Magdalene Odundo:
The Life of a Potter and Her Global Perception of Female Imagery
Delaina Miller
Art History 439
Dr. Omari-Tunkara
April 9, 2008
Table of Contents
Introduction…………………………………………………………...….….1
Statement of purpose/Thesis sentence…………………………….……….1
Body…………………………..……………………………………….….…..1
Background/Education…………………………...…………………….…..1
Technique…………………………………………………..…………….….2
Controversy……………………………………………..……….….……….3
Feminine Images…………………………………………………………….4
Conclusion………………………………………………..………….....……6
End-Notes……………………………………………………………...…… 7
Illustrations……………………………………………………………….... 9
List of Illustrations…………………………………………………..…….13
Annotated Bibliography………………………….………………….……14
Introduction
Statement of Purpose/Thesis Sentence
Magdalene Odundo exhibits a conscious formation of globally feminine and female
images in a variety of her ceramic pieces. This paper discusses the educational background of
Odundo and how she developed her technique, as well as how she consciously creates female
images in her pieces to demonstrate the variety of global feminine aesthetics. Odundo’s global
perspective began in her birth place in Kenya and expanded when she went to school in Africa,
India and England. This global perception creates a liminal environment of home and a global
observation of life and women.
Body
Background/Education
Magdalene Odundo was born in Bunyala, Kenya Africa in 1950. From an early age
Odundo’s home extended from Bunyala to Nairobi, to Mombasa and even out of Africa to India
(1). Specify this experience must have opened Odundo’s perception to what home means and
how vast and diverse home can be. Odundo went to school in large cities in Africa and India
before she went to England to continue her education, which involved graphic design (2).
Odundo grew tired of graphic arts and began to study a wider range of art mediums including
ceramics from Zimbabwe born artist Zoe Ellison (3). While enrolled at the Cambridge College
of Art, Odundo’s passion for pottery ignited, and while under the spell of this new fascination
she had the opportunity to return to Kenya for a few weeks.
On her return to England, Odundo’s newfound interest in ceramics led her to change
universities and from 1973 through 1976 Odundo attended the West Surrey College of Art and
Design currently known as Farnham. She studied under Bernard Leach who taught her the
simplest form of Asian ceramics. This minimalist model sparked Odundo’s borderless pursuit of
global ceramic aesthetics (4). During this time she returned to Africa to study under other artists
and to learn other techniques. While Odundo was in Africa she discovered her disdain for the
potter’s wheel taught to her at the Abuja Centre; in addition, she learned the millennia-old hand
building techniques from the Gwari women (5). This indigenous construction would become the
foundation of Odundo’s work when she returns to England.
As Odundo worked toward her M.A. at the Royal College of Art in London, she
developed a deeper interest in European, Asian, and indigenous American and African pottery.
When she returned to England she did not abandon the potter’s wheel right away. Instead
Odundo continued to develop her skills with the potter’s wheel, creating functional tableware
similar to English Toft slip technique (6). However, she also started to focus on international
methods of hand built ceramics. Thus Odundo’s view expanded globally and she began to
emulate hand-formed pottery from Egyptian, Chinese, Sudanese, Mediterranean and Minoan
cultures (7). The techniques utilized by these ancient cultures would come to shape Odundo’s
style. Odundo then expanded her knowledge of different ceramic aesthetics. She studied the
black ware of Maria Martinez and other indigenous Southwestern Americans, as well as Yoruba
burnishing techniques (8). These skills allowed Odundo to manipulate the color of clay and give
her pots a dull finish. The global ceramic aesthetics from England to Africa from China to the
United States is found in Odundo’s pieces.
Technique
By the completion of her Master’s degree in Art, Odundo had developed her own style.
