Functional forms [slide]
by Louis Howard Katz
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts
Montana State University
© Copyright by Louis Howard Katz (1986)
Abstract:
My work and I are participants in a dialogue. This dialogue concerns the interrelations of Beauty and
Nature, Fine and Minor Arts, and process and product. The dialogue is an investigation. As in all
investigations, some leads are more fruitful than others, but all of the evidence has relevance. I am only
one of the participants in the dialogue, and consequently have only partial control of the direction this
dialogue takes. In this dialogue my work functions as the primary link to the public; that is, to teach the
public my vocabulary and then show them the content of this dialogue.
During the development of this body of work, I have begun to clarify my concept of Beauty, and its
relationship to Nature. Nature as I see it is beautiful, and I believe my esteem is due to comprehension
of natural order. Nature does not exhibit total control. Nature only sets the parameters within which
random variation will occur. Nature does not determine where the wind will carry a leaf, only the
means of its transport and the limits on its final location. I feel myself a part of this order. As Nature's
pawn, I set some of the parameters. I am as much a part of my work as it is a part of me.
I have chosen terracotta clay and salt firing for most of this body of work. This combination of material
and process most vividly shows variation in color and surface caused by the random effects of fire. If
the distribution of color, from light to dark, in "Alike Jugs" were plotted on a graph, the data would
assume a bell shaped curve. This form is common to many graphed natural phenomena. In "Sigma,"
the distribution of colors reminds one of rocks in a streambed. Other variables in my work such as
glaze thickness, size, and shape, similarly graphed, also exhibit this distribution.
When I was a child, a common thought of my peers was that the solar system was just an atom on a
broader scale, its nucleus and electrons like the sun and the planets. Much of my interest in packing and
stacking pots, both in and out of kilns, comes from my elementary knowledge of crystalline structure
and its relation to efficient use of space. "Sigma" can be thought of as having a structure composed of
multiples of a variation of an octahedron, a form coincidental Iy similar to that of many ceramic oxides.
Likewise, the layering in "Out of Kiln" is similar to that in kaolinite, the mineralogical building block
of clay. An extension of my concept of Beauty in natural order and the subjectiveness of truth is my
feeling that there is beauty in all things. Natural order, and therefore Beauty, manifests itself in
everything, and all artifacts of man illustrate the nature of their maker.
This view of Beauty I hold intellectually. However, there are objects my aesthetic eye tells me are not
beautiful. It is my belief that my eye is being negatively prejudiced, due to cultural values, against
these objects. This conflict between eye and intellect is a driving force in my work. A key example of
this disagreement is the styrofoam cup whose form is in near perfect harmony with its function.
My objection to this object of intellectual appeal seems to reside in its unyielding homogeneous
sterility. Rather than make works that primarily function as embodiments of beauty, I have attempted to
make objects which speak of that beauty. My work expresses the manner in which it was made.
As Duchamp's Readymades balance between Art and Nonart, my assemblies of pots and bricks balance
between being individual objects and collections of objects. They are simultaneously representations
and presentations. While the collections may be classified as sculpture, they remain pots and bricks. As
a maker of "found objects," I use art for the glorification of craft. FUNCTIONAL FORMS
by
Louis Howard Katz
A t h e s i s submitted in p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t
o f t he requi rements f o r t he degree
of
Master o f Fi ne A rt s
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bozeman, Montana
May 1986
ii
Approva I
o f a t h e s i s submitted by
Louis Howard Katz
Thi s t h e s i s has been read by each member o f the a u t h o r ' s graduate
committee and has been found to be s a t i s f a c t o r y r egar di ng c o n t e n t ,
Engl is h usage, f o r m a t , c i t a t i o n s , b i b l i o g r a p h i c s t y l e , and c o n si s t en c y,
and is ready f o r submission to the C ol l e g e o f Graduate S t u d i e s .
Approved f o r the Major Department
Date
,,-Major /Department
Approved f o r the C o ll e ge o f Graduate Studi es
Date
Graduate Dean
iii
STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO USE
In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s
in p a r t i a l
f u l f i l lment o f t he
r equi rements f o r a m a s t e r ' s degree a t Montana S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y ,
I agree
t h a t t he L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t a v a i l a b l e t o borrowers under r u l e s o f t he
Library.
