay has become increasingly common amongcontemporary ceramic artists, yet on ceramic forms it has a rich and diversehistory, spanning a variety of world cultures and historical eras. This talkwill trace some of the more distinctive examples; such as the bawdy drinkingjugs of post-medieval Britain, the infamous Renaissance phallic platter ofUrbino, the subversive texts deployed during the English royal scandals of the1820s and the zany wordplay of maverick potter George Ohr. By the mid 20^thcentury and beyond, a growing number of potters were using humour and satire tochallenge social norms.  The Funkmovement of the 1960s and 1970s adopted humour as a key constituent (withpractitioners such as Howard Kottler and Robert Arneson), Australian artistssuch as Bernard Sahm, and post-modern contemporary potters like Grayson Perryhave all utilised the device of textual wordplay to provoke, confront orridicule. This talk will also examine how humour operates: devices such asirony, parody and satire. The use of surprise, ambiguity, and the paradoxicaljuxtaposition of the familiar with the unfamiliar will be explored.

Peter Battaglene

HybridPractice: Second Skin

The paperfor the Australian Ceramics Triennale 09: Second Skin will focus on theprojection of my studio-based ceramic practice into broader architectural andurban design environments; collaborations with architects and designers, theadaptation and application of CNC technologies, in addition to my studio-basedcraft practice.

Beginning with my practice as a studio potter and designer-maker who has workedindependently in Tasmania for over fifteen years, the paper will discuss:

• The application of new technologies and adaptation of diverse media to a traditional craft practice.
• The structure of a studio-based practice undertaking projects in a range of compositionally related media, such as glass, stone and concrete as well as timber, metals and synthetics.
• The manner in which my practice at a smaller scale informs the larger scale projects, which in turn feeds back into the studio practice. 
• The role of the artist and the integration of art/design in architecture and urban design.
• Working collaboratively with architects, designers and the construction industry in large scale projects.
• Creation of new opportunities for high levels of integration between studio-based design and public and private developments.

Working ina broader architectural environment has enabled me to extend an aestheticdeveloped in my studio-based craft practice to a larger scale. This extensionhas challenged me to adapt my designs and techniques to new workingenvironments and a high degree of collaboration. This enabled me to sustain mypractice through diversification.

Toni Warburton

Coal, clay, water, wood.

Ceramics practices are proposed asconstituting an ambivalent metascape in that they both disrupt and depend uponstructural relationships between coal, clay, water and wood. This paper willinvestigate, interpret and contest assumptions and facts pertaining to  histories and  practices around the use of  these natural, so called ‘resources’ and their  roles and relationships to particularsites of ceramic production in New South Wales.   

Thepaper will draw on anecdotal experiences, case studies, interviews and materialconcerning environmental and aboriginal land rights activists, ceramic artists,miners, suppliers of raw materials and other relevant stakeholders. Ceramics practices will be  examined for what  may  be revealed  andconcealed about  relationshipsbetween continuing  indigenous andso called ‘settler’ understandings about our  cultural uses of coal,clay, water and wood. 

Connectionswill be drawn between changing traditions and practices of mining, attitudestowards resources as commodities and social transactions implicit in  local and global  ceramics  practices. The paper will propose ethical questionsabout  the means,  materials and meanings of continuingceramics cultural production and sustainable practices with respect to social,ecological, and environmental contexts.

Gary Hill/Tony Conway

ABSTRACT

If modern contemporary ceramic practice is built on the shoulders ofaccumulated past knowledge does the reverse apply? Does contemporary practiceaid us in understanding past practice? Does a deeper understanding of the pastenhance contemporary practice? Can the ‘vessel’ be used as a vehicle to informthe developments of technique and cultural values?

This paper investigates these questions using the 13th to 16th centuryceramic industry at Sukhothai Thailand as a case study. This research wasconducted in two sections; one looking at production materials and methods andthe other at design motifs. While other similar production sites have beenstudied in the past this project was unique in that it was conducted by practicingpotters.

The results ofthe investigation have clearly demonstrated the importance of the directinvolvement of practitioners in the archaeological and historical investigationof ceramic production centres. Investigations have been able to show that,whereas the industry was considered to be crude both in design and production,it in fact was highly sophisticated. It is now known that the clay body wasintentionally altered to achieve the desired outcome and that, late in theproduction sequence, a resist material was introduced to achieve section of thebrushed design on ‘chakra’ bowls. Experience in the operation on cross-draughtwoodfired kilns also allowed one of the authors to demonstrate that, contraryto common belief, the majority of high fired glazed vessels produced atSukhothai were fired in up-draught kilns and not the available cross-draughttype.

Inexamining the underglaze iron decorated design motifs of a large collection ofshards held on site in the Ramkhamhaeng Museum a comparison of the finds to thecollection of shards held in the Ramkhamhaeng Museum clearly confirms thesophistication of the decoration. By examining the ‘fish’ design, produced throughout the production,shows an evolution of this design occurred. This is supported by cross -reference to shipwreck discoveries of Sukhothai bowls.

