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Kenneth Ferguson (1928 – 2004) Artist Statement

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KENNETH FERGUSON (1928 – 2004) Although he sometimes referred to himself as “a humble country potter1,” Ken Ferguson has been honored as much for his teaching as his vessels. As executive director of the Archie Bray Foundation and later as chairman and professor of the Kansas City Art Institute Ceramics Department for over 30 years, he mentored a number of the prominent ceramic artists working today, including John and Andrea Gill, Richard Notkin, Chris Gustin, Irv Tepper, Akio Takamori, Chris Staley, and Curt Weiser. A master of functional pottery, Ferguson‟s work evolved over the years to more expressive forms such as his hare baskets, decorative platters, and teapots. Over his long career he received numerous awards for his work in both the ceramics arts and the educational fields, has been featured in over 100 exhibitions, and had his work included in a number of private and public collections. 1. Shapiro, William et al. “Ken Ferguson: A Remembrance.” Ceramics Monthly 53, no. 3 (March 2005): 66. ARTIST STATEMENT: KENNETH FERGUSON “I enjoy the versatility. For this reason I work with functional and nonfunctional forms – stoneware, salt firing, raku, porcelain, and low temperature, thrown forms and handbuilding, and castware. I reflect the fine arts traditional craft and the need to make things. I try to be honest with myself and honest with clay.”1 1. Nordness, Lee. Objects: USA. New York: Viking Press, 1970. RESUME – KENNETH FERGUSON March 6, 1928 Born: Elwood, Indiana June-August, 1947 American Academy of Art, Chicago, Illinois 1952 B.F.A., Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania March 1, 1952 Married Gertrude Elsie Houston 1952-1954 U.S. Army, First Calvary, Camp Sendai, Japan 1956-58 New York State School of Ceramics, Alfred University, New YorkM.F.A. 1958-1964 Executive Director and Resident Potter, Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramics Arts, Helena, Montana 1964-1996 Chairman and Professor, Ceramics Department, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO December 30, 2004 Died: Shawnee, Kansas BIOGRAPHY – KENNETH FERGUSON Ken Ferguson was born in 1928 in Elwood, Indiana, the son of factory workers who were determined that their children would not adopt that life and would become educated. Early on he became interested in drawing and decided to pursue a career in commercial design after high school. He studied for a short time at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and then entered the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, PA, studying painting and drawing and paying for his education by working in the steel mills and chemical plants. Upon receiving his B.F.A. he served in the Army from 1952-1954. He was already interested in teaching, and his wife encouraged him to enroll in an evening ceramics course; from then on, ceramics became his field. He entered Alfred University, Alfred, NY, whose ceramics program was then under the direction of Charles Harder, and there he received the M.F.A. in 1958. Following his graduation from Alfred, he became resident potter and the studio manager at Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT. Initially hired to test clay, he began teaching ceramic classes and making pottery, transforming the former brickyard into a ceramic center. He continued to support the Bray throughout his career, serving on the board of trustees and guiding the foundation in the field of ceramic art. In 1964 Ferguson joined the ceramics department at the Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO, where he both taught and served as chair of the department until his retirement as professor emeritus in 1996. During his tenure, KCAI became one of the most important undergraduate ceramics schools in the country, graduating some of the leading ceramic artists in America. Among his students were John and Andrea Gill, Richard Notkin, Chris Gustin, Irv Tepper, Akio Takamori, Chris Staley, and Kurt Weiser. Revered as a master teacher, his individual work also evolved during his tenure. Ferguson was proud of the tradition of production pottery and its commitment to excellence of form and finish. First at the Bray and then later at KCAI, he was known for making functional work with strong emphasis on fine workmanship reflecting, perhaps the austerity that marked his early years. Over time his mastery of his art allowed him to move away from the strictly functional and toward the purely visual. Influenced by the extensive collection of Asian pottery in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art nearby and also by a trip to Japan in the 1970‟s, he worked toward freer forms, forcing himself to loosen up by making very large vessels. The quick, efficient approach of the production potter gave way to more intricate works, requiring time and slow, careful construction to complete. Instead of sitting down at the wheel and letting the process dictate the product, he began making drawings to plan out the more involved forms he was creating. His teapots, baskets, and platters moved toward a more