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This year on November 3, at the Navy Pier in Chicago, CWA is sponsoring some interesting speakers during SOFA's lecture series. The schedule is as follows:
Friday, Nov. 3
9:00-10:00 Honoring
the Patron: The Influence of Art Patronage, by William Hunter;
10:00-12:00 CWA Board Meeting
12:30-1:30 Box Lunch with speaker (You will need to sign up for this).
2:00-3:30 What Do You Do With Your Collection After It Is Collected? Donate? Bequeath? Sell? Panel will consist of Dr. Judith Barter, Field-McCormack Curator of American Art at The Art Institute of Chicago, Kimerly Rorshack, Director of David & Alfred Museum of Art at the University of Chicago. Holly Hotchner, Director of American Craft Museum, and Marcus Tremonto, 20th Century Decorative Arts Specialist, Sotheby's.
1:30-3:30 Slides!Slides!Slides! What is going on in Wood. This will be a slide show of 10-12 artists who will show their current work.
These are the events that are featuring wood. If you are interested in attending the Box Lunch, see the insert in this newsletter. Hope to see you there.
I just returned from a very stimulating experience at Emma Lake in Canada. The concept of inviting a group of artists to come and work together as collaborators was Michael Hosaluk’s, and it started out as an interesting thing to do, but has mushroomed into quite an event. The facilities were very minimal as far as accomodations, and organization was not their strong point. But the energy and excitment generated by 100 plus artists working together for 4 days is pretty incredible. As an artist, it forces you to put up or shut up. And the artists that Michael invited were ready to jump in with both feet.
Several cows gave their lives to fuel the energy and enthusiasm, keeping us artists mooving toward our goals of creating artwork the likes of which has never been seen before. Some pieces were definitely over the top, overdone, and basically outrageous. Others were just made to elicit a laugh or two from the viewers. However, there were a handful of pieces that were truly wonderful, and it was amazing that they were conceived and executed under the conditions of working in utter turmoil.
The auction in the rain was a difficult event to pull off, but with everyone’s help and participation, things went as smoothly as possible and a total of $69,000 (Canadian) was raised for the Saskatchewan Craft Council to use to further the cause. There were several CWA collectors who came, some taking part in the creativity. I’ve never seen Fleur Bresler’s hands so dirty, and Jane Mason’s cast bronze turtle was something to behold.
Arthur Mason contributed toward several collaborations, including a loophole bowl that needed his turning and lawyer expertise. Dave and Suzy Wahl both worked their fingers to the bone on several projects. Dave and Ruth Waterbury were active bidders at the auction as was Terry Moritz, a new CWA member.
Personally, I am very excited about exploring the possibilities of blacksmithing and metal working futher. Jo Ann Edwards, the owner of Tercera Gallery, who participated as an artist herself asked, “You’re not going to start doing metal and quit making wood sculptures, are you?” I assured her that wood was in my blood and will always be a part of my artwork.
I know that most of our members have a strong passion for wood and feel like the material is the cohesiveness that has held our interest over the years. I am just glad to see that the artists have the same vehemence about their creativity as the collectors do for results.
I would recommend that you consider attending Emma Lake sometime. They organize it every two years. Just be sure you ask for a hotel room somewhere in the area. Or bring your own RV. And a raincoat. And some mosquito spray.
Last month, Bill Prater faxed me just as I was about to leave on an extended holiday trip. He asked that I write a few words about the current wood art scene. "Easy enough" I replied, "As soon as I return." Now, after four weeks of immersion in great museums and galleries in London, Paris, and Southern Italy (undertaken with the usual excesses of wine, various other local beverages and extraordinary cuisine), I take pen in hand to dispatch this "easy enough" little writing assignment, and find, not surprisingly, my brain and senses totally fried! Wood? Oh yes-wood! It's turning a corner (pun), I remember thinking as I left. I'm not so certain that corner is yet in sight. I've returned with the view that much of contemporary craft may be too narrow, devoid of intellectual content, and not worthy of critical attention, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the great art and decorative arts found in Europe's best museums.