B r i e f q u o t a t i o n s from t h i s paper a r e a l l o w a b l e w i t h o u t s peci al
pe r m i s s i o n, provi ded t h a t a c c u r a t e acknowledgement o f source is made.
Permission f o r e x t e n s i v e q u o t a t i o n from or. r epr oduct i on o f t h i s
paper may be granted by my major p r o f e s s o r , o r in h i s absence, by the
Dean o f L i b r a r i e s when,
t he m a t e r i a l
material
in the o p in i on o f e i t h e r ,
is f o r s c h o l a r l y purposes.
in t h i s paper f o r f i n a n c i a l
my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n .
the proposed use o f
Any copying or use o f the
gai n s h a l l not be al lowe d w i t ho ut
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
APPROVAL.............................. ......................................................... ...................... ......................
ii
STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO USE..........................,.............................. .........................
Ni
TABLE OF CONTENTS..................................... .........................................................................
iv
ARTIST'S STATEMENT...............................................................................................................
I
LIST OF SLIDES.............................................................................................: .........................
4
I
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
My work and I a r e p a r t i c i p a n t s
in a d i a l o g u e .
Thi s d i a l o g u e
concerns t he i n t e r r e l a t i o n s o f Beauty and Na t u r e , Fi ne and Minor A r t s ,
and process and pr oduc t.
The d i a l o g u e is an i n v e s t i g a t i o n .
i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , some leads a r e more f r u i t f u l
evi dence has r e l e v a n c e .
t o t he p u b l i c ;
but a l l
I am o n l y one o f t he p a r t i c i p a n t s
l ogue, and consequentl y have o n l y p a r t i a l
dialogue takes.
than o t h e r s ,
As in a l l
o f the
in the d i a ­
c o n t r o l o f t he d i r e c t i o n t h i s
In t h i s d i a l o g u e my work f u n c t i o n s as t h e pr imar y l i n k
that
i s , t o teach t he p u b l i c my voca bul ar y and then show
them t he c o nt ent o f t h i s d i a l o g u e .
During t he development o f t h i s body o f work,
c l a r i f y my concept o f Beauty, and i t s
I see i t
I have begun to
r e l a t i o n s h i p t o Na t u r e .
Nature as
is b e a u t i f u l , and I b e l i e v e my esteem is due t o comprehension
o f natural order.
Natur e does not e x h i b i t t o t a l
control.
s et s t he parameters w i t h i n which random v a r i a t i o n w i l l
does not de te rmi ne where t he wind w i l l
As N a t u r e ' s pawn,
am as much a p a r t o f my work as i t
occur .
Nature
c a r r y a l e a f , o n l y t he means o f
i t s t r a n s p o r t and t he l i m i t s on i t s f i n a l
part of this order.
Nature onl y
location.
I feel
myself a
I s et some o f t he parameters.
I
is a p a r t o f me.
I have chosen t e r r a c o t t a c l a y and s a l t f i r i n g f o r most o f t h i s body
o f work.
Thi s combination o f m a t e r i a l and process most v i v i d l y shows
variation
in c o l o r and s u r f a c e caused by t h e random e f f e c t s o f f i r e .
t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f c o l o r , from l i g h t t o d a r k ,
in " A l i k e Jugs" were
If
2
p l o t t e d on a g r a p h , the data would assume a b e l l
form is common t o many graphed n a t u r a l
shaped c ur ve .
phenomena.
In "S igma, 11 the
d i s t r i b u t i o n o f c o l o r s reminds one o f rocks in a streambed.
a b le s
in my work such as g l a z e t h i c k n e s s ,
This
Other v a r i ­
s i z e , and shape, s i m i l a r l y
graphed, a l s o e x h i b i t t h i s d i s t r i b u t i o n .
When I was a c h i l d , a common thought o f my peers was t h a t the s o l a r
system was j u s t an atom on a broader s c a l e ,
l i k e the sun and the p l a n e t s .
Much o f my i n t e r e s t
s t a c k i n g p o t s , both in and out o f k i l n s ,
in packing and
comes from my e le me nt ar y
knowledge o f c r y s t a l l i n e s t r u c t u r e and i t s
space.
i t s nucleus and e l e c t r o n s
r e l a t i o n to e f f i c i e n t use o f
"Sigma" can be thought o f as having a s t r u c t u r e composed o f
m u l t i p l e s o f a v a r i a t i o n o f an o c ta hedr on , a form c o i n c i d e n t a l I y s i m i l a r
t o t h a t o f many ceramic o x i d e s .
