Rachel on Jun 13 2008 | Filed under: Critical Commentary
In Jed Perl’s article, “The Artisanal Urge” American Craft (June/July 2008), he defends the “human desire to make something with one’s own hands” against the current stylistic trend of a more detached approach to creating art. Perl, an author of several books on art and the art critic for The New Republic, […]
Rachel on Apr 15 2008 | Filed under: Blackford, Carlson, Critical Commentary, Dewey
The first time I encountered Leslie Blackford’s inventive creations was the summer of 2007. It was decidedly different from the figurative polymer work I had seen before. From the early days of polymer clay, many artists have found the material to be well suited to sculpting. Two notable artists who use […]
Rachel on Apr 01 2008 | Filed under: 1980's, Critical Commentary, Hughes, Voulkos
Reading Kathleen Dustin’s essay on the early development of polymer clay, which has been so much of the PAA the past few weeks, brings to mind something Victoria Hughes wrote for the archive. Her piece, “On the Road” opens by mentioning a ride with Pier Voulkos and how the two of them were getting to […]
Elise on Oct 13 2007 | Filed under: Critical Commentary
Listen to what two notable art critics have said about our dependence on historical roots:
The only road to authenticity lies through what has already been done. There is no deep art without deep historical awareness. Robert Hughes
All (craft) disciplines need a complex, multilayer sense of their own history to function properly. Paul Greenhalgh
As soon as […]