Abdullah M. I. Syed

Baked orUnbaked: Contemporary Ceramic Arts of Pakistan

 “He (Allah) created man fromsounding clay like unto pottery” (Qur’an: Chapter 55 Verse 14).

Baked or unbaked clay has an ambiguousmeaning and relationship in the Pakistani Muslim culture. This paper willexplore such meanings, from clay’s ancient past and religious significance,uses, and taboos to the dying Kumhar culture of Pakistan. Furthermore, issuessuch as the rate of development of Ceramics as an art form in Pakistan, and howand why they were marginalized as craft, are discussed. The lack of governmentsupport and art infrastructure and the dearth of institutions where ceramicsmight flourish are debated as key concerns within this paper.

Academic Affiliation(s):

University of Karachi, Department of VisualStudies, Pakistan

University of New SouthWales,COFA, Australia

Noorjehan Bilgrami

BORN OF FIRE

“ Born of Fire” was a projectundertaken in association with the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture(2007 – 2008), in Karachi, Pakistan.

The project consisted of a majorRetrospective of the first contemporary ceramist of Pakistan - Salahuddin Mian,at the IVS Gallery. In conjunction with the exhibition was a comprehensivebook  (210 pages), “Born of Fire”,recapturing the life and works of Mian through articles contributed by hiscolleagues, friends and family.

Integral to the event was a full lengthdocumentary, “Yeh Kiya”. Mian’s unique personality was controversial - peopleloved or hated him. Through in-depth interviews, this film traces his lifeevents, education and the influences that helped to develop this exceptionalceramist.

“Yeh Kiya” - 55 minutes Documentary

Language English with subtitles

Written, produced and directed byNoorjehan Bilgrami.

Laura McEwan

Punk It Up

With its roots in street culture and punk, the DIY(do-it-yourself) Craft movement is a radical overhaul of the craft sector as weknow it. Its political and social ideology has taken the handmade object out ofthe elitist realm of the gallery space through its use of new technologies,allowing for democratic sharing of knowledge and information, campaigning andpolitical activism as well as an unprecedented access to a worldwide marketplace.

This presentation will look at examples of DIY/RadicalCraft and question the impact of this form of democracy in action. Areas ofdiscussion include:

• Utopian communities of craft practitioners bringing beauty into everyday life.

·      Socialist concerns surroundingdignified and meaningful work with its contemporary emphasis on anti-corporate,anti-globalisation and environmental consciousness.

• The survival of craft skills in the face of all-consuming technology.
• The impact of websites such as Etsy.com

·      Self-reliance and economicself-sufficiency juxtaposed with an ambiguous complicity with modern consumerculture.

Whilst facing the uncertain future of traditional studioceramics, DIY Craft is an example of independent and diverse practices whichoffer dynamic and ethical input into a framework that can be formulaic andprescriptive

Kim Jeong Ah

(asked to combine with following abstract)

Paper-compositeporcelain in practice:

Artistic applicabilityand technical properties

The study on paper-composite porcelain focused on theoptions for artistic/design applications, the material characteristics andphysical properties. This study focused on basic problems which are generallyassociated with making of traditional porcelain compared to paper-compositeporcelain. The study proceeds along a rational path, from issues on materialsto issues concerning ceramic art and design practice in which material researchis a basic component. This is an interdisciplinary study in which scientificmethods are applied. This study was conducted to solve essential problemsencountered when working with traditional porcelain by studying paper-compositeporcelain. This study looked at mixing waste paper fibres up to 90% in volume with atraditional porcelain body to improve their load-carrying properties in thefired state, reduce their weight both in the green and fired states, reducetheir permeability in the fired state and increase their ductility in the greenstate. Thepaper-composite porcelain with its merits showed not only solutions for theinitial problems of working with the traditional porcelain, but also apotential for artistic utility. Furthermore, its special properties can developin an artistic context to include eco-design products. The development of high-qualityeco-products is becoming more and more important for Sweden and other highlyindustrialised European countries. This is particularly important in the fieldof ceramics, since the competition is harder against low-price countries, wherepottery has long been established. (228words)

Keywords:Ceramic art and design; Designproblems; Interdisciplinary; Problemsolving; Technology

Kim Jeoung Ah

The aesthetic experience of sustainable ceramic art anddesign

In Sweden, most of the ceramic materials have to beimported and ceramic industries are in hard of competition, since the countryhas a small domestic market and high labour and production costs in comparisonto the rest of the world. The production of eco ceramic art/design objectsbased on sustainable materials is challenging to lead them to assume a uniqueposition on the world market. In spite of this, people’s reluctance to usesustainable materials in ceramic products, may not easily be changed. Thisstudy is based on investigate the public’s attitudes and aesthetic experiencesabout eco-ceramic products by sustainable materials to develop sustainable ceramic art/design which is a rising issue inSweden and in the larger global perspective. Results in this research are significantto new growth in the Nordic ceramics industry, an important sector that hasbeen losing world market share to international competitors. This study basedon interdisciplinary method to promote dialogue between art and sciences. Theresults in this study based on the responses obtained from a qualitative interviewand a quantitative questionnaire. The artistic works played an epistemologicalrole in this research, in addition to highlighting the importance and value ofpersonal experiences in the production of explicit knowledge. A major material in this research is based on the by-productsof a bio-energy station in Sweden. The recycledsubstances were mixed with a clay body in quantities ranging between 5% and 50%in weight and the main firing temperature was as high as 1360°C. (250words)

Keywords:Ashes;Interdisciplinary; Public; Sustainableceramics; Understanding.

