Peter Olson's Ceramic Art

Martin Robertson and Mary Beard’s manuscript, Adopting an Approach, focuses on the study of Athenian pottery. The manuscript begins, by describing Sir John Beazley and his revolutionary method of studying Greek vases. The Beazley Method focuses on the technical conventions of Greek Vases such as naming the artist, dating the pieces and then grouping them based off of similar characteristics. Beazley “provided for the first time a comprehensive framework of analysis for Athenian painting, and a way of dating and classifying.” (Pg. 16) However, what Beard’s main argument suggests is that it is not the artists that help us understand the importance of the vases because even if a vase is assigned to a specific time period or artist, there is

The artworks of Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, the Aegean cultures, and Ancient Greece have similarities that not only reflect objects and images, but also the media, style and representation. These countries were not always wealthy, clever, creative and powerful enough to gain supplies, but they all find a way to create art with what they had. They have all influenced on each other’s cultures and belief through their artistic values and ways, ranging from the materials and tools they use, position and representation of their monuments and their religious intent.

All artists are influenced by the culture they are from. Our experiences and the environment in which we were raised shapes us, and thus the works we produce as artists. This essay will discuss, compare and contrast two artists from different cultures, and their ceramic artworks, with a focus on how their cultural background has influenced their art. The artists that will be discussed are Janet Fieldhouse, who is influenced by her Torres Strait Islander heritage and Aboriginal artist Dr. Thancoupie Gloria Fletcher.

around the room. In role as a museum guide, I conduct a tour of the

Modern figurines of art stem directly from the hands of the ancient’s. The organic forms of modernly sculpted artifacts can most likely be directly referenced to the movements of prehistoric artworks. There seems to be an ongoing transition on how cultures no matter how stretched apart through time, contrasted by ethnicity or religious views; can all be somewhat related to each other by the methods or principles portrayed through their artworks. In fact, I saw that very transition; within two works in which are extremely different in meaning, craftsmanship, time, culture and so on. However, I was still able to find similarities within the artifacts. In this paper I will examine Venus of Willendorf, a Paleolithic carving in limestone; which can fit in the palm of one’s hand. As well as, The Sacrifice of Chacmool, which are a plethora of Mesoamerican statues emulating rituals of sacrifice.

At 1st glance this piece does look like a photograph, even a painting, but this series is a work of mixed-media layered one on top of the other in a box. Yet this assemblage of random found objects, with the artists

Art defines us for who we are and it is our job to preserve our culture. Virgil Ortiz is a renowned ceramicist, fashion designer, graphics artist from Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico. He's an artist who uses contemporary ideals to blend historical events with futuristic aspects of his imagination. Ortiz strives for cultural awareness to inform the whole world that Cochiti art is still alive and thriving. Inspired by the Pueblo Revolt, Ortiz constructs clay figurines made from native clay and paints. He expresses intentions of conserving his ancestral traditions and techniques that were once suppressed by foreign settlers. Moving towards preserving a dying culture and letting the whole world know that Cochiti pottery will continue to flourish in

When I attend the Oklahoma Art Museum this morning, I was completely blown away by the different styles, technique, and artistic abilities that artist have. Art can come in many forms and can involve many different things. From paintings, sculptures, and abstract pieces of the modern world. Along with my visit, I got to experience a new collection of blown glass that was absolute remarkable. As I walked though the museum, it was as I walked though time and got to see how each period’s art changed throughout time. From the different shades of color to the different types of technique that filled the halls of the Oklahoma City Art Museum, each piece was genuine in its own way. I was starstruck as I witnessed Lowell Nesbitt’s Parrot Tulip, Richard Diebenkorn’s Albuquerque, and Dale Chihuly’s blown glass.

