:spotlight
Whether it’s high art sculpture, cups and plates, or hipster bongs,
Kansas City is about to become the national destination for ceramic
art of any variety. The National Council on Education for the Ceramic
Arts (NCECA) is hosting its 50th Anniversary Conference in KC this
March, and with it dozens of events and thousands of artists, educa-
tors, collectors and enthusiasts. In addition to four days of conference
events at Bartle Hall Convention Center, from March 16-19, there are
about 40 galleries, museums, colleges, non-profits and other groups
hosting over 60 different exhibitions of ceramic art and there are an-
other 11 exhibitions in the nearby city of Lawrence, Kansas. But that’s
just the NCECA approved programming. Plenty of other galleries,
studios and groups will be jumping on board with their own
unsanctioned events.
Liz Lerman will give the conference’s keynote address. An unusual
choice, Lerman is not a ceramicist, but instead a dancer, choreogra-
pher, educator and writer. Lerman’s address will explain her
educational theory called “Critical Response Process,” followed by
a participatory event where attendees will try out her ideas. Building
on the keynote address, there will be dozens of other lectures with
titles like “Digital Applications in Ceramic Pedagogy,” “Mini-Heat:
a small-scale, fast fire wood kiln,” and “Who Am I?”
The conference itself will take place at Bartle Hall in downtown
Kansas City, Missouri. A KC landmark, Bartle Hall is an unusual mod-
ernist building, roughly eight football fields in length, it spans north to
south and over a sunken highway interchange. On top of the conven-
tion center are four giant metal and concrete pylons, each adorned
with modernist aluminum sculptures by R.M. Fischer, titled “Sky
Stations.” In the 20 years since the sculptures were installed, KC
has recast itself as an art city. Looking at these enormous and
unnecessary spires jutting out of Bartle Hall, you immediately get
the message: Kansas City is a modern metropolis and it has the art
to prove it.NCECA would seem to agree. When asked about why they picked
Kansas City, conference organizers explained, “NCECA chose Kansas
City because of its important place in the American studio ceramics
movement especially since the end of WWII,” and that “The region
remains rich with some of the best public and private collections of
ceramic art and high caliber educational programs that continue to
draw talent and encourage it to establish a base of creative production.”KANSAS CITY
NCECA celebrates its 50th anniversary
by bringing a veritable festival of ceramics to KC.
Above:
“NASA Chawan,” 2012, Tom Sachs
Porcelain with engobe inlay, 2^1 ⁄ 2 " x 3^1 ⁄ 2 " x 3^1 ⁄ 2 "
Photo: courtesy of Baldwin Gallery“White Cut Charger,” 2015
Jeremy Briddell
Ceramic, 27"diameter
Photo: Courtesy Haw Contemporary
64 art ltd - March / April 2016