Craftivist Clay: Resistance and Activism in Contemporary Ceramics
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Craftivist Clay: Resistance and Activism in Contemporary Ceramics by Mary Callahan Baumstark A thesis presented to OCAD University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in CONTEMPORARY ART, DESIGN, AND NEW MEDIA ART HISTORIES Toronto, Ontario, Canada, April, 2016 ©Mary Callahan Baumstark 2016 ii Author's Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I authorize OCAD University to lend this thesis to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. I further authorize OCAD University to reproduce this thesis by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. iii Abstract Craftivist Clay: Resistance and Activism in Contemporary Ceramics Mary Callahan Baumstark Master of Arts in Contemporary Art, Design, and New Media Histories OCAD University April 2016 Since the late twentieth century, the social engagement of craft emerged as a primary concern for both makers and activists. While “craftivism” was quickly defined by the work of a few, this thesis expands previous considerations of craftivism as both theoretical construct and making method. Considering the emergence of craftivism as method, this paper examines the work of ceramic craftivists, analyzing their practices and produced works within a context of increased political urgency, using ceramics as a microcosmic exploration for craftivism in a given craft media. This thesis will analyze the efficacy of this method in contemporary ceramics, seeking to clarify both the import and impact of craftivism in a world overwhelmed by both activist causes and material goods. This thesis questions and complicates the history of craftivist theory, its role in contemporary ceramic practice, and its efficacy as a whole, exploring the extent to which craft can create social change. Keywords: craftivism, craft, ceramic, maker, activism, method, feminism, clay, activist, object iv Acknowledgements This thesis is a labour of love and dedication. Its success is due to the diligent support and effort of my committee in this endeavor. I am grateful to Dr. Lynne Milgram and Rachel Gotlieb for their careful consideration and effort in reading and providing feedback on this document. I would like to thank my Contemporary Art, Design, and New Media program director, Dr. Andrea Fatona, for her continued support of my scholarship, for her flexibility and leadership. I would like to extend my passionate thanks to Dr. Michael Prokopow for his enthusiasm for the project and craft, for his remarkable mentorship, and for his thoughts and expertise. This thesis would not be possible without the guidance, expertise, sensitivity, and passion of Professor Dorie Millerson. Thank you for tackling craftivism with me, for your criticism and feedback, and for your positivity and enthusiasm for my work. I have deeply enjoyed working with you, and appreciate your mentorship and friendship more than can be adequately expressed here. I extend my heartfelt love and gratitude for my talented and compassionate peers in the graduate school and CADN program, particularly the group of nine women in my cohort who inspire, motivate, and challenge me to be a better feminist and scholar. I'm grateful to the North American ceramics community for their support of this project and their enthusiasm for my writing. I am especially grateful to the ceramicists who allowed me to interview them: Abby Silver, Carrie Reichardt, Ehren Tool, Jeni Hansen Gard, Joel Pfeiffer, Nicole Gugliotti, Richard Notkin, and Vipoo Srivilasa. Your responses have greatly informed the project and I enjoyed our fruitful and challenging discussions. Finally, I would like to thank my partner, Jack Wicks, and my beautiful family, especially my mum. This thesis represents the culmination of two difficult years, and would have been impossible without the continued love and support of those I love, many miles away. v Dedication To Theresa, for telling me to dedicate it to myself. vi Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1a: Context 2 1b: Research Purpose and Methods 3 1c: Scope: 5 1d: Outline of Document 6 Chapter 2: Literature Review and Definitions 9 2a: Literature Review 9 2b: Definitions 13 Chapter 3: Rethinking Craftivism (Methods and History) 24 3a: Craftivism as Method 25 3b: Craftivist History 38 3b1: The Coinage of Craftivism 38 3b2: Feminism and Craftivism 41 3b3: Twentieth Century Ceramics 43 3b4: Early Ceramic Craftivism 46 3b5: Riot Grrrl and DIY 51 Chapter 4: Craftivist Ceramics (Interviews, Categories, Critiques) 60 4a: Identifying as Craftivist 60 4b: Categorizing Craftivism 66 