Assignment 4 - Media based Ceramic Art
Image 1-2: Look Into My Mind, 2001, porcelain & glass, decal images on interior
“The viewer must make a decision to either follow his curiosity and pip into the designated opening, or to ignore it.” -Marek Cecula
Marek Cecula’s work “Look Into My Mind” is a media based approach to breaking the concept of ceramic art as one of being based solely in form and function. While the form suggests to the viewer that there is more to the work than what can simply be viewed from outside, it invites the viewer to peek into the work. Through the use of decaled images, the viewer is provided a rare glimpse into the “mind of the artist.”
Image 3-4: The Porcelain Carpet, 2002, 576 industrial porcelain plates & digital decals
"The manufacture of carpets and ceramics has many common ingredients. Both are hand and mechanically produced, both require skill and craftsmanship, both contribute to our sense of esthetics and utility. Their surfaces are decorative and utilitarian at the same time and both represent the cultural importance of decorative ornamentation of the utilitarian necessity. The similarities and contrasts of these noble domestic objects, their eastern origins and the traditional status make them a potent and an appropriate subject for contemporary art explorations." - Marek Cecula
"The Porcelain Carpet" bends the idea of a plate and it's typical functional use. Within this work the idea of the plate is no longer a singular form with a singular function, instead the form is united amongst others, working as a whole to unite the image, creating the illusion of a Persian rug.