Jia Haur Liang

ABSTRACT

An exploration of Sodeisha philosophy as inspiration for Taiwanesecontemporary ceramics – Expression of Transitional Space

This paperexplores the Japanese avant-garde art group,Sodeisha, in its engagement with contemporary art practice in Japan and itsinfluence on current Taiwanese ceramics.

Sodeishais a group of avant-garde ceramic artists, formed in 1948 in Kyoto. They werethe first artists in Japan to create non-functional ceramic forms and theirinfluence is still significant in Japanese ceramic art to this day.

Theresearch topic focuses on contemporary ceramics practice for two reasons. First,these outcomes incorporate my objectives and responsibilities, as a Taiwaneseceramic artist. They also help me to explore the origin of my ideas and toidentify my art. Second, the concepts of Sodeisha philosophy, and thedevelopment of Taiwanese contemporary ceramics, have not been included in anylearning program and thus, have not been well studied or understood. In thispaper, finally, I have also referred to own my art practice, ‘the idea oftransitional space’, which emanates from ceramics’ fundamental characteristics.

The study aims to find out the three corequestions: What is Sodeisha’s contributionto contemporary ceramics? How does it influence Taiwanese contemporary ceramics?How do I develop the idea of transitional space using an understanding ofSodeisha as inspiration for my contemporary art practice?

The paper will be delivered in three parts asfollows:

Part 1analyses the most important issues addressed by Sodeisha: (i) No delineation between art and craft. (ii) Thinking throughmaterial. (iii) Innovation but not revolution. Images of art work bySodeisha artists will be included; showing the features of their ceramicsculpture that inspire learning.

Part 2presents current trends in Taiwanese contemporary ceramics. In particularly, Iwill talk about Culture & Creativity Industry: National project developedto promote craft and design.

Part 3, Iwill show some images of my ceramics, made during my three-year PhD study inAustralia from 2006 to 2009 – which explore the notion of transitional space. Transitionalspace can be described as in-between space in which things are changing fromone position to another. This notion has become the key manifestation in my artworks.

Moyra Elliot

GOING….GOING….GONE!

The rise and rise of the secondary market for contemporary ceramics inNew Zealand.

A secondary market for contemporary ceramics hasdeveloped an increasingly assertive presence in New Zealand over the past tenyears. While on-line trading has some on-going activity this does not seem tobe stronger than can be found off-shore, and it exists across the full range ofclay product possible. It is auction house activity that has seen energeticgrowth for contemporary ceramics. Not your local sad house-lot and bric-a-bractype auction house but the up-market, blue chip, fine art and finer wines typeauction house where clientele get a glass of sauvignon blanc on arrival and thechairs are comfortable enough to endure an evening.

There has been interest for some years in colonialindustrial wares as well as in early Arts and Crafts era studio work from a fewmakers, almost exclusively earthenware. This has remained static. But the mostrecent and increasingly followed area has been the mid-century onward,high-fired, reduced stoneware typified by the Anglo-Oriental and its descendantstyles. Dates of making are not much of a concern but makers’ names are. Thereare now people investing in various makers with a view to trading profits intime – preferably the fairly short-term. Now there is evidence to believe that energyis going into boosting reputations and values to increase returns on thoseinvestments. There is also evidence that the auction houses, sensing thedeveloping market, are working to control prices so that values are maintainedand growth is steadily upward.

This paper traces the origins of the market, thecurrent state, the blue chip ‘hot properties’ and some strategies employed tomaintain or boost values. Then speculates on where it might go.

Louise Boscacci

Lee Ufan, the Korean painter and sculptor said"a place is an event space".¹ And before him, poetAdrienne Rich understood that "(a) place on a map is a place inhistory".²

One of the questions I ask and materially explore inmy practice is how do I make ceramics that go below the surface of place,literally and metaphorically, and the clichéd, arguably outmoded, "senseof place"?  Is it possible to'speak' of layers of encounter and connection, temporal as well as spatial,last week as well as last century? What connects the symbolic and theutilitarian? Where does 'the local' start and end?

In this paper of words and images, I trace a lyricalroute through my own practice of ideas, motivations and forms about place andtime. The notion of psychogeography is a creative stimulant. Only once do Ineed to use the word 'landscape'.

Clare Bond

The Importance of Being Earnest

The humour in Oscar Wilde’s well known play, TheImportance of Being Ernest emerges from the use of a false personality toescape social responsibilities. Confusion reigns over exactly who Ernest is,with several characters wrongly claiming that they are him. Like Ernest, clayhas a number of fictitious identities all of which are hotly contested. Thispaper intends to explore and explode these personas, suggesting instead thatclay is illusionistic, lending itself to multiple personalities and thepseudonym.

