My abhorrence of the
term “craft” has led me to make April “non-craft
month.” I aim to show how there is art in everyday life. I started out two
weeks ago with the beautiful work of James
Prestini. I now wander into the realm in which the artists may not be
known, but the objects they’ve created are works of art nonetheless. I begin
with a teapot my mother bought me (because she left the previous one on the
stove and melted the ceramic off the bottom, but I digress). It is an elegant
example of art in everyday life. I became fascinated with this idea (for the
millionth time) the weekend of the 31st of March, while viewing a skateboarding
competition. (Those folks are amazing: the way they elegantly float in the air.
Such an art form!) I chose the tea kettle because it is a universal type of
vessel used for pouring. I present you some others:
The Bronze Age in China
(ca. 2000–200 bce) produced a
large variety of vessels all with intricate incised and raised decoration. The kuei was
originally a vessel of earthenware used to store wine or oil for the tomb,
which later changed to bronze and was primarily used for ceremonial or symbolic
purposes. During the mid to late Shang period, bronze vessels were symbols of
status, power, and prestige. Some emperors used nine or ten kueis in a single ceremony while
honoring ancestors.
This is an example of a tripod vessel, which means it has
three legs. On each corner of this triangular vessel is a raised taotie pattern. The taotie is an animal or dragon face that is split so that it is
presented as two frontal views. Elaborate scroll work usually accompanies the
design. Chinese bronze were produced from sectional molds built around a model.
The interior of the molds bore the incised or raised decoration. The space
between the mold and the model took the molten bronze to form the vessel.
The Aquamanile derives from ancient
Roman times. “Aqua” means water in Latin and “manile” comes from “manus”
for hands. The vessel was used at dinner tables for guests to wash their hands
between courses. The tradition continued in Europe during the Middle Ages (ca. 1000–1400), among the upper
classes, particularly in Germany (German
rulers considered themselves descendants of the Roman Empire (ca. 27 bce–535 ce).
The vessel has a hinged lid on the horse’s forelock, and the water spout is the
mouth. This horse is most likely a secular object. The aquamanile also evolved into a liturgical object in the medieval
church. The vessel was used during the mass for washing the priest’s hands.
Although China dominated ceramic styles in Asia and
Southeast Asia for centuries, Vietnam
managed to develop its own distinctive styles. Ceramics kilns date back 2000
years, but the oldest persistent style dates to the 11th through the
15th centuries. It consisted of incised, iron (brown) glazed
decoration on stoneware. Such wares were exported as far as the Philippines and
Indonesia. Starting in the southern Song dynasty
in China (1127–1279) there was extensive export of porcelain to other parts
of Asia, and hence an increase in Chinese influence in Vietnamese wares.
Porcelain became a strong export item for Vietnam starting in the 14th
century. Like Chinese porcelain of the time, many Vietnamese wares have a
cobalt blue underpainted design (which sometimes appears charcoal grey). This
ewer is comparable to Korean examples from the
same period.
Earl
Tupper formed the Earl S. Tupper Company in 1938 to design and engineer
industrial plastics. He garnered several military contracts during World War
II. After the war, Tupper turned his attention to plastic products for the consumer
market. In the 1940s, plastic was still in its infancy. The commercial market
for plastic products was limited by the common perception that plastic (a
petroleum-based product) was smelly, greasy, and brittle. Tupper developed a
method for purifying polyethylene slag, a waste produced by oil refinement,
into a plastic that was flexible, tough, non-porous, non-greasy, and translucent.
Then he developed an airtight lid based on the design of paint can lids.
Together these innovations were the foundation for Tupperware. Retail sales of
Tupperware initially failed, apparently because the new lid needed
demonstration. Based on the Stanley Home Products model of house parties, the
Tupperware party was born and remains to this day the exclusive outlet for Tupperware.
Correlations to Davis
programs: Explorations in Art Grade 2:
3.17-18 studio; Explorations in Art Grade
4: 4.24, 23-24 studio; Explorations
in Art Grade 6: 4.22, 4.21-22 studio
Posts
The beauty of enhancing our creativity is that we can learn to look at the world in a different perspective. Being creative is not only about art or music. It’s the way we approach life.
ReplyDeleteThere aren't words to describe how much I adore these!!!!
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