Does it matter? Clearly, we love what we collect. However, one might ask whether the process is as thoughtful as it ought to be. My first art instructor fifty years ago at the Boston Museum School offered this counsel. "Focus your talent, if any, on the principle that the best art is simply about how you feel about what's going on around you." Another valid, but opposite concept, offered by Andre Malraux - "All art is a revolt against man's fate" also appeals to me. Both points of view have a ring of wisdom and truth. Which principle might we follow as collectors? Does art seek to see the world as it really is, or does art seek to make life endurable? And, is any of this pertinent to artists working in wood or ceramics today? What, in fact, are contemporary craft artists saying about our time in history?
The extent to which collectors focus on these and similar questions, and in turn bring these ideas into our discourse with the makers of art, may prove critical to the continued growth of both wood and ceramics. Not simply because "intellectual content" seems to coincide with traditionally acclaimed and acknowledged museum art, but because ceramics and wood have made enormous creative strides in the last two decades with most of the work (surely not all) still failing to meet the most minimum criteria for fine art museums. Happily, the trend is strong nonetheless in the right direction.
An exceedingly promising recent trend in the wood art field seems to reflect this new recognition of the importance of acknowledging and supporting the best and most profound of the makers. Current exhibitions have been mounted, not as turned wood bowls (as in the past), but have reemerged with more select, more provocative, more engaging work shown under the such current titles as "Distinctive Visions-Sculptural Objects in Wood", "The Fine Art of Wood-The Bohlen Collection", Studio Wood-The New Frontier" and "Conversations with Wood." I'd like to think too that the Wornick Collection contributed to this trend whenit traveled as "Expressions in Wood."
Are we collecting and honoring intellectually significant objects? Will our collections reflect how we, or our artists, felt about "what was going on around us? or how the perfected world should appear? Do we need to think about it at all? Time will judge whether contemporary wood or ceramic art will survive as a valued reflection of our time. But, more conversation, more critical input, more intellectualizing and more referencing to museum standards would surely help if we hope to share our "art" with future generations when they tour the great museums of America.
Note from Robyn Horn: This article was written for publication in the Friends of Contemporary Ceramics Newsletter. Bill Prater asked me for a suggestion as to who I thought would be a good candidate to discuss some thoughts on what CWA and other similar groups are trying to accomplish. I suggested Ron Wornick, as he has always had a thoughtful, incisive and direct approach to our roles as collectors and supporters. Ron told me that his intent was to provoke some discussion on these issues. Members' responses are welcomed.
I can see how, after an intensive dose of European museums and wine, one might begin to question the validity and seriousness that contemporary crafts will some day hold in the future galleries of American museums. But I think comparing Chihuly to Michelangelo is an apple and orange scenario. When I look at the last two decades of the 20th century in our country, I see a crescendo of wealth, excessive extravagances, and waste that could never have been imagined. I think the expressiveness and boisterousness of the objects being made reflect this perfectly. The fact that artists can now work alone in their studios to produce this work is a direct result of the economy. And while only a small portion of the work being made belongs in museums, there are those examples that effectively make a statement worth listening to.
One of the most interesting comments in Ron's article was that maybe art seeks to make life endurable. I would personally confirm that art not only enables me to endure, but is one of the most enriching aspects in my life. "Art Saves Lives" is a proven theory in my mind, and if some of the more lofty examples of the work from the contemporary craft field are preserved in museums for future viewers to enjoy, I think a comment on our existence at the turn of the century will be evident.
To date, we have $8300 in hand, with pledges for $12,000 more for the education fund. Our goal is $30,000 which will make us eligible for a matching $10,000 . So we have another $9700 to go. This fund will be spent on promoting wood-- through museums shows, involving curators and directors from museums in our events, and providing programs that will educate the public about the great wood art being made as well as its history. If you would like to make a donation, send it to Ruth Waterbury, 4541 East Lake Harriet Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN 55409. Specify that it is for the education fund.
Robyn Horn
Please be sure to visit their booths.
The Seventh Annual International Exposition of Sculpture Objects & Functional Art: SOFA CHICAGO 2000 takes place November 3-5th at Navy Pier in Chicago.
