Ceramics exhibit showcases
artist’s body of work
By:
Rose Haag |
COURIER photo/Gabriel Fenoy
David Armstrong, founder of the American Museum of Ceramic
Art, stands next to a Robert Sperry piece currently on
display. |
“Bright Abyss,” a retrospective of works by Ceramic
Artist Robert Sperry, is considered “One of the most important
ceramics exhibitions of this decade,” according to David
Armstrong, founder of the American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA)
in Pomona. “This exhibit is the best we’ve ever
done.”
The collection includes Mr. Sperry’s four types of work:
large-scale vessels, wheel-thrown production ware, large slabs
or murals, and large black-glazed plates decorated with a type
of white liquid clay called “slip.” The exhibit
took about three years to curate. Most of the works came from
Mr. Sperry’s studio in Washington.
The title of the exhibit, “Bright Abyss,” is a reference
to the tensions between opposites, such as black and white,
structure and accident, tradition and innovation, mania and
depression. All of these are present in the work in some
way.
Mr. Sperry has influenced the entire field of ceramics. He found
ways to achieve whatever results he wanted by overcoming the
loss of control usually inherent to the ceramics process. Many
of his techniques are now widely practiced.
Mr. Armstrong explained that Mr. Sperry’s work is particularly
impressive because when the artist started working in the 1950s
when supplies were not available at art stores. He had to either
find or create all of his tools and materials.
Mr. Sperry was born in 1927 and grew up in Druid, Saskatchewan
in Canada. He received a B.F.A. from the School of the
Art Institute of Chicago in 1954, then an M.F.A. from the University
of Washington, Seattle in 1955. The same year, he was
appointed to a teaching position at UW. He continued to teach
there for over 40 years. At the same time, he was experimenting
with new techniques and materials, ultimately producing an extremely
large body of work of which more than 90 are currently on display
at the AMOCA.
According to Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Sperry’s teaching position
made this choice possible, since it allowed the artist to experiment
and produce original work without worrying about whether the
work would sell.
The artist also experimented with other mediums, including film.
In 1963 he traveled to Japan and documented the traditional
pottery techniques in an acclaimed documentary, “The Village
Potters of Onda.” Mr. Sperry passed away in 1998.
Christy Johnson, Director of the museum, identified Mr. Sperry’s
earliest ceramic work as mostly vessels and functional pottery.
“The work is earthy and woodsy,” said Ms. Johnson.
“The décor of the time reflected the hippy-dippy
era.” Mr. Sperry was a very successful commercial studio
potter, but chose to pursue non-functional ceramics instead.
The black-glazed plates mentioned earlier are a good example
of Mr. Sperry’s innovative approach.
Clay has a tendency to shrink when it is fired, and some kinds
shrink more than others, Mr. Armstrong explains. In the case
of Mr. Sperry’s plates, the black clay composing the base
does not shrink as much as the white slip. This means that the
slip should theoretically fall right off the slab.
He solved this problem by applying a glaze coat to the black
base. He fired the base before as well as after applying the
slip. Since the glaze has a lower melting point than either
the black clay or the slip, each layer solidifies at a different
point during the cooling process. The result is that the
materials are held together.
Another challenge was the formation of the plates themselves.
“Clay has a memory,” Mr. Armstrong said. If
the clay becomes deformed at any point during the formation
process, it will revert to that shape when it is fired.
Mr. Sperry made molds and tools to help him make even, regular
platters.
Ceramics is a particularly complicated art form that combines
chemistry, sculpture, and painting. When the clay is placed
in the kiln, it cracks and changes shape in ways that are difficult
to predict. Yet the patterns in Mr. Sperry’s pieces
appear varied and deliberate.
“What is amazing is just the fact that he did this,”
talking about one richly textured piece. Mr. Armstrong’s
high opinion of this exhibit is due in part to Mr. Sperry’s
contributions to the field of ceramics. What’s truly
impressive is the huge concentration of work, which really tells
the story of the artist.
The final pieces in the exhibit are black and white digital
images that are reminiscent of the cosmos. These reflect
Mr. Sperry’s struggle with cancer in his final years,
when he was unable to perform any of the labor required for
his ceramic work. Instead, he learned to use a computer
to build images.
Mr. Sperry was a thinker as well as an artist. At the
University of Washington, he objected to the rigid ideas of
his teacher and adviser Paul Bonifas. Mr. Bonifas’
philosophy was along the lines of, “I draw, you throw,”
according to Matthew Kangas in the book, “Robert Sperry:
Bright Abyss,” which was published by the AMOCA for this
exhibit.
The tension between teacher and student reached it height in
1955 when Mr. Sperry was supposed to write a hundred pages and
make five pieces for his final M.F.A. show. Instead, he
wrote five pages and made a hundred pieces. Mr. Bonifas eventually
agreed to award Mr. Sperry his degree. This made it possible
for Mr. Sperry to accept the job offer that started his teaching
career. Ironically, the University of Washington hired
Mr. Sperry as a replacement for Mr. Bonifas.
Aesthetically, Mr. Sperry was very influenced by his teacher’s
use of black and white as well as by his crackled glazes.
However, he remained convinced that there is value in the process
of creating ceramics, not just in the finished product.
Mr. Sperry never considered himself purely a designer, nor did
he champion industrial machinery as his teacher did.
“Pots must be individual,” Mr. Sperry said in a
1964 interview for the Christian Science Monitor. “The
more mass production we have in other things, the more necessary
it is for pots to convey particularity.”
Ms. Johnson is also of the opinion that ceramics are important
in a more general context. “Ceramics are the longest lasting
indicator of culture,” she said. “They outlast
bronze, wood and textiles. When we dig up a culture, that’s
where the record is.”
This has a strange implication. In the future, it could be the
artwork contained in the AMOCA that serves as a representation
of current American culture. That adds a particular status
to this museum, which is one of very few museums in the United
States whose focus is exclusively on ceramics.
Ms. Johnson, who has been a Ceramic Artist for 30 years, jokingly
warned of the dangers of learning to make ceramics.
“Once you try it, you’ll be hooked,” she said.
The exhibit is open until November 8th.