Function/Architecture - Vol. 44 No. 2

Summer/Fall 2016

Function/Architecture Vol. 44 No. 2

In this issue, nineteen authors explore function and architecture through myriad lenses: Artist Narratives by Cary Esser, Susan Tunick, and Jonathan Kaplan; Steven Kemp remembers Harry Holl, John Stephenson is remembered by five of his colleagues, and Paul Mathieu surveys world ceramic architecture; Columns by Gregory Miller, David Potter and John Steele, Ayumi Horie, and Julie Wilson; finally, our Q&A features three interviews from Ben Carter's podcast.

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Articles

Editorial, Function/Architecture

By Elenor Wilson

"The vibrations of music do not stick to the strings of the violin but fill the surrounding space with their melody." --Eliel Saarinen

Order and Entropy

By Cary Esser

I gradually came to realize that I was looking at fired, and sometimes glazed, clay on these buildings – it was my first intimation of the formidable history of ceramics in architecture.

The Portland Brick Project

By Ayumi Horie

Instead of commemorating the famous “fathers” of the city, our project highlights the immigrants, the women, the marginalized, the voices that typically are not heard.

Shelter: Ceramics and Architecture

By Paul Mathieu

The art of ceramics has given culture two very important tools. The first, obviously, is pottery . . . that other tool is the brick, and by extension the tile, and both are necessary building blocks of architecture.

Architectural Ceramics

By Susan Tunick

In the early 1980s, I was teaching a ceramics class at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City and living in the neighborhood of Gramercy Park. After four years of carefully wheeling my daughter in her stroller around potholes, high curbs, and worse, I was free to look up once again. The buildings in those areas were the subjects of my first investigations into ceramics in architecture.

Harry Holl

By Steven Kemp

Harry’s need to work hard came out of the crucible of war. He had seen many lives lost. He needed to make his life count, to share his experience and knowledge with others. Harry had no secrets.

Let’s Talk About Building(s) . . . Architectonically Speaking

By Jonathan Kaplan

Those pivotal years studying the physical structure, history, and construction of buildings, as well as architectural design philosophy, were the beginning of a journey to find my own voice in ceramics.

Rebuilding the Salt Kiln at Tolne Gjæstgivergaard

By Gregory Miller

As the kiln approached Cone 9, about 1,250 degrees Celsius, the floor melted away, and all our work made a long, slow journey toward the walls, then slid farther down the interior of the kiln, landing in a heap in front of the gas burner.

Tales of a Red Clay Rambler - An Introduction

By Ben Carter

It’s a lot like fishing. My role as the interviewer is to cast a line of deliciously loaded questions, hoping the person sitting across from me grabs the hook.

Tales of a Red Clay Rambler: Nina Hole

By Nina Hole

I heard a story about doing this kind of sculpture, about somebody who built a piece right on the spot. I thought, “Oh, my god, I have to think about how to do that.”

Tales of a Red Clay Rambler: Jacques Kaufmann

By Jacques Kaufmann

For me it was a way to get back to society, not with art, not with small, delicate, beautiful objects, not with function for domestic function, but to go back to the city with ceramic material that contributes to a better way of life in the city.

Tales of a Red Clay Rambler: Mark Pharis

By Mark Pharis

I don’t think I’ve left functional pots. I think I want to see what the edges of functional pots are about. I know what the center’s about, but knowing what the edge is about is an ongoing experiment.

Remembering John Stephenson

By John Stephenson

At any time, there might have been a structure suspended from the ceiling, clay clinging to metal, a complex axial rotation looking like swirling water or an auger still wet with unearthed mud.

The Sensual Arts

By Julie Wilson

I had always judged my visits to restaurants by the quality of the food and the conversation, but Leah, Patrick, and the student potters helped to open my senses.

Fuel Control in a Wood Fired Kiln

By David Potter

The method outlined above introduces into the practice of wood-firing an element of rationality long customary in the firing of other types of kilns. It makes little sense to say to trainees, “Just chuck it in and hope for the best.”

Journeying Into Unknown Spaces

By Monique Desnoyers

What interested me was the change in reactions to similar forms of the guerrilla art in different cultural contexts.

A Convergence of Clay, Community, and the Environment

By Alan Willoughby

When we can connect our ideas to current and relevant societal issues, mobilize people, develop strong partnerships, and raise money to support these projects, we have the potential to bring about change.

Steve Harrison

By Natania Hume

Steve Harrison's 2015 exhibition in London, "Cup Board," highlighted his deep knowledge of design and function, as well as his intense, personal connection to pottery traditions.

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Function/Architecture - Vol. 44 No. 2

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