Gilles Delueze and Felix Guattari write of the use offelt by Turco-Mongol nomads for many different purposes (clothing, armour,housing). They suggest that as a substance felt is nomadic, available for arange of purposes. By tracking the trajectory of felt through its multiplefunctions Delueze and Guattari suggest that it ‘indexes clothing and the houseitself to the space of the outside, to the open smooth space in which the bodymoves.’[4]The felt is the constant throughout the change in function, thus placingemphasis on the change, rather than the felt itself.

Clay operates in a similar fashion. Itsmultiplicitous, illusionistic nature suggests many possible trajectories. Farfrom being earnest, it is an open substance, a tabula rasa awaitinginscription.

Carole and Jordan Epp

BroadeningPerspectives, Breaking Down Boundaries: On-line Initiatives for the CeramicArtist.

As makerswe learn, find inspiration, and work within a contemporary context andcommunity that is in constant flux, it provides feedback, direction andchallenges to our approach to production. Within the framework of new technologyand on-line applications, the craft community globally is positioned at theinfant stages of an expansion and growth that has the potential to drasticallychange the community we work within. The Internet grants unlimited access andpromotes active participation in the growth of knowledge and exposure of craft.It also increases the speed in which information, dialogue and research isspread through contributing to the growth of critical and theoretical writingabout craft. It broadens our access to artists, technical information,education and communities of makers that are geographically dispersed. Fromsimple initiatives such as blog sites to online tutorials, videos, podcasts,glaze databases, online juried journal publications and galleries we see ashift towards more online educational and dissemination models. This paper willaddress how individual artists are directing and contributing to thecontemporary dialogue of craft through the use of new technology. It willincorporate discussions regarding the impact of new educational models onstudio practice; the impact of blogging on issues of visibility, marketing andeducation; the growth of an international community of makers workingcollaboratively; critical writing about craft in a more immediate andaccessible form; the exposure for artists at all stages of their careers andthe development of Instructional Design models to further ceramic research andeducation.

Jo Ely

AcquiringYourself to Extinction

Publiccollecting institutions play two key roles in facilitating the relationshipbetween contemporary ceramic practice and the emergence of diverse social,cultural and technological global forces:

1. Documenting (through collecting; research and presentation); and
2. Representing (through curatorial engagement).

The first role implies a proactive acquisition strategy, in which thegallery’s collection documents the key trends of both contemporary andhistorical practice. As a publicly funded institution, Shepparton Art Gallery takes this comprehensive approach to collecting. Itsacquisition policy offers a clear vision for the development of a permanentcollection of Australian ceramics of all periods.

The secondrole of a public collecting institution is to actively engage with artistic communities torepresent and cultivate current ideas and practices. In fulfilling this role Shepparton Art Gallery runs two major ceramicawards in addition to a large program of curated exhibitions and projects. TheSidney Myer Fund International Ceramics Award (SMICA) and the newly establishedIndigenous Ceramic Art Award are offered in alternate years.

It is adecade since the Gallery’s acquisition policy and the SMICA were introduced. In2009 it seems timely to review their limitations in light of the Gallery’sactivities and resources and the new vision many artists are offering theceramic medium. The medium is increasingly being challenged to break with thetradition of earth-water-fire and be reconceptualised into a visual languagebetter understood by contemporary art audiences. New media technologies anddialogues on critical social issues are being successfully blended with themateriality, sculptural awareness and strong technical skills base required ofthe medium.

Thechallenge for the public collecting institution is to witness thereconceptualisation of the ceramic medium and provide a relevant forum for itscritical development.

Ruth Park

IT’S NOT SO BLACK AND WHITE

WHITEIMAGE MAKERS AND INDIGINOUS REPRESENTATION

ABSTRACT:

Anincreasingly diverse social and cultural landscape is impacting on the way manyceramic artists practice as they endeavor to navigate an ethical path throughhighly sensitive cross cultural terrain. This paper focuses on the ethical andcultural issues surrounding the use of interpretive representations of theAustralian Aborigine by white artists. A history of misrepresentation by whiteartists has left many people in Indigenous communities highly sensitised to therepresentation and possible misrepresentation of the Aboriginal image bywhites. A contemporary debate now focusing on the ethics associated with whoand how interpreted representations of Indigenous Australians are made, hasemerged. This debate brings into focus the ethical dimensions associated withthe use of interpretive representations of Indigenous people by white artists.It raises issues associated with ownership, identity, history, colonisation,power, authority, legitimacy and the politics of voice. In contributing to thisdebate, we can hopefully work towards the development of greater understandingand awareness that build bridges to reconciliation, mutual respect andunderstanding. Navigating an ethical path through this highly sensitive crosscultural terrain is being increasingly negotiated by both Indigenous andnon-Indigenous artists as they endeavor to work together in a culturallysensitive manner. By examining historical and contemporary examples ofinterpretive representations of Aborigines in ceramics, fine art and literatureby white artists, I offer this paper in the hope of broadening the debate.Broadening this discussion in national art forums like this will hopefullyaccelerate our arrival at a reconciled destination.