For example, she utilizes the hand coiling and burnishing techniques of Africa (9). The coiling
method gives the pot added strength and permits Odundo to manipulate the piece with more ease
than she could using a potter’s wheel. Then Odundo’s pieces are thinned by her working the
inside of the pot more than the outside (10). By pulling the clay in an upward motion she makes
the walls of the pot thinner in balance with the thickness required for firing. The Roman and
Ancient Greek slip technique that Odundo applies is also similar to African slip (11). Her slip
technique was developed by researching different techniques while in university. Odundo’s
multi-firing process of oxygen rich or oxygen deprived methods generates a bright orange, black
or some combination thereof and gives an idiosyncratic appearance to her pieces (12). Firing the
pots many times allows her to manipulate the oxygen levels, thus affecting the appearances of
her pieces. As a result, Odundo’s research is as global as the earth the clay comes from.
Controversy
Despite Odundo’s vastly researched and developed techniques, there has been
controversy surrounding Odundo and her work. For instance, in 1995 she was excluded from
“africa95,” an art festival focused on art from Africa, because one of the main organizers deemed
her work as craft instead of art (13). This appears to be an exclusion of her work as the bulk of
her pieces are fine art and not designed to be functional. Many art curators and critics declare
Odundo’s work worthy of the art world (14). Another controversial subject that involves
Odundo is her identity and therefore the identity of her art. There seems to be some question
over whether she is an African artist that produces African art, because much of her training
came through English schools (15). This argument seems to be based on Western racism.
Odundo was born in Africa, emulates African art, and identifies as an African woman. Identity is
important to Odundo and by consciously creating pieces that resemble female images in different
cultures she connects her identity to her art.
Feminine Images
A reoccurring theme in Odundo’s work symbolizes the power, physique and metaphor of
feminine aesthetics. Odundo’s work defines female beauty, which she states “is often defined
[…] through a woman and the lengths to which we [women] conditionally go, to elongate our
necks and heads” (16). Thus Odundo fashions ceramics that resemble many global female forms
in order to capture the many ideologies of beauty socially imposed on women worldwide. Her
examples of feminine beauty have been captured in four specific vessel styles.
First, an example of international feminine beauty is found in Odundo’s pieces Untitled
#3 (see figure 1). Both of these vessels show two globally diverse formats of women dancing
gracefully. In Untitled #3 she drew inspiration from a female artist and sought to capture her
movements. This dancer was Dame Margot Fonteyn performing in “Swan Lake” (17). The piece
is almost swan-like with a heavy rounded body/base and a long “S” shaped neck. The second
dancer is a Ghana woman performing the Adowa dance. Odundo wanted to capture the dancer in
a freeze frame of swaying movements (18). Untitled #3 and the pieces similar to it are examples
of the subtle yet graceful motions of female dancers. These pieces represent a feminine power
illustrated through grace and the physique of the female form, and are metaphors for the female
dancers that Odundo witnessed in both England and Africa.
The next example of feminine aesthetics is found in Odundo’s pieces that act as
metaphors of 16th century fashion. For example, the Mixed-Colour Flat- Topped Winged and
Untitled (Cat. 55) are vessels featuring a molded waist; they are flat topped and have extra clay
on the sides like small wings (see figure 2). These pieces and the pieces like them are modeled
after the Elizabethan costumes worn by English women during the 16th century (19).The
inspiration for these pieces began when Odundo was teaching at the Institute in Kensington,
frequently taking her students to museums (20). This body of work is an example of the square
shouldered dresses that came in at the waist and then flared back, out depicting a physical form
that is feminine. When shown side by side the resemblance of these vessels to the Elizabethan
model is uncanny, despite Odundo’s exaggerated lines and form (21) (see figure 3). The MixedColour Flat-Topped Winged, Untitled (Cat. 55), and the like illustrate the powerful yet delicate
shoulder of a feminine physique and at the same time the pieces act as metaphors for the ideal of
feminine beauty in England during the 16th century.
Another example of the ideology of feminine appearance is illustrated in Odundo’s
angled pieces Untitled #8 and Untitled #12 (see figure 4). These pieces were modeled after the
head shape of the Mangbetu women and headdress they wear (22). These pots are an example of
how the Mangbetu women will manipulate themselves in order to be viewed as beautiful by their
society. Mangbetu infants’ foreheads are wrapped in braided cord in order to elongate their
heads. In addition the women wear elongated hats that angle backward, giving the head a
dramatic elongated appearance (23). Most of Odundo’s angled pieces have been given nipples,
shapely shoulders and a large head, with the head as the main focus. The broad shoulders
consistent in Odundo’s angled pieces illustrate the strength of women while the elongated head
and hat of the Mangbetu women symbolize feminine aesthetics as well as the feminine physique
among the Mangbetu.
