Innocuous can be deadly
Crafts can be scary.
The journalist Kylie Northover, writing about artist Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, tries to downplay his use of the ceramic medium. She quotes him on the mistake of reading his works as ceramics, rather than sculpture: “I think when ceramics became popular as an artform in Australia, people weren’t really used to seeing sculpture with a capital S.”?
She then writes about the horror of being associated with pottery:? “Not that he’s moved on to doing innocuous homewares, though. ‘No, I don’t want to do vases!’”
It’s common for journalists unfamiliar with the crafts (Northover is a TV critic) to feel disdain for its popular uses. They will write about a handmade artwork that it goes beyond “mere craft.” It’s not all “knitting and macrame.”?
“Innocuous homewares” contrasts with the edgy quality of Nithiyendran’s sculptures. The implication is that ceramics involves the production of functional items with little creative value. Sculpture—with a capital “S”—stands above mere tableware.?
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It’s a shame that Nithiyendran's work can’t stand for itself, without needing to identify a lower form above which it can elevate itself.?
“Innocuous homewares” have a value all of their own. Rather than objects you see for a few minutes in a gallery, homewares are daily companions in our everyday life. The ceramicist who makes these objects has to anticipate their use with a mixture of creativity and thoughtfulness. As we saw in the stories of the Taste-Makers issue of Garland magazine, this often involves a lively dialogue between maker and user.?
Nithiyendran’s spectacular ceramics is like a rock band on the concert stage. They’re loud and grab your attention. Homewares are more like a cabaret act, down on the floor and in dialogue with the audience.?
They both have their place. The world would be lesser without either of these.
Gallerist, curator, writer, art historian, publisher, researcher, fundraiser
1 年I thought it was interesting that Ramesh calls himself a painter. Painting and sculpture still dominate as ‘fine art’, I think artists like Ramesh are doing a lot towards craft being more included amongst the most exciting and important contemporary art, interesting though the lack of ceramacist identifying.
Artist and educator in the Visual Arts
1 年The use of cliches and elevation of one thing over another underpins alot of critical writing and thinking in the Arts. People seem to lack the confidence to think for themselves and be prepared to spend the requisite time it takes to do some research and write about a topic well.
CEO and Artistic Director at Australian Design Centre
1 年I’m not sure that it is craft-phobia. Some journalists attempt to write about topics without doing any research and tend to offer uneducated opinions in my view.
Artist and Academic
1 年I fully agree.