Kristino Tito

ABSTRACT

What hashappened to “Art for art sake”? This paper looks at the history of utilisingart making and in this case, ceramics in particular in mental health recovery.Ceramics has had a long and ambiguous journey within the art worlds and healthservices, alike. Its practice has often in the context of health settings beena tool only in an art therapeutic sense, in which two polar modes of practiceapply: ‘art psychotherapy’ as a means of symbolic communication, which valuesinsight and understanding or ‘art as therapy’ which values the creative processas inherently healing by means of self expression. The goal of this paper is topresent the historical evolution of Macquarie Hospitals ‘Pottery Unit’, aunique ceramic studio which has its roots deeply embedded in the institutionalhealth setting of the old Gladesville Psychiatric Hospital and theaforementioned concepts of ‘art therapy’. The paper will highlight thecontemporary efforts by arts workers and art therapists at Macquarie to changethe discursive institutional philosophies, which have permeated mental healthart services. It will explore the concept of facilitating an arts-basedcommunity psychosocial model, where artists who have experienced mentalillness, have ownership and direction over their own creative process. Thepaper will challenge the prescription of patientand open up a world of new insights into the meaning and importance of thecreative process and that of being an artist. Is this a valuable concept withinthis framework and that of the current ceramic world?

Fiona Fell

COLLABORATIONAS A CREATIVE TOOL FOR THE DESIGN OF CERAMIC SCULPTURE

Through a series of descriptive dialogues ofvarious collaborations between my own discipline, ceramic sculpture, andartists working in performance, animation, digital art and video, this documentoffers an insight into the relationships between the underpinnings of ceramicsculptural design.

Be it in the studio, a residency, or in teachingpractice, it has been my passion over the last seven years to explore thepossibilities of collaboration.  Theintention to step outside of the secure zone facilitates an awareness of whatoutcomes are possible when working in conjunction with a collaborator fromoutside one’s general area of practice.  Association and development with various projects haveallowed me to gain skills and knowledge not normally associated with my chosenfield.

Collaborations of mixed media and new technologyare already a strongly established practice in the wider arena of contemporaryarts. In academia it is a common practice for “institutionally ensconcedindividuals looking beyond the restrictions of their chosen work fieldsbringing forth their wealth of knowledge into a larger landscape”[5].,sited   The innate potential of these interdisciplinary practicesresults in numerous outcomes and negotiations, which create opportunities for newarenas of discussion about art making processes.

What seems to be an incongruous relationshipbetween new media and the hand-made, has ignited my interest in the material ofclay and the making of forms.  Thisadds a further risk to the application of tacit knowledge and the alternativelogic of practice in real time.  Consequently,I aim to realize the potencies of all of these collaborative aspects and fusethem together as a vitrified entity.

Jan Guy

BAD MANNERS and FAMILY DINNERS: a key tothe future

In theEarly Modern Period people drank from the same cup and ate from the same bowl,ceramics was produced by the village potter and was bartered for other goods.The fourteenth century saw the beginnings of Capitalism in Europe and ofcourse, by the nineteenth century, it was in full swing. Capitalism isstructured so that one desires, and one desires to have more than one’s neighbour.It relies on the illusion of greater social status acquired through theaccumulation of objects. This accumulation of objects and endless drive ofdesire that is Capitalism also initiated and requires the separation of people.In the first stirrings of Capitalism one sees the division of community. Peopleno longer shared the same plate/cup/bowl and their hands were replaced withelaborate utensils, and etiquette developed as a sign of high breeding andascending class.[6]

Today thestructures of Capitalism have saturated our lives with objects we don’t need;these are objects that no longer show any signs of their origins, no trace ofhumanity, they slide through our experience like ghosts.  

This paperwill discuss the growing social and political movement[7]surrounding a renewed interest in the handmade ceramic object as practice andcollection in the wake of a disillusionment with structures of Capitalism andthe resulting environmental destruction. It will argue that a re-engagement ofthe haptic senses is not a nostalgic whim, but a vital key to the future ofceramics and the communal intimacy required if we are to survive beyond thenext generation.

Jane Crick

A Wider Horizon –

The importance of the availability of qualityindependent short course education.

Abstract

Recent years have seen a significant decline in theoffering of ceramic education in tertiary and vocational institutions.  In spite of concerted efforts by theseinstitutions to recruit viable numbers of students in ceramics there is aconsistent falling behind in comparison with most other areas of the visualarts.  The resources of theseinstitutions are over-taxed with the result that many are forced to reduce thetypes of ceramics course they can offer.

There are many practitioners, often alreadyexperienced and highly qualified, who desire to increase their knowledge inspecific areas of ceramics.  Thesepractitioners often do not wish to engage in prolonged degree or diplomacourses or to enrol for terms with community or adult education groups.  These practitioners wish to engage inshort courses of intensive, specifically targeted tuition.

More and more this type of short course tuition isbeing provided by independent professional ceramic educators in their own studios.

Ensuring that these independent educators provide thehighest quality professional service is paramount for the re-energising andadvancing of interest in ceramics in the future.  Broadening the base and variation in the model ofindependently offered short courses can only be of benefit to students –whether one-to-one or in small or larger groups.  Diversity of quality service and knowledge of where it isavailable is essential for growth and satisfaction of both educators andstudents.

