Deeper
Roots
Michael
S. Martin Cummings
Fall,
2002
Image
1
Indiana
State University
In
partial fulfillment of the M.F.A. degree requirements
Major
Advisor: Dick Hay
Committee
Members:
Fran
Lattanzio
Dr.
dele jegede
Deeper Roots
Artistic creation is a highly personal act of taking ideas from the realm of thought to their physical reality. The process of creation maintains my interest and drives me to explore my complex artistic potential. This transitory process is only the beginning of creating art for me; it is also an extended encounter with the expressive qualities of clay that keeps me searching for new ideas to use this ancient medium. How these ideas surface is somewhat unpredictable and unique. Expressions come in many forms; some even come from the medium itself.
When
I originally started the series that I am now working on in clay, it was focused
on the duality of form and function inherent in traditional vessels.
I looked at a variety of different vessel forms ranging from ancient
Greek art to Renaissance art, from African art to Japanese art, and Art Nouveau
to contemporary American art. I did
not, however, stop there. I looked
at what the ultimate creator, God, has made and have since found that His
creations (nature) have been the inspiration for art in many of the world’s
cultures. I often look to this
ultimate artist to help discover the potential of clay, from the use of gravity,
to the surprising effects of fire. Making
anything out of various clay bodies requires a delicate balance between the
natural qualities of that clay and what the artist has in mind for this
universal and abundant material.
One of my creative goals is to take a situation or idea and push it past the boundaries of its obvious possibility in order to explore some new conclusions. With any exploration, half the reward is in the challenge of the search. I started this challenge in undergraduate school and have continued it into my graduate studies. There is no doubt in my mind that I will keep pursuing this special quest throughout my life. Many of the potential outcomes present themselves in different ways and stem from subconscious solutions. With this exploration in clay forms I lost the traditional ideas for the vessel and moved to a more sculptural form. By denying myself the duality of the vessel, it allowed me to grow.
In the process of looking for possible vessel/sculptural forms, I scan nature
for unimagined solutions to shapes and forms.
The forms that inspire me most lately are those of plants, specifically
flower-bearing plants. There are
several reasons why I have chosen to emulate plants, which range from aesthetics
to the highly personal. My
sculptural forms can clearly be broken down into levels much like plants can be
botanically identified in different sections.
My sculptures have their own roots a body or fruit, stems or necks.
Finally they generate a floral mega-metaphor of a personal, yet
universal, nature.
Much
of my sculptural work is a direct metaphor of myself. I feel that my creations in clay symbolize where I am today,
and how I have grown in my recent environments; both personally and
artistically. My work now reflects
the dynamic ideas that I have about my total growth and myself in the past few
years. I have put these experiences
into my artworks. Each artwork has
some personal aspect of me in it, whether through color, form, balance, or
complex aesthetic quality. In my
sculptures, the roots symbolize my own various roots: where I come from and my
cultural and geographical backgrounds, both in formal education and in life
experiences. These are the most
complex parts of my work, just as my previous life before Indiana State
University is a complex tangle of experiences, which to date have been
excellent, good, bad and mixed. Some
of the roots touch the ground and hold up the body while some are still reaching
out, searching for nourishment, incomplete.
These roots do not provide the support for the body, but are still a
vital part of the total expression. The
body of my sculpture represents me as a person able to capture and contain my
own part of my environment and use it to grow.
This large storage space contains the nutrition for my mental, spiritual,
and artistic growth and
allows
the stem or myself to reach towards the future.
From the stem, finally, a flower explodes and extends itself towards the
light, often pulling the stem upwards in order to present itself as an object of
aesthetic contemplation. My new
self-realizations in clay are truly totemic: on top sits the flower that is
representative of myself in the process of blooming into a mature, fully
actualized person and productive artist.
I have been uprooted and transplanted from my past and my heritage and still
thrive and grow in a changing new environment, still holding onto my roots.
Aesthetically, my sculptures use most of the visual elements and principles of design to interact with the viewer. The lines in the sculptures move the viewer into the forms from the complex structures of the roots to the one tubular line that takes the viewer from the body up to the flower. Within the roots of the sculptures there are also the implied lines as well as the textural lines across the surfaces. This constitutes, visually and symbolically, both a personal as well as a universal totem. The lack of sharp jagged lines in my work is due to the nature of the subject matter and my response to natural forms and the organic qualities therein. The sculptures do not look heavy because of the open masses that are formed from the structures of the roots. The open masses in the sculptures imply movement among the roots as well as making the whole sculpture itself appear to be moving. The viewer can imagine parts of the sculpture in motion, even dancing, as these elements continue to grow.