For many years, artists have been documenting the beauty of the natural world surrounding them, but few have used the materials given them by nature to create a work of art. Andy Goldsworthy is a sculptor and photographer who creates art out of almost any natural material that the earth provides including ice, snow, sticks, leaves, rocks, sand, clay, etc. A majority of Goldsworthy’s sculptures are ephemeral, resulting in Goldsworthy’s use of photographs as a way to document all of his art. His “approach to the photograph is kept simple, almost routine. All work, good and bad, is documented.

With works in every known medium, from every part of the world, throughout all points in history, exploring the vast collection of the Museum of Modern Art was an overwhelming experience. The objects in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts are an important historical collection, reflecting the development of a number of art forms in Western Europe. The department's holdings covered sculpture in many sizes, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, jewelry, and tapestries. The gallery attracted my appreciation of the realistic qualities of the human body often portrayed in sculpture.

Painted by a Naples painter in 420 BC, the Terracotta Lebes Gamikos is an intricately painted vase that depicts the preparations of a wedding. Attributed to Attic during the Greek classical period, it is now found in a gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This terra-cotta vase emphasizes the role of women in Greek society through the illustrations depicting the actions of women as they prepare for a wedding, highlighting their role in the oikos. At a first glance, the illustrations between the register capture all audience’s attention. Although there are geometric patterns lining the top and bottom of the central illustrations, they hold no comparison to the intricate detail placed in the central image on the vase.

Gwyn Hanssen Pigott was a ceramist native to Australia. She began her career as a student in art history at the University of Melbourne. Her first interest in ceramics, was the Kent collection of Chinese ceramics in the National Gallery of Victoria. When she finally decided to devote her career to ceramics, was when she met a potter by the name of Ivan McMeekin, who she became the apprentice of in his studio in New South Wales.

Our world is full of so many grandiose monuments, eye-catching sculptures, and stunning statues, each having an individual story to tell. Thousands of them have been created however, only a small number of them are actually extraordinary and picture-worthy. This paper will compare and contrast two of those picture-worthy sculptures. Furthermore, I will examine the aspects of each of these sculptures. I will compare and contrast what each of them represents, the differences in texture, their size and their tone.

The theme of art “Looking Outward: The Here and Now”, Is used to depict everyday life. This theme also brings the audience’s attention to the details of everyday moments, that they otherwise might not have noticed. Rauschenberg, Windward, 1963 Oil and silkscreened ink on canvas, page 63, figure 3.15; is a perfect example of the theme “Looking Outward: The Here and Now.” Rauschenberg used the different images such as the Statue of Liberty, water towers, a bald eagle with a rainbow in the background, etc. to depict the ordinary life in New York during the 1960s.

The colors and materials used really draws your attention as soon as you step into the doors. It used many everyday materials, such has trash, yarn fabric, and random objects you find around your house. The exhibition in this gallery is called Forget Me Not which will be leaving on December sixth. The point of this exhibition is to mirror the process of memory through forgetting. It also includes artwork from a number of female contemporary artist who are around the Atlanta area. Some of the art work was made based on the patterns of wind movement. It showed the different waves of the wind by using fabric of different colors to signal the directions. Two other pieces of art work were made out of trash completely. Each piece with the trash intertwining with each other. Other pieces just looked like random trash taken out and put on shelfs. Although all the pieces were very interesting, the one that caught my eye the most was the biggest and most colorful one of them all. It covered the entire wall. It was called Sunset Portraits from 28,029,142 Sunset Pictures on Flickr on 7/14/05, 2008- ongoing by Penelope Umbrico. It was a big collage of photographs all piece together. In fact the artist just sent the pictures to the school and the students and staff were able to piece the photos together any way they wanted. Umbrico questioned the idea of the democratization of media, and where it claims to foster subjectivity and individuality. She also address how images function on the internet rather than physical time and space, and also how it is depicted on the web then how it is printed out on paper. She takes the images on line as a collective archive that represents us as people. This work really draws the viewer in with the peacefulness of all of the sunsets put together. The different colors and the silhouettes of the people who are happily enjoying each other’s company gives off a certain