The last example of female elements and feminine physique found among Odundo’s
pieces is Untitled #15 (see figure 5). Odundo was inspired to create this piece when she
witnessed a pregnant woman disembarking from a train at Woking Station in England. Odundo
was inspired to portray the form of this woman as “a vessel carrying another vessel” (24). Like a
pregnant woman, the vessel Untitled #15 features a swollen belly and backside and sits on a
small base resembling concealed feet. Moreover, there is a ridge along the front of the body of
the vessel similar to the ridge that forms over a pregnant woman’s belly. Odundo draws from
female aspects and experiences, and mimics women’s experiences and beauty through her pieces
(25). Hence Odundo’s vessel Untitled #15 depicts feminine strength provides a figure that is a
metaphor for the cycle of life.
Conclusion
Odundo’s education and curiosity have given her a global perspective of ceramics.
Indeed, her experiences permit her to draw on the aesthetics of many cultures and ideas of
feminine beauty. Odundo’s ceramic pieces act as metaphors for the cycle of life by taking earth
and combining it with water and fire thereby giving birth to the global forms embodying the
feminine mystique.
End-Notes
1. Maria C Berns. Ceramic Gestures: New Vessels by Magdalene Odundo. (University of
California. 1995).
2. Magdalene Odundo and Marina Vaizey, and Emmanuel Cooper. Clay forms. (Bowness
on Windermere: Blackwell Arts and Crafts House. 2001. Blackwell the Arts and
Crafts House. 2001).
3. Magdalene Odundo, Anthony Slayter-Ralph, Emmanuel Cooper, and Simon Olding.
Magdalene Odundo. (Aldershot, Hampshire [England]: Lund Humphries. 2004).
4. Maria C Berns. Ceramic Gestures: New Vessels by Magdalene Odundo. (University of
California. 1995).
5. Maria C. Berns. Ceramic Gestures: New Vessels by Magdalene Odundo. (University of
California. 1995).
6. Magdalene Odundo and Marina Vaizey, and Emmanuel Cooper. Clay forms. (Bowness
on Windermere: Blackwell Arts and Crafts House. 2001. Blackwell the Arts and
Crafts House. 2001).
7. Magdalene Odundo and Marina Vaizey, and Emmanuel Cooper. Clay forms. (Bowness
on Windermere: Blackwell Arts and Crafts House. 2001. Blackwell the Arts and
Crafts House. 2001).
8. Magdalene Odundo and Marina Vaizey, and Emmanuel Cooper. Clay forms. (Bowness
on Windermere: Blackwell Arts and Crafts House. 2001. Blackwell the Arts and
Crafts House. 2001).
9. Magdalene Odundo, Anthony Slayter-Ralph, Emmanuel Cooper, and Simon Olding.
Magdalene Odundo. (Aldershot, Hampshire [England]: Lund Humphries. 2004).
10. Hood Museum of Art. “Resonance and Inspiration: New Works by Magdalene Odundo”.
(2007). Dartmouth College. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from
http://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/exhibitions/odundo/.
11. Magdalene Odundo and Rosemary Hill. New works, Magdalene Odundo: [exhibition]
Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea, 24 October-5 December 1987 ... [et al.].
(Swansea: Swansea Museums Service. 1987).
12. Magdalene Odundo, Anthony Slayter-Ralph, Emmanuel Cooper, and Simon Olding.
Magdalene Odundo. (Aldershot, Hampshire [England]: Lund Humphries. 2004.
13. Kendell Geers and Doran H. Ross. "Africa95: Many Stories about the Art of a
Continent." African Arts 29.3, Special Issue: africa95 (1996): 9.
14. Magdalene Odundo and Marina Vaizey, and Emmanuel Cooper. Clay forms. (Bowness
on Windermere: Blackwell Arts and Crafts House. 2001. Blackwell the Arts and
Crafts House. 2001).