L i k e w i s e , t he l a y e r i n g
is s i m i l a r t o t h a t
the m i n e r a I o g i cal
clay.
in k a o l i n i t e ,
in "Out o f K i l n "
b u i l d i n g bl ock o f
An e xt e ns i on o f my concept o f Beauty in n a t u r a l o r d e r and the
subjectiveness of tr u t h
things.
is my f e e l i n g t h a t t h e r e is beauty in a l l
N a tu r al o r d e r , and t h e r e f o r e Beauty, ma n if e st s
t h i n g , and a l l
its elf
in e v e r y ­
a r t i f a c t s o f man i l l u s t r a t e the n a tu re o f t h e i r maker.
Thi s view o f Beauty I hold i n t e l l e c t u a l l y .
However, t h e r e are
o b j e c t s my a e s t h e t i c eye t e l l s me a r e not b e a u t i f u l .
It
is my b e l i e f
t h a t my eye is being n e g a t i v e l y p r e j u d i c e d , due to c u l t u r a l
a g a i n s t these o b j e c t s .
values,
Thi s c o n f l i c t between eye and i n t e l l e c t
d r i v i n g f o r c e in my work.
is a
A key example o f t h i s di sagreement is the
styrofoam cup whose form is in near p e r f e c t harmony w i t h i t s f u n c t i o n .
My o b j e c t i o n t o t h i s o b j e c t o f
intellectual
i t s u n y i e l d i n g homogeneous s t e r i l i t y .
appeal seems t o r e s i d e in
Rather than make works t h a t
3
p r i m a r i l y f u n c t i o n as embodiments o f be a u t y ,
o b j e c t s which speak o f t h a t beaut y.
I have attempted t o make
My work expresses t he manner in
which i t was made.
As Duchamp's Readymades balance between A r t and N on a r t , my
assemblies o f pots and b r i c k s bal ance between being i n d i v i d u a l o b j e c t s
and c o l l e c t i o n s o f o b j e c t s .
presentations.
They a r e s im u l t a n e o u s l y r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s and
Whi l e t he c o l l e c t i o n s may be c l a s s i f i e d as s c u l p t u r e ,
t hey remain pots and b r i c k s .
As a maker o f "found o b j e c t s , "
f o r t he g l o r i f i c a t i o n o f c r a f t .
I use a r t
4
LIST OF SLIDES
I.
- 2.
G a l l e r y I n s t a l l a t i o n , Thesi s E x h i b i t i o n
Fi ne A r t s G a l l e r y , Haynes H a l l , MSU
T i t l e W a l l , Thesi s E x h i b i t i o n
Fi ne A r t s G a l l e r y , Haynes H a l l , MSU
3.
Bottles
detail
s a l t e d stoneware
4.
Ar ray
S'xS'
s a l t e d stoneware
5.
Out o f K i l n
4 'x4'x21
salted te rra c o tta
6.
Out o f k i l n
detaiI
7.
Sigma
I8"x24"x20"
salted porcelain
8.
9.
. Sigma
detaiI
Scove
4 1x41x4 1
terracotta
10.
Scove
detail
11.
B r i c k Cart
3'x4'x2'
'
s t u d i o f l o o r adobe
12.
Oi l Droppers
5'xl'xl1
salted clays
5
13.
Jug
5'xl'xl1
s a l t e d c l ay s
14.
Model f o r a Monument t o The Tomb o f t he Unknown Craftsman
2 4"x6"x6"
b r i c k and t i l e , e r s a t z gold l e a f
15.
Equipment
10 l X l O 1x V
borrowed and made a r t i f a c t s
16.
Li ne Blend
9 "x20"x4"
s a l t e d t e r r a c o t t a , n e p h y l i n e s y e n i t e and wood ash
17.
Three in a Box
11"xl6"x5"
thrown, ext ruded and rampressed c l a y s
18.
Spl i t Br icks
10"x7"x3"
found o b j e c t o f i n s p i r a t i o n
19.
Tamari Droppers
8 " x5 "x 6"
s a l t e d stonewar e, p y r om et r i c cones
2 0.
Avadim Haiyenu
4"xl0"x2"
s t u d i o f l o o r adobe
I
6X
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