The
colors that I use are not meant to imitate nature in any way, but are intended
to compliment the forms in a new way that is quite different from what appears
in the world of botany. The colors
that I use on the sculptures often are metallic and give the ceramic medium the
look of metals. This idea comes
from the study of Art Nouveau and the idea of making clay look like another
medium. This is also a direct
contradiction to “natural” appearances.
People will often associate metal with cold man-made objects. In my sculptures I relish playing with glazes that produce
surfaces that imitate metals on organic plant-like forms.
Other colors that I frequently use are blues and black; these are also
colors that are not usually found on flowering plants.
Only a few flowers in the woods or in gardens are dark “blacks” or
deep blue, but many of the tones that I use are not found in plants at all. I
like to use colors that are semi-precious on some of the flowers, thus implying
a visual importance to this part of my work.
I also use texture to make the sculptures similar to nature, with thorns
or rough surface textures. Several
of the sculptures have glazes that have troubled textures much like that in some
plants that get infested with bugs, which often produce surface violations
similar to what I have created. I
also use textures in places that plants exhibit, as around the root bases or on
the roots themselves. Some of the
works have more texture than others, just as in the real world of plants.
The
unity and variety in my work occur both on each individual sculpture as well as
in the whole body of work. There is
a variety of sizes that I use to create the rooting structures and bodies, but
the unity is created because they are all inspired by shapes in nature. The balance in my work is very complex both physically and
aesthetically. Some of the
sculptures are no longer on the central axis and thus rely on the other elements
to create the balance, again both physically and aesthetically. This shift from the central axis also aids in the creation of
implied movement in the individual sculpture.
In each of the works I hope that the viewer will interact with each
section of the form emotionally -- the roots, the body and the exploding flower.
All the lines leading to the flower help to emphasize the importance of
the metaphoric flower. The contrast
between the complex roots and the simplified main body helps each piece remain
aesthetically whole. The
proportions of my work are interrelated and are not based on nature.
The scale of my work is larger than most of the plants and flowers that I
emulate, thus drawing attention to the work itself.
Clay is a unique medium that has been a part of art for over thirty thousand years. Long before the first oil painting, the clay bowl served as both a work of art and a function object. People have been using this medium to express themselves in every culture on earth. I have chosen this medium to express my artistic ideas and my own self for many reasons. I chose it for this whole body of work because of the potential of the subject matter itself. Most plants start from the earth. Clay comes from the earth and provides nourishment for my soul as well as many other living things on this planet, including plants. It is only logical that I create plant-like vessels out of clay to express myself.
Since I began working with clay I have been very process-oriented. I prefer to hand-throw and manipulate each individual element. I feel that since each sculpture is formed by my own hand, and not by a machine or duplicated in a mold, my work has more of a personal touch and is more a part of me. The only part of the sculpture that is not thrown is the flower, which is symbolic of my growth in clay and moving beyond my original ideas in process. I have become comfortable enough in the medium that I am willing to push my limits as well as the limits of the clay. I create the flowers by dipping cloth or paper into clay slip several times until there are enough layers to hold the two sides of the petals together. I then dip the ends that are going to be attached to one another in slip one last time and place them in the formation that I want.
Much of what I do in clay comes from the depth of my subconscious thoughts. I explore these ideas through the process of making art. Throughout my extensive travels and studies I have visually and mentally catalogued the things that have inspired me both as a person and as an artist. These inspirations are the foundations of my work. My travels have allowed me to be exposed to many cultures from the past and into the future. From studying ancient Greek pottery to meeting famous glass artist Dale Chihuly, I am able to draw from these experiences, both on the subconscious and conscious levels, as well as draw directly from many other works of art. Throughout history there have been several artists who use nature for their inspiration. A few that have influenced me the most are, William D. Gates, Dale Chihuly, Claude Monet, and Georgia O’Keeffe. I look to each one of these artists and many others to fire my imagination and creativity.
The
Art Nouveau period was a very exciting time for ceramics.
There was a great shift from functional pottery to art pottery. During this period most artists were influenced by nature and
its unique shapes and forms. Teco
Pottery (see image 7) started out experimenting with color for architectural
tiles and moved into the art pottery market during the early 1900’s to
accommodate the need for Art pottery. They
discovered lusters which is a type of glaze that I also use in my work.
William D. Gates was president of Teco Pottery.
He encouraged designers like Fritz Albert to design functional pottery
with natural designs. The plant motifs often dominated the functional aspect of
the work these artists produced. This
is very similar to the way that I started making my own sculptures.
