My interest in material studies and the love of working with my hands led me to investigate and eventually establish a craft minor here at VCU. The line between my craft and photography work often becomes blurred, and the two run together. Thus, a majority of artists and research I accumulate fall outside of the photographic field and the visiting artists I choose to attend are brought to VCU by the craft department.
The major difference between photo/film and craft visiting artist's lecture topics is concept vs technique. Photography/film artists speak (almost entirely) about the conceptual side of their work while visiting craft artists base a majority of their lecture on techniques and materials. Critiques within each department follow in a similar manner, which is always eye-opening for me.
Today I not only listened to Ashely Lyon speak briefly about her ceramic and sculptural work, but I participated in an hour and a half long hand building demo. Demonstrating techniques, tools, and the importance of 'looking' rather than perceiving were a few of the topics she touched on, but the most significant thought I walked away with today was the amazingly individual relationship our human hands have with the texture and characteristics of clay. Clay is one of the most forgiving materials an artist can work with. It may even be the most human. When clay is wet, it gives off the same sheen as our very skin- a texture or finishing that many artists strive to maintain within their ceramic work, but will never be able to successfully preserve.
Lyon continued to reiterate the importance of taking time to look at and study the object you are modeling. Recreating objects from memory or perceptions is almost always unsuccessful when attempting to be realistic. "You should spend almost more time looking at your object than you do recreating it," she says.
An excerpt from her artist statement:
You look you trust you doubt you trust you look again. I view art as a circular pursuit of knowledge. Above all, I want my work to be honest. This aim is complex in a culture where truth can be extracted from both the sincere and corrupt... Realism is not an experiment in the reiteration of a hand, foot or head; realism is to locate the sensation of being human.
ashleylyon.com
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