Rod Bamford

Clean,green, lumpy & brown : challenges , opportunities & persistent valuesin ceramics .

Ceramics and Design share much parallelhistory, particularly since the emerging Arts & Crafts movements agitatedto improve working conditions for craftspeople. In thepost war 20^th century Australia, ceramics re emerged with aphilosophical perspective embedded in the Arts & Crafts movement. More thanan aesthetic of the hand made alone – it was the expression of a life stylechoice that valued individual cultural contribution as an antidote to theimpersonality of mass production and consumption.

Muchhas changed since then, and whilst it can be argued that professionally, suchpractice is economically marginal, it’s contribution has to an extent beenrecognised,. It has been more recently argued that designers should consider more the implications of their actions morebroadly, in terms of a society and future quality of life[8].This is highlighted in globalisation where the economic benefits of massproduction and consumption of generic manufactured goods results in anincreased degree of cultural homogenisation and socio economic disparity. Morerecently, the term ‘Responsible Design’ has emerged to describe a “Social Model” [9]fordesign directed towards improving the physical and social environment as wellas individual human needs, and there is a strong current emphasis on a designparadigm where creative and critical thinking is framed by a recognition thatwe should work to address the negative impact of human actions on theenvironment[10].

Contemporary art & designis creatively instrumental in increasing digital environments. Embedded withinthese new digital languages of representation and materialisation is anunprecedented array of coded and organised information which can be extracted,exchanged and utilised in a multitude of ways. Apart from the potentialeffectiveness of streamlining conventional processes, new possibilities arisefrom the corresponding reconfiguration of information. The reciprocity between what can be drawn and what canbe made, between what can be represented and what can be produced has changedin the digital age.[11] where direct ‘’ file to factory”creation is a reality.

Despitethese changing opportunities for expression in a range of technologies,markets, accompanying identities, social and economic conditions, the pursuitfor purpose remains compelling. Values associated with more traditional andemerging media and their characteristic processes collide more frequently,making the identification of directions for ceramic practice less clearlydefined. This paper discusses the emergence two significant contemporaryidentities, that of Design and Sustainability and how they may inform ceramicfutures.

Emma Shaw

Re-locating Ceramics: Art, Craft, Design?

Drawing on recent studies of material culture anddomestic consumption (Miller, 2001), my thesis proposes an alternativetheoretical and critical framework for ceramics which highlights the importantsocial role of the domestic object. This research moves beyond ideas abouttaste, class and the hierarchies which define art forms to discover a newpathway in which the home and the domestic object (and specifically the ceramicobject) can be seen as catalytic in the processes of identity construction.

This research is practice-based where my art practiceis the main research method and methodology - art practice as research.The practical research consists of a new series of works entitled AboutCeramics… . This work explores the meaning of ceramics - how ceramics areused, experienced, valued and understood, relocating ceramics in the context ofits consumption in the home and the everyday (Attfield, 2000). It rejectstraditional concerns and approaches to the subject and instead adopts acritical, conceptual approach using ordinary, everyday, mass-produced objectsand materials (such as wallpaper and mugs), privileging a lower class ofobjects which previously have been excluded from the ceramics and craft folds.  The resulting artworks embrace elementsfrom across the disciplines of art, craft and design to inhabit the spaces “inbetween” established categories. This research offers new perspectives and provides an alternative,hybrid model for both writing and practice.

Keywords:  the interface between art, craft &design; the home; the everyday; the domestic object; domestic consumption;collecting & collections; art in the home; the social function of art;taste & class; identity; practice-based research.

Attfield,Judy (2000). Wild Things: The Material Culture of Everyday Life. Oxford:Berg.

Miller, Daniel, (Ed.) (2001). Home Possessions:Material Culture Behind Closed Doors. Oxford & New York: Berg.

Yi-Hui Wang

Herstory

The HistoricalDevelopment of Female Ceramic Artists in Taiwan from 1945 to the Present

This paperwhich is drawn from research under for my Ph.D thesis, focuses on contemporaryTaiwanese female ceramists and the artworks they create using clay as theirmain material. The presentation will include images of these works in order toprovide the audience with a clear overview of the nature of these artworks.

Taiwan hasa long history in ceramics, to which countless unknown women contributed theirenergy and skills. However, before the 1960s, the female ceramist was totally “absent”from Taiwanese ceramic history. It was this background that encouraged me to investigatethe historical development of female ceramists in Taiwan.

Thedevelopment of Taiwanese female ceramics is very much connected with changes inpolitics, society and culture; it also reflects the international situation,the influence of colonialism, and the Chinese-based culture.

In manyarea of Asia, gender might be a problem of the ceramist’s position andcircumstances in early time, nevertheless, not the problem of art creationnowadays. Traditional concepts of Chinese Confucianism were deeply rooted inour society which prior the WWⅡ ceramicproduction in Taiwan was a male-dominated manufacturing industry, notconsidered an art.

