I’ve recently taken up an honorary position as Adjunct Professor at RMIT University in the School of Art. On Wednesday night, I was asked to give a keynote in that capacity at a symposium entitled ‘Art & Globalization: Urban Futures and Aesthetic Relations’, organised in association with the Global Cities Research Institute. The lecture came … Continue reading Art and artisans: the debate we had to have
The Americans have a love of coining new phrases. To antipodean ears, they can seem verbal gadgets, eagerly assembled for momentary pleasure. The term ‘prosumerism’ is a combination of consumer and producer. Bringing them together seems a ‘neat’ way of having best of both worlds – continuing the pleasures of shopping while assuming the authority … Continue reading Global prosumerism
image The ongoing quest In the nineteenth century, the Arts and Crafts Movement turned to traditional cultures in response to the perceived sterility of modern life. With studio practice in the twentieth century, a number of individual craft artists were inspired by non-Western craft traditions, such as the East Asian ceramics. In the later twentieth-century, … Continue reading The World of Small Things – upcoming exhibition
vipoo_hands Vipoo Srivilasa is one of the most successful ceramicists in Australia. His amazingly productive exhibition work never ceases to surprise. In Sydney he is now trying something different. At Gallery 4A he is introducing to his work the wonderful world of Thai cuisine. The project Roop – Rote – Ruang (Taste – Touch – … Continue reading Making a meal of ceramics
DSCF2293 At the entrance to the Chicago Institute of Art there’s a curious found installation. Some rather dangerous wires are growing like roots from the ceiling. And alongside a clump of weeds are emerging from the ground around a wood panel. This is a temporary structure associated with building works, but the coordinated growth from … Continue reading Urban art blooms in Chicago
‘So long as beauty abides in only a few articles created by a few geniuses, the Kingdom of Beauty is nowhere near realisation.’ Bernard Leach 1 ‘Fortress Ceramica’. I’m grateful to Garth Clark for so eloquently evoking the image of an institution that seems isolated from the world and resistant to the opportunities that lie … Continue reading Beyond Fortress Ceramica: A knight’s tale