A recent trip to New York City came with a cultural treasure trove of exhibitions. A couple I want to share with you here include the New York Ceramics Fair at the National Academy Museum and Art School and the Bauhaus exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art.
From the New York Ceramics Fair, the work I found particularly interesting and inspiring is that of Clarice Cliff, British artist/designer whose career spanned 1922-1963.
Here are some images of Cliff’s work from Cara Antiques. These pieces were designed by Cliff then decorated by “paintresses”, a term used in the industry. Her designs were so popular that at one time the paintresses numbered upwards of 100.
In September of 2009, The Victoria and Albert Museum in London opened its ‘New Ceramic Galleries’ and Cilff’s work was chosen to be included.
The Bauhaus show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City is a bit overwhelming. I attended a day long symposium in addition to seeing the exhibition. I learned a great deal more about this very famous institution. Mies van der Rohe said the Bauhaus was an idea, not an institution. I love that.
Walter Gropius's "Idea Organization of the Staatliches Bauhaus Weimar", 1923
The exhibition is a wonderful expression of student experiments from Weimar, Dessau and Berlin. Joseph Albers, after enrolling as a student in the Weimar incarnation of the Bauhaus became a professor in 1925 at Dessau. When the school closed in 1933, he and Anni Albers went to North Carolina to teach at the Black Mountain College. Black Mountain College, a direct descendant of the Bauhaus, wanted to send out to the world ethical change agents.
My main take away from both exhibits was that skill is what will make the difference. Technology and industry are tools only. It is the skill of the craftsman that leads us out of the darkness. I might add that no amount of cleverness, posturing or acrobatics replaces the need for skill in the development of human potential. Skill forms the foundation of a truly independent mind that can solve a problem and have the patience and depth of character to surmount any number of obstacles.
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