Followingthe research, I have generally classified the development of Taiwanese female'sceramics into three phases. The first phase is the post-war period (1945-1979) whenTaiwanese culture was modernizing. This was a pioneering time for ceramics inTaiwan, but gender was still a significant limitation to the female ceramist’sposition and circumstances in Taiwan. The second phase, in the 1980s and 1990s,Taiwanese society was increasingly exposed to international pluralism andfeminism was introduced. This era produced a great number of female ceramistswho created works of a high quality. In the third phase, from 2000 to thepresent, we see the 3^rd generation female ceramicists who wereformally educated and who found creative freedom. These young ceramicistsrepresent new possibilities for ceramics.

While an awareness of the development ofTaiwanese female ceramics has gradually emerged, Taiwan still lacks a distinctceramic theory and has not directly acknowledged the position of clay in its contemporaryart. In this research, I attempt to identify and describe Taiwanese femaleceramics as part of contemporary art and raise awareness of the subject offeminism through Taiwanese female ceramics.

Moira Vincentelli

Politicsand Place: Lombok Pottery in the changing world of global ceramics

Originally made in many villages on the island ofLombok in Indonesia, pottery is now the main industry in three villages. Thepaper will examine how the older tradition is adapting and responding to newopportunities in the global market place. Changes include the increased activity of men in the pottery business,the impact of development initiatives, most notably Lombok Pottery Centre, andthe modifications of designs to cater for a wide range of tastes.  These include the huge creativeflowering of new types of decorative finish such as tamarind spray, engraving,bone inlay, raffia edging, paint and sand alongside the characteristic burnishedand smoke-fired surfaces of the traditional wares. The paper will consider someof the more theoretical issues involved in judgements of taste and the relative‘value’ put on such work in the context of contemporary ceramics and will arguethat the work of potters (clay work usually done by women) easily becomessidelined as the more distinctive new developments lie in the decorativefinishes often initiated in the more commercial outlets.  In comparison with Pueblo Pottery inNew Mexico or pottery in KwaZulu Natal the Lombok pottery producers do notmarket by individual name and the paper will consider some of the social andethical issues around these choices.

Gary Bish

Substance and Illusion: Pictorial Space and Paintingthe Ceramic Object.

Does form have dominion over surface painting? InBernard Leach’s world, of which I was a part, surface painting is subdued toprotect the integrity of form. What was Leach afraid of and what would prompthim to say… “Imitative realism can only have a confusing effect on thedecoration of pots……for the pot itself provides the third dimension”? Thevisual piercing of the surface gained momentum with the  Renaissance in which the development offully –blown perspective had a profound influence on painting. Thepreoccupation with the rendering of objects in space was to inevitably invadethe surface of the ceramic vessel. The superb maiolica dishes produced in thefifteenth and sixteenth century at Deruta, Italy for example, applied the newvision of space to clay. As the years advanced there emerged a visualtug-of-war between the explicit detail of painted imagery and its threedimensional host. The painting assumes a life of its own whilst the form fueledwith technical advance and the excesses of fashionable taste assumes an emphaticpresence. This stand-off is clearly evident in the paradoxical objects frommany famous European factories (eg. Meissen, Vincennes) in the eighteenthcentury.

Leach, reflecting on this perhaps justifiablyconcludes that literal illusionism in painting is difficult to relate to thecontext of the ceramic object. The painting of the ceramic surface mustacknowledge its symbiosis with the physicality of the object in the round.

 ShouldLeach be so categorically dismissive? Many artists have challenged Leach’sassertion and forged innovative collaborations to yield unified objects thatinvoke a new visual dimension.

The paper will explore the confrontation of pictorialspace and the ceramic object in my work and that of selected contemporarypractitioners.

Jane Calthope

Abstract:

Archaeology,Heritage and the Holy Buddhist Monk: The collection of 500 ancient ceramic potsat Wat Bo in Cambodia

This paper tells the story of acollection of pre-Angkorian earthen-ware vessels that were rescued from lootersby the venerable monk Lokta Pin-Sem. Concerned at the loss of his country’scultural heritage to dealers who sell on the international market, the monkmade an expedition to an ancient burial site in Cambodia that was disturbedduring road making, revealing spectacular finds of bronze artefacts,semi-precious stone and glass beads, elegant ceramic pots and skeletons.

As a result of his efforts the potsare now on display at Wat Bo, a Buddhist monastery on the banks of the SiemReap River close to the temples at Angkor. Wat Bo has a long history ofconnection to traditional arts but the ceramics raise some issues aboutcollecting, conservation and heritage.

Archaeologists are concerned thatthe pots were removed from the burial site before it could be documented fully.Educating local people to value their heritage and helping them to findalternative sources of income from looting is one of the aims of an NGO calledHeritage Watch which actively promotes contemporary copies of Angkorian periodceramics made by locally trained potters.

There are many interesting aspectsto this collection and some of them are controversial, but undeniably the mostinteresting are the pots themselves. Five hundred simple, elegant, finelycrafted ceramic vessels made by unknown hands and buried around two thousandyears ago.

Andrew Livingstone

CERAMIC PRACTICE AND THE DIGITAL INTERFACE: VIDEO AND CERAMIC – A DISCIPLINE ACTIVATED READING.

