Subversive Ceramics

Description

A Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2016 Satire has been used in ceramic production for centuries. Historically, it occurred as a slogan or proverb written into the ceramic surface; as pictorial surface imagery; or as a satirical figurine. The use of satire in contemporary ceramics is a rapidly evolving trend, with many artists subverting or otherwise rethinking familiar historic forms to make a political point. Claudia Clare examines the relationship between ceramics, social politics, and political movements and the way both organisations and individual artists have used pots - predominantly domestic objects - to agitate among the masses or simply express their ideas. Ninety colour illustrations of various subversive, satirical and campaigning works illustrate her arguments and enliven debate. Claudia Clare explores work by artists from twenty-one different countries, from 500 BC to the present day. These range range from the French artist Honore Daumier and the enslaved African-American potter David Drake to contemporary artists including Lubaina Himid, Virgil Ortiz and Shlomit Bauman, whose work and the means of its production has addressed or commented upon issues such as disputed homelands, identify, race, gender and colonialism.

Claudia Clare is a ceramicist and writer based in London, UK. She contributes regularly to Ceramic Review and was a co-author, with Edmund de Waal, of The Pot Book (2011).

This is a book that has been needed for a very long time. It examines the intriguing histories of how clay has been used as a medium for dissent, as a commentary on political life and to critique ideas of domesticity. It argues that ceramics' access to the everyday, and its use of a material that is little regarded, allows it to rewrite narratives around power. Claudia Clare's book is a corrective: passionate, lucid, funny, beautifully illustrated and frequently surprising. -- Edmund de Waal This is a very exciting book with numerous large photographs ... One cannot fail to be captivated by its many examples of subversive ceramics. * Keramiske noter [Bloomsbury translation] * Clare (a gifted writer and talented subversive ceramist based in the UK) provides an engaging examination of a wide range of rebellious vessels, monumental sculptures, and figurines through time and space...Although clay has long been used to produce decorative and functional ceramics, the selected satirical and politically motivated pieces Clare includes have broken the craft's glass ceiling and propelled ceramics into the realm of Art with a capital A. This eclectic collection of British artwork (including the author's) and selections from 20 other countries will open many important conversations...Summing Up: Highly recommended. * CHOICE *