New to SOFA and of special interest to wood collectors, may be the abstract, sculptural forms by British collaborating artists, Malcolm Martin and Gaynor Dowling. Martin/Dowling’s work is hand carved using axe and gouges, then transformed by techniques such as scorching, liming and coloration to create objects that are open in their meaning and in relationship to their material. Of their work, Martin/Dowling have written: "Our interest is in the boundary between two and three-dimensional form, using strongly frontal images that imply volume, and are allusive while remaining abstract". The Crafts Council Gallery located in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London will represent Malcolm and Dowling at SOFA CHICAGO.
The SOFA CHICAGO 2000 Lecture Series will feature wood sculptor, Barbara Spring, speaking on the subject of "Ebb and Flow: 65 Years of Sculpture". Spring is world renowned for her large format, wood figure installations and will be represented at SOFA CHICAGO by the John Natsoulas Gallery in Davis, CA. Wood artist William Hunter will also speak in the Lecture Series on the subject of "Honoring the Patron: The Influence of Art Patronage."
The most comprehensive exhibitor of wood at SOFA CHICAGO 2000 will be the del Mano Gallery from Los Angeles, CA, which will present an exhibition of leading artists in the Contemporary Wood Studio Movement. Work from Holzapfel, Hunter & Lindquist, a recent exhibition at the Los Angeles gallery will also be presented. Michelle Holzapfel, William Hunter and Mark Lindquist are all highly respected artists who utilize the lathe to create sculptural work in wood.
For more information on SOFA CHICAGO 2000, November 3-5th, call 1.800.563.SOFA or log on to its website, www.sofaexpo.com.
Forum 2001 will be held in Minneapolis, MN October 25 to 28, 2001. It’s not too early to indicate your interest in registration materials by contacting the public programs department of the MIA (Minneapolis Institute of Art) at 612-870-3202 or by email at sjcobse@artsmial.org. Registration materials will be mailed in the summer of 2001.
CWA has reserved rooms for $125 per night at the Marquette Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. They can be reserved by calling 612-333-4545 or 1-800-328-4782. To receive the special rate single/double occupancy you must indicate your association with the MIA Woodturnings Symposium group when you make your reservation.
Forum 2001 is being planned in conjunction with the opening of Woodturning in North America Since 1930: Across the Grain, the retrospective show being organized jointly by Yale University Art Museum and the Wood Turning Center. There will be an opening talk on Thursday, October 25, by Glenn Adamson, who was the principal researcher on the project. On Friday there will be a series of talks at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Included will be a presentation by Pat Kane, curator of decorative arts at Yale, and Christopher Monkhouse, curator of decorative arts and sculpture at the MIA, about collecting for their respective museums, and how wood fits into those collections.
If you are interested in volunteering to help with the Forum, please mail or email Ruth Waterbury at 4541 East Lake Harriet Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55409 or Rwaterbury@compuserve.com. Committees will be identified in the early fall, but if you have a special interest or skill please indicate that.
CWA has elected its new officers who will begin their terms Jan. 1, 2001. Our new president will be Jane Mason, vice president will be Skip Shaw, Treasurer will be Gary Smith, and Secretary will be Joe Seltzer (who has agreed to serve one more term). Also reelected to board positions were Alan Nachman and Ruth Waterbury, in addition to all of the new officers. The next election for board members and officers will be held at the 2001 Forum in Minneapolis in October.
At the Charlotte Forum 2000 meeting the membership voted to modified dues structure. There are two principle changes to note: Memberships now begin at the basic level of $75 for one person with one vote, one newsletter, one membership directory and membership discounts for one person. All membership categories above Basic include, for two people living at the same address, two votes, one directory and two membership discounts and one newsletter.
Please remember that all memberships are ways to support CWA and its projects. All membership payments above $25 are believed to be tax-deductible. Please consider one of the higher categories as a way to support CWA and its projects.
Other memberships are: Family from $175 to 249, Patron from $250 to $499, Benefactor from $500 to $999, Founder from $1000 to $2499 and Guardian $2500 and above.
The second change is the elimination of the non-voting membership category. For $25 CWA now offers a simple newsletter subscription. Everyone is, naturally, encouraged to consider membership.
A directory will be printed annually, listing all members of record for the calendar year, and sent to those members in January. The option to be listed by name only, or not to be listed at all, still remains.
On Friday August 11, woodturner Ray Allen passed away from complications after heart surgery. Ray was a special man who generously shared his talents and knowledge with the wood turning community. He will be missed by all that knew him.
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