Abstract

The question of authenticity becomes perplexed when ceramicis positioned at the digital interface, and most significantly where new mediais integral to the artwork.  Thereading of ceramic both in conjunction with and through another medium,obviously, distorts familiarity where previously interpretation and critiquehas been applied exclusively to the material first-hand.

The use of video in particular can be evidenced as anemergent and growing spectacle within the ceramic domain, where its locationmoves beyond documental significance to claim an integral position withinpractice. Contemporary observations can be made towards the ceramic artist thatengages video, most notably when the video image captures either the movementof, or change in, the material clay, this often visually presents thealteration of clay as a material and addresses the notion of time-basedactivity as well as the temporality of material and object. These elements canbe acknowledged to clay that has the potential to change, a notion that extendsbeyond the familiar subject of immortalised fired clay. The association,therefore, with the familiarity of the stable ceramic object becomes fluid,where essentially the movement, alteration, or deconstruction of clay,essentially time-based activities work to distort the notion of familiaritythat has been constructed within ceramic discourse. Thischallenge to the materiality of clay through time-based activity suggests, aform of conceptual practice that integrates the artist, medium and idea withinthe language and arena of ceramic discourse. The absence of the physicalceramic form, presented through representation suggests that clay has becomesomewhat dematerialised within the familiar taxonomies of ceramic discourse. Ifthe physical form has become dematerialised how then might a medium such asvideo be interpreted within the discipline of ceramics?

Danie Mellor

The Great Work of china

It is the practice of ceramics that is often so interesting;the innovation, the historical and cultural context of the very work itselfmakes it fascinating.  The specificfocus of my interest lies in the way cultures pictured themselves throughpictures…the blue and white of Spode, Wedgewood of English and Europeantransferware of the 17^th and 18, even 19^thCenturies.  The china anddecoration of this period holds a key to the way othered cultures wereportrayed, exoticised, even mixed and misunderstood.  What was it about the way anthropology, ethnography, newlands, Greece, Italy, architecture, new scenes, new science and culture cametogether on dinnerware for the dining classes?  Culture was literally consumed…the vignettes of theexotic-beyond-the-west engraved in blue and white were like a road map ofcolonial expansion.  The transferof graven image to china was symbolic of the transfer of ideas, of culture, ofrace and even power – the charm belies history.

Elizabeth Perrill

CeramicAccess and Marketing: Entrepreneurial Histories in South Africa

Abstract:

In 1984, Miriam Mbonambi was the first independent female black ceramist to be listed by name at an exhibitionand collected by the Durban Art Gallery in South Africa.  Yet, Mbonami fell into obscurity; herdeath date is unknown.  Instead,Nesta Nala’s vessels were shipped to Cairo for the International CeramicBiennale in 1994. Nala traveled to represent South Africa at the FolklifeFestival in Washington, D.C. and her posthumous retrospective was held in 2007.

This paper discusses how the divided paths of Mbonambi and Nala originatedin geographies of the Apartheid era. The life histories of these two women,gleaned from archival records and interview data, reveal how accidents ofgeography, international research, and political violence all played a role inthe construction of memory and aesthetic norms within the rising market forZulu low-fired ceramics. As Zulu vessels were increasingly sold tointernational audiences, a sense of place became a boon and a burden to artistslike Nesta Nala’s daughters, who inherited ceramic traditions tied to rurallocations.

            Today,the joys and constraints of ties to rural locations continue to inform Zuluwomen’s artistic production. Yet, younger men and women in the South Africanart world are transforming expectations long held for ceramic objects byZulu-speaking artists. This presentation will conclude by discussing the waysin which Clive Sithole, Witty Nyide, Yvette Dunn, and others all negotiate newsenses of place and geographic ties to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa as aflexible tool within expanding genres of ceramic production.

Kim Goldsmith

The First International Workshop of Visual Arts,Egypt: Building Global Links with Australian Ceramics

This paper will be in specific referenceto my experience as the only Australian artist invited as guest speaker,demonstrating and exhibiting artist at the First International Workshop ofVisual Arts from the 15^th to 25^th of November 2008 at ElMinia University, Egypt. The workshop is of particular relevance to theAustralian Ceramics Triennale 2009 because it provides a successful example ofcross-cultural interchange between artists from different countries that couldbe emulated in Australia.

The following paper will address threeareas of interest and will be supported by my experience in Egypt. First I willdiscuss how an International conference can impact on an individual’s artisticpractice. The effect of a ten day time limit, lack of materials and restrictedfreedom to move around campus will be discussed.

The second aspect of the paper is relatedto the social and ethical consequences of ceramic productions when workingoutside of your home country. For instance, the population of Egypt is ninetypercent Muslim and within this culture, as a non-Muslim white female Iexperienced a limited amount of freedom to express myself within my artproject. At the same time, I discovered many similarities between myself andother Egyptian artists and students that challenged my notions of Muslimnations.

To close the paper, there will be reflectionon the importance of educating and promoting ceramics, and arts practice ingeneral, as a viable and effective mode of communicating and connecting peopleon a global level. My positive experience in Egypt will illustrate that art canbe used to overcome prejudice and foster a genuine awareness of differentcultural beliefs.