4b1: Private: Personal, Reflective, or Contemplative Craftivism 67 4b2: For Craft's Sake 70 4b3: Illustrative Resistance 73 4b4: Dialectical Craftivism 79 4b5: Performative Craftivism 81 4b6: Communal Craftivism 83 4b7: Philanthropic and Charitable Craftivism 86 4c: Critique of Craftivist Projects 90 Chapter 5: Craftivism: Efficacy and Exhibition 100 5a: Dialecticism 100 5b: Affinities 103 5c: For Craft's Sake 106 5d: Expanding Networks 108 5e: Exhibiting Craftivism 114 Chapter 6: Craftivist Conclusions 126 Bibliography 129 Appendices 139 Chapter 1: Introduction The popularity of craftivism as subject for makers and scholars expanded in past years, buoyed by the Maker Movement of the early 2000s. Craftivism, the term, suggests a kind of activism, resistance, or social protest through the craft position, whether in its making, display, or performance. These kinds of interventions or actions are typically used for “positive” activist causes, often promoting an end of stigma (for example, AIDS or abortion), protesting against militarism or war, or connecting communities through craft processes and events. While amateurs, hobbyists, and the DIY community have readily embraced this popular buzzword, most of its literature reflects the efforts of makers working in fibre or textiles. Craftivism has come to be defined by these works, as a historicized movement of the 1990s and early 2000s. The contextualization of this method as movement, however, ignores craftivism's potential in a wide variety of craft media to enact diverse activist and resistive actions. Rather than limit craftivism by media or time and place, this thesis reimagines and redefines craftivism as a method of working, by specifically examining the use of craftivism and craftivist techniques within contemporary ceramics. This thesis defines craftivism as an activist or resistive articulation from the craft position, and is contingent upon the definitions of craft and activism that will be explored further in this document. The emergence of craftivism in contemporary ceramics can be traced through the performative and subversive works of the twentieth century, and has expanded in recent years with works by ceramicists such as Ehren Tool, Theaster Gates, Michael J. Strand, Julie Green, Clare Twomey, and numerous others. The emergence of craftivism in ceramics points to the urgency of the contemporary political moment and the necessary impulse of craft-workers to respond consciously. This thesis redresses the neglect of craftivism and its implications in ceramic 2 criticism and literature, necessarily broadening the discourse of political craft. 1a: Context: As it stands, explorations of clay's political potential have been limited to illustrative resistance, or works that use the ceramic object's surface or the narrative quality of sculpture to depict cultural critique, subversion, or opposition. Texts such as Confrontational Clay1 and Sex Pots: Eroticism in Ceramics2 explore the ceramic surface as site of criticism, but ignore the emergence of performance, social practice, and relational aesthetics in contemporary ceramic work. Similarly, craft readers and texts such as The Craft Reader3 and New Directions in Ceramics4 limit explorations of craftivism to either a small section, or continue the fallacy that craftivism only exists in the fibre media. In recent years, the craft discourse has rapidly expanded, integrating new practices, processes, materials, and theories. In the late twentieth century and early twenty-first, makers incorporate new processes and practices that reflect both the material reality and political urgency of their times; working with technologies such as rapid prototyping and 3D printers as well as destabilizing hierarchies inherent in their disciplines, turning to non-traditional, non-archival forms of practice like unfired ceramics and site-specific works; as well as reflecting on the contemporary state of the Western world, addressing feminism, post colonialism, and a host of activist motivations. New literature is needed to reflect both the historical nature and the contemporary moment of craftivist ceramics. 1 Judith S. Schwartz, Confrontational Ceramics (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008). 2 Paul Mathieu, Sex Pots: Eroticism in Ceramics (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2003). 3 Glenn Adamson, The Craft Reader, edited Glenn Adamson (New York: Berg, 2010). 4 Jo Dahn, New Directions in Ceramics: From Spectacle to Trace, (London: Bloomsbury, 2015). 3 1b: Research Purpose and Methods: The purpose of this research is to illustrate the historic emergence of contemporary craftivism as a method, to