empty......

Craft and art have been confused, interchanged, and combined for years. The line between art and craft was rather unclear to start with and has only blurred even
more so over time. Craft derives from that which is hand made,
 but in that case most art is craft. Some believe what
distinguishes art from craft is that craft is functional, but
that's not the case either. Typically we depict certain
 works as craft due to the materials used. Clay, glass,
 metal, wood and fiber are the commonplace
materials used in crafting. Peter Voulkos used
stoneware and glaze to create an untitled stack
 pot in the year 1964 measuring 30 feet high. This
 work is considered craft because of the material
used. But by no means is it functional; it has a
gash that deems it unfit for containing much of
anything. It is empty and will remain so. Voulkos
asks that we find to be of some greater purpose,
as and object of art subject to questioning. The
empty vessel is a victim of violence with scars of
 destruction. When clay is fired it loses its plastic nature and
 is no longer moldable; what you fire is there to stay. The cutting,
 tearing, slicing,                                      ripping, and other subtractive actions can no longer be mended.                                                        Even the glazing is done in a manner that suggests little                                                                       tranquility. Oliver Herring's work, Castle, is also
                                                                                   unsettling. It comes from a series known as
                                                                                     A Flower for Ethyl Eichelberger. Castle was
                                                                                        knitt of transparent Mylar measuring
                                                                                        9 X 47 X 65". It depicts a bed with the
                                                                                        impression of a coat. It is meant to signify
                                                                                            absence and loss. Eichelberger was a
                                                                                               performance artist that had commited
                                                                                               suicide while dying of AIDS. Great
                                                                                               sorrow is felt through the work when
                                                                                              you begin to realize the grief of the
                                                                                             artist and the long suffering left to
                                                                                            endure. The impression of the coat will
                                                                                          always remind but never return what has
                                                                                         left. A coat and bed both suggest comfort
                                                                                     and warmth, but this piece offers neither.