15. Jegede, Dele. Contemporary African Art: Five Artist, Diverse Trends. (Indianapolis
Museum of Art. Indianapolis Museum of Art: 2000).
16. Hood Museum of Art. “Resonance and Inspiration: New Works by Magdalene Odundo”.
(2007). Dartmouth College. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from
http://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/exhibitions/odundo/.
17. Maria C. Berns. Ceramic Gestures: New Vessels by Magdalene Odundo. (University of
California. 1995).
18. Magdalene Odundo, Anthony Slayter-Ralph, Emmanuel Cooper, and Simon Olding.
Magdalene Odundo. (Aldershot, Hampshire [England]: Lund Humphries. 2004).
19. Maria C. Berns. Ceramic Gestures: New Vessels by Magdalene Odundo. (University of
California. 1995).
20. Magdalene Odundo, Anthony Slayter-Ralph, Emmanuel Cooper, and Simon Olding.
Magdalene Odundo. (Aldershot, Hampshire [England]: Lund Humphries. 2004).
21. Magdalene Odundo and Marina Vaizey, and Emmanuel Cooper. Clay forms. (Bowness
on Windermere: Blackwell Arts and Crafts House. 2001. Blackwell the Arts and
Crafts House. 2001).
22. Maria C. Berns. Ceramic Gestures: New Vessels by Magdalene Odundo. (University of
California. 1995).
23. Maria C. Berns. Ceramic Gestures: New Vessels by Magdalene Odundo. (University of
California. 1995).
24. Hood Museum of Art. “Resonance and Inspiration: New Works by Magdalene Odundo”.
(2007). Dartmouth College. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from
http://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/exhibitions/odundo/.
25. Maria C. Berns. Ceramic Gestures: New Vessels by Magdalene Odundo. (University of
California. 1995).
Illustrations
Figure 1 Untitled #5 (front) 1995 Burnished and carbonized terracotta 46 x 28.5 cm
Untitled #3 (back) 1995 Burnished and oxidized terracotta 50.8 x 29.2 cm
Taken from Maria C. Berns. Ceramic Gestures: New Vessels by Magdalene Odundo. (University of California. 1995).
Figure 2 Untitled {Cat 55} 1989 Burnished and oxidized terracotta 41.5 x 33.5 cm
Taken from Magdalene Odundo, Anthony Slayter-Ralph, Emmanuel Cooper, and Simon Olding. Magdalene Odundo.
(Aldershot, Hampshire [England]: Lund Humphries. 2004).
Figure # 3 Odungo sketch 1
Magdalene Odundo and Marina Vaizey, and Emmanuel Cooper.
Clay forms.
(Bowness on Windermere: Blackwell Arts and Crafts House. 2001. Blackwell the Arts and Crafts House. 2001).
Figure 4 (front to back) Untitled #12 1995 Burnished and carbonized terracotta 20 ¾ x 13 in
Untitled #8 1995 Burnished and oxidized terracotta 50.8 x 30.5 cm
Taken from Maria C. Berns. Ceramic Gestures: New Vessels by Magdalene Odundo. (University of California. 1995).
Figure 5 Untitled #15 1994 Burnished and carbonized terracotta 45 x 30.4 cm
Taken from Maria C. Berns. Ceramic Gestures: New Vessels by Magdalene Odundo. (University of California. 1995).
List of Illustrations
Odungo sketch 2
Untitled #3 1995. Burnished and oxidized terracotta 50.8 x 29.2 cm
Untitled #5 1995. Burnished and carbonized terracotta 46 x 28.5 cm
Untitled #8 1995. Burnished and oxidized terracotta 50.8 x 30.5 cm
Untitled #12 1995. Burnished and carbonized terracotta 20 ¾ x 13 Private Collection, Kansas City.
Untitled #15 1994. Burnished and carbonized terracotta 45 x 30.4 cm
Untitled {Cat 55} 1989. Burnished and oxidized terracotta 41.5 x 33.5 cm
Annotated Bibliography
Berns, Marla C. Ceramic Gestures: New Vessels by Magdalene Odundo. Santa Barbara:
University Art Museum, University of California,1995. (Interlibrary loan; Call Number
NK4210.037 A4 1995).