I started with a functional vessel that eventually evolved into a
plant-like sculpture.
Dale Chihuly is a glass artist based in Seattle, Washington, and is world
renowned for his exciting shapes in glass.
He has had many shows all over the world and is represented by many
galleries in most major cities. I
personally draw from his plant-like forms, which he recently displayed in
Chicago. At the exhibit entitled Chihuly
in the Park: A Garden of Glass, (see image 8) 
he
installed several works of glass at the Garfield Park Conservatory.
His forms interacted with the plants at the conservatory in a unique way
that I had not experienced before. He
also draws his design ideas from many natural forms like plants and flowers to
create his work. It is interesting
that I look to a glass artist for inspiration with all the similarities between
the two mediums such as the fact that all of the same elements in ceramic works
are used in glassworks. Many of the
colors come from the same elements in both glass and ceramic glazes.
Claude Monet was also a nature lover and in much of his work he used trees and
flowers. Monet is known worldwide
for his use of plants as subject matter in his artwork. Even today people visit his home to see the lavish gardens
that he created. Monet worked
during the Impressionist period, which was a time of great discovery 
artistically
and scientifically. The artists of
this time were experimenting with new pre-made paints as well as observing the
way light affects the subject matter. Monet
relentlessly studied the effects of light much like I relentlessly study the
forms that I use. During my travels
in the last few years I have observed and photographed several types of flowers
ranging from rare orchids to the common rose.
All of these have inspired my forms much like plants and flowers inspired
Monet to paint.
Georgia O’Keeffe inspires me the most. I ascribe to her philosophy of art. She is quoted as saying:
“Everyone has many associations with a flower – the idea of flowers. Still – in a way – nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small – we haven’t the time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.” (O’Keeffe)
This
philosophy is very similar to my own and the way I approach nature and art.
I also feel that people are often too busy to stop and touch, taste,
smell, and see what is around them. I
feel it is the role of the artist to seduce viewers into contemplation.
O’Keeffe drew from nature for her inspiration in much of her work and I
gladly follow her lead. Her unique
way of approaching art and nature is very inspirational to me, especially her
ability to use a grander scale to show observers what they were missing. This is
apparent in my work with the size of my sculptures in comparison to nature.
I feel that O’Keeffe and I are fighting the same battles but on
different aesthetic planes. I too
work hard in my creations to get people to slow down and more fully appreciate
their visual environment and the spectacular variety among their fellow human
beings.
While these ideas and thoughts are coming to life, my passion for discovery and growth are being fired up. My creative potential with clay is leading me to many more discoveries that dynamically bounce between nature, man and my creative self. Just as clay without shape or purpose spins and grows on the wheel, I, along with my forms, will evolve and grow through more experiences and the surprises of time and age. It is this potential to grow that inspires me to continue my search into the world of art.
Bibliography
Chihuly in the park A garden of Glass. Exhibition Catalogue. November 23, 2001 though September 8, 2002.
Donhauser, Paul S. History of American Ceramics The Studio Potter. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, Iowa. 1978.
Heilmeyer, Marina. The language of Flowers: Symbols and Myths. Prestel, New York. 2001
O’Keeffe, Georgia. Georgia O’Keeffe. Viking Penguin, New York. 1977.
Preble, Duane, Sarah Preble, Patric Frank. Artforms. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. 2002
Warmus,
William. Chiluly over Venice.
Portland Press, Incorporated. Portland.
1997.
Images
Image
1: Flos Mortis – Flower of Death, Ceramics, 2002, Artist Collection
Image
2: Flos Noctis – Flower of the Night, Ceramics, 2002, Artist
Collection
Image
3: Flos Spiritus – Spirit Bloom, Ceramics, 2002, Artist
Collection
Image
4: Flos Caelorum – Sky Bloom, Ceramics, 2002, Artist Collection
Image
5: Radices Mentis – Mind Roots, Ceramics, 2002, Artist
Collection
Image 6: Flos Animae – Flower of the Soul, Ceramics, 2002, Artist Collection
Image 7: Teco Vase. Earthenware. 1910. http://netra.glendale.cc.ca.us/ceramics/tecovase.html
Image 8: Dale Chihuly. From Chihuly in the Park. Chicago. Picture taken by Angela Erlanson.
Image
9: Claude Monet. Bordighera. 1884. Oil on canvas. The Art
Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
http://www.abcgallery.com/M/monet/monet82.html.
Image
10: Georgia O'Keeffe. Lawrence
Tree. 1929.
Oil on canvas. 23x31cm.
Wadsworth Atheneum. http://www.mystudios.com/women/klmno/okeefe-tree.html
