All images and text Copyright 2001-2010 by James Freeman. All rights reserved.
James Freeman Studio
Manitou Beach,
Michigan
Michigan
Pottery forms have for millennia been largely defined by the requirements of functionality. Pitchers had to pour, cups had to fit the hand and the lips, jars had to seal out the elements. In our modern world, however, pottery often plays a far different role. A sizeable percentage of studio pottery is never put to functional use, but rather fulfills a decorative or contemplative role. Today’s studio pottery is just as likely to be found on a display shelf as in a kitchen cupboard. This being the case, I began to abandon the constraints of function and explore the formal and sculptural aspects of the vessel format. Thus began my work with wheel-thrown sculptural vessels. You can see examples of this work by clicking here, or through the button below.
The spinning potter’s wheel produces organic, round forms. While these forms can be pushed in or out, contorted, or cut apart and reassembled, the resulting forms still retain the essence of the circle. Having a strong interest in architecture and engineering, I found myself thinking about the further possibilities for sculptural form if one were to subjugate this traditional roundness. I began a series of sculptural pieces constructed of carefully cut and fitted slabs of clay, designed and assembled in a far more mechanical way. The resulting forms, many based on architecture, crystalline growth, and geological formations, moved of necessity even farther from function. The remaining references to function became purely vestigial, mere signposts linking the work to historical ceramic traditions as the forms moved firmly into the realm of sculpture. You can see examples of this hand built work by clicking here, or through the button below.
Ceramic work is often viewed as something other than Art due to the prejudices commonly resulting from it’s 10,000 years of vessel history. When viewing ceramic work, folks often ask “What does it do?”, or “What do you put in it?”, questions that would never be asked of a work in bronze or marble. While the work mentioned above acknowledges this history and provides references to the vessel as a point of departure, my installation work moves in the opposite direction. In this work, ceramic vessels retain their traditional formats, but are denied their functionality and made to serve only as building blocks in a larger concept. You can see examples of my installation work by clicking here, or through the button below.
The spinning potter’s wheel produces organic, round forms. While these forms can be pushed in or out, contorted, or cut apart and reassembled, the resulting forms still retain the essence of the circle. Having a strong interest in architecture and engineering, I found myself thinking about the further possibilities for sculptural form if one were to subjugate this traditional roundness. I began a series of sculptural pieces constructed of carefully cut and fitted slabs of clay, designed and assembled in a far more mechanical way. The resulting forms, many based on architecture, crystalline growth, and geological formations, moved of necessity even farther from function. The remaining references to function became purely vestigial, mere signposts linking the work to historical ceramic traditions as the forms moved firmly into the realm of sculpture. You can see examples of this hand built work by clicking here, or through the button below.
Ceramic work is often viewed as something other than Art due to the prejudices commonly resulting from it’s 10,000 years of vessel history. When viewing ceramic work, folks often ask “What does it do?”, or “What do you put in it?”, questions that would never be asked of a work in bronze or marble. While the work mentioned above acknowledges this history and provides references to the vessel as a point of departure, my installation work moves in the opposite direction. In this work, ceramic vessels retain their traditional formats, but are denied their functionality and made to serve only as building blocks in a larger concept. You can see examples of my installation work by clicking here, or through the button below.