Ceramic Gestures is a catalog of the traveling exhibition of Madalene Odundo created by
Marla Berns the director of the University of California’s Art museum. This book
highlights the pottery of Odundo that was shown at the University’s Art museum in 1995.
Berns talks about Odundo’s ceramic pieces as well as explains Odundo’s methods and
inspirations. I was able to ascertain a variety of aspects from this book. First, the
illustrations of Odundo’s work done in 1995 are excellent and very helpful for the paper
as well as the website. Second, used this book to gain an understanding of Odundo’s
technique and even has illustrations which I can apply to both my paper and the website.
Finally, Berns explains the motivations and philosophies of Odundo which gave me
insight to female images in Odundo’s art.
Geers, Kendell, and Doran H. Ross. "Africa95: Many Stories about the Art of a Continent."
African Arts 29.3, Special Issue: africa95 (1996): 1+6+8-11. (No holdings at the
University http:links.jstor.org/)
This article is about africa95, an exhibition in the U.K. featuring artist from Africa,
which excluded artists like Magdalene Odundo. This article talks about the controversy
that divide art from craft and African art and Euro-influence in African art.
Although this article gave me insight to the difficulties Odundo faces as an artist. The
article come to Odundo’s defense, defining her pottery as art.
Hood Museum of Art. “Resonance and Inspiration: New Works by Magdalene Odundo”. (2007).
Dartmouth College. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from
http://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/exhibitions/odundo/.
The website gave me a brief outline of the exhibition of Magdalene Odundo titled
Resonance and Inspiration and exhibited some of her newer pieces. This website was
crucial to my paper and website because I was able to prove my point about feminine
aspects found in her pieces by using her own words. Moreover, This website features a
recording of Odundo’s lecture which I hope to use in my website.
Jegede, Dele. Contemporary African Art: Five Artist, Diverse Trends. Indianapolis, Ind:
Indianapolis Museum of Art: 2000. (Interlibrary loan Call Number N 7380.J442000).
This book gives insights to five African artists and their diverse arts. The book highlights
the artists: Ezrom Legae, Twin Seven Seven, Kane Kwei, Mariam Abdel Aleem, and
Magdalene Odundo. This book hightlighs the racial controversy that Odundo has to face.
This controversy involves the fact that most of her training comes from England and not
Africa therefore her art is Western not African. This book deconstructs the monocentric
claims proving that Odundo is an African artist.
Odundo, Magdalene, Anthony Slayter-Ralph, Emmanuel Cooper, and Simon Olding.
Magdalene Odundo. Aldershot, Hampshire [England]: Lund Humphries. 2004.
(Interlibrary loan; Call Number NK 4210.037 A4 2004).
This book is a collection of essays about Magdalene Odundo, her art and how her
ceramics related to ceramics globally. I used this book to set up Odundo artistic
background. In addition I used a lot of the art in this book for its images of Odundo’s
work for my paper and my website.
Odundo, Magdalene, Marina Vaizey, and Emmanuel Cooper. Clay forms. [Bowness on
Windermere]: Blackwell Arts and Crafts House. 2001. (Interlibrary loan; Call Number
4210.037A4 2001).
This book features two essays written about Madalene Odundo and features many
examples of her work. The essays and illustration create a complex essay exemplifying
Odundo and her pottery which includes sketches that Odundo drew of the pot before she
created it in clay. This book allows me to see the great range of Odundo’s work while
also illustrating how diligently she worked to create the piece. Therefore this book
allowed me to explain Odundo’s mental process in my paper and project.
Odundo, Magdalene, and Rosemary Hill. New works, Magdalene Odundo: [exhibition] Glynn
Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea, 24 October-5 December 1987 ... [et al.]. Swansea: Swansea
Museums Service. 1987. (Interlibrary loan; Call Number NK 4210.037 A4 1987).
This book gives a very detailed account of Odundo’s hand building process. I used the
information to explain her technique as well as for the images of her process for the
website.