Soaring Spirits/Feet of Clay

Exhibition Essay

I have always thought of a university Art Gallery or Museum as the equivalent of a Library- a library of images rather than words. And if the artist’s work can be compared to that of an author, then the materials and the style the artist has chosen can be compared to forms of writing an author can choose, such as poems, novels, biographies or short stories.

Just as librarians collect as many books as they can, by as many authors as they know of, about as many subjects as they need, for their libraries, those of us working in art museums and art galleries try to present as varied a program of exhibitions as our budgets will allow.

We feel it is important to provide students and members of the community with as wide a range of visual experiences as possible, in order to acquaint them with the broadest spectrum of expressive points of view and stylistic developments covering the entire gamut of materials used by artists.

To see and experience art helps sharpen our ability to make judgments, develop critical faculties and during that process, discover our own predilections as we learn about artists whose works we are drawn to.

In all cultures the younger generations learn from the older one. This system has worked for centuries until world travel and mass communication changed this traditional way of imparting information and learning patterns.

In a relatively short period of time, distances have been virtually eliminated, blurring cultural boundaries and producing homogenized mixtures of what were once separate social, political and unique civilizations. Computers and other forms of instant communication have brought about access across continents making it easy to know what goes on in any discipline as dropping in to our next door neighbor’s house.

It is now both easier and harder to make choices; what were once stable and consistent values and behavior patterns, have been turned upside down and sideways, forever altered by an overdose of alternatives coming from every direction.

The sheer magnitude of what is available creates as much confusion as it offers variety. It actually makes it harder to discern what paths to pursue and who would be the one to provide direction for our journey. To look and become familiar with many different kinds of ideas and materials can, on one hand, be confusing but it can also help us to discover what our own predilections are, where to find support for our own inclinations, and provide nourishment to help us grow and become self-confident.

The Soaring Spirits / Feet of Clay exhibition was one of the many different paths explored 2006. It presented the work of six different artists all of whom work with clay; three-dimensionally, making sculpture, some of which is representational and some abstract. All six artists derive their subject matter from nature; with imagery inspired by landscape, vessels, the human and animal forms.

Limitations and advantages are part of the process of working with any material; and clay is no exception. Wood can be carved, inlaid, singed, burnt, veneered, whittled, turned and laminated. Paper can be folded, crinkled, cut, layered, glued, painted, dried, shredded, pulped and maché-d.

Clay can be formed by hand or on a wheel, sculpted, its surface worked and changed all the way from satin smoothness to rough bark-like texture, it can be added to or subtracted from. It can be layered or coiled, glazed and fired in brilliant colors or muted earth tines; it can yield expressive portraiture or a classically flawless vessel.

Legend has it that God made man from clay.

– Josine Ianco Starrells, Curator
Schneider Museum of Art

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