decorative form, utilizing texture, design, and often a playful sexual approach, and his glazes evolved as well as he experimented with different effects. Ken Ferguson is equally well-known for his teaching and the legacy he left to the world of ceramics education as he is for his body of work. He had a reputation for being hard and demanding, but he instilled a strong, traditional discipline in his students and was recognized for his contributions. While at KCAI he helped establish an important collection of both student and faculty pottery as well as making KCAI a well-known center for ceramic art. He received many awards over his long career, including two National Endowments for the Arts grants for craftsmen, a Mid-America College Arts Award for Studio Art, a Tiffany grant, an Alliance of Independent Colleges of Arts grant, the College Art Association‟s Distinguished Teaching of Art Award, the American Craft Council Gold Medal, the Binns medal for outstanding contributions to ceramic art, and the second-ever Charlotte Street Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, received in 2001. His work has been featured in over 100 exhibitions worldwide and was the subject of a retrospective at the Nelson- Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City in 1995. His work is found in many private and public collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the American Craft Museum in New York City in addition to the Ceramic Research Center at Arizona State University. Ken Ferguson passed away in December, 2004, having played a major part in shaping the American ceramic tradition. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY – KENNETH FERGUSON Books and Catalogues Clark, Garth. American Ceramics 1876 to the Present. New York: Abbeville Press, 1987. __________. American Potters: the Work of Twenty Modern Masters. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1981. ___________. A Century of Ceramics in the United States, 1878-1978. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1979. ____________, ed. Ceramic Echoes: Historical References in Contemporary Ceramics. Kansas City, Mo.: Contemporary Arts Society, 1983. Clay Talks: Reflections by American Master Ceramists, ed. by Emily Galusha and Mary Ann Nord, Minneapolis, MN: Northern Clay Center, 2004. Del Vecchio, Mark. Postmodern Ceramics. New York: Thames & Hudson, Inc., 2001. Fairbanks, Jonathan L. and Kenworth W. Moffett. Directions in Contemporary American Ceramic. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1984. Held, Peter, ed. Fifty Years of the Archie Bray Influence. Helena, Montana: The Holter Museum of Art, 2001. Johnston, Phillip M. Kansas City Collects Contemporary Ceramics. Kansas City, Mo.: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1989. Lebow, Edward. Ken Ferguson. Kansas City, Mo.: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1995. Levin, Elaine. The History of American Ceramics 1607 to the Present. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1988. Lynn, Martha Drexler. Clay Today: Contemporary Ceramists and Their Work. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 1990. Nordness, Lee. Objects: USA. New York: Viking Press, 1970. Peterson, Susan. Contemporary Ceramics. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2000. __________. The Craft and Art of Clay. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall, 1992. Periodicals and Reviews Autio, Rudy, Ken Ferguson, Peter Voulkos, and Gerry Williams. “Panel Discussion: „In the Beginning.‟” Studio Potter 30, no. 1 (December 2001): 26-35. Degener, Patricia. “Celebrating Ken Ferguson…” American Craft 55 (October/November 1995): 64-69. Ferguson, Kenneth. “A High Altitude Wood-Burning Kiln.” The Studio Potter 11, no. 1, (December 1982): 36-37. ______, “David Shaner, Notes from a Friend.” Ceramics Monthly 42, no. 5 (May 1994): 52-56 ______. “Mingei and American Ceramics.” Studio Potter 25 (December 1996): 17. _______ “Starting at the Ears.” The Studio Potter 14, no. 1 (December 1985): 52-53. _______. “Ken Ferguson.” Studio Potter 27, no. 2 (June 1999): 63-65. Ferguson, Kenneth et al. “The Missouri Valley.” The Studio Potter 11, no. 2 (June 1983): 62-65. Ferguson, Ken, et al. “Kansas Interviews.” Studio Potter 27, no. 2 (June 1999): 62-88. Ferguson, Ken, Karen Karnes, Warren MacKenzie et al. “American Craft Council Awards 1998.” American Craft 58, no. 5 (October/November 1998): 62-71. Ferguson, Ken, and Jane Masters. “Taking chances: Wood Firing with John Balistreri.” Ceramics Monthly 38 (February 1990): 42-45. Illian, Clary. “The Three Kilns of Ken Ferguson.” Ceramics Monthly 28, no. 3 (March 1980): 46-53. “In Recognition.” Ceramics Monthly 49, no. 6 (June/August 2001): 53-79. Katz, Milton, Michele Fricke, and Jama Akers. “Ken Ferguson‟s Legacy.” Ceramics Monthly 44 (June/August 1996): 58-61. “Kenneth Ferguson 1928-2004.” American Craft 65, no. 2 (April/May 2005): 20. Kleinsmith, Gene. “A Ken Ferguson Workshop.” Ceramics Monthly 32 (December 1984): 25-27. Melcher, Victoria Kirsch. “Tradition and Vitality: The Ceramics of Ken Ferguson.” American Craft (U.S.A.) 39, no. 6 (December 1979-January 1980): 2-7.
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