Exhibition Overview
Spiraling, Twisting, Unraveling: Explorations in Pattern and Form
Culled entirely from the Museum’s collection, “Spiraling, Twisting, Unraveling: Explorations in Pattern and Form” explores the dynamic landscape and languages found through contemporary craft today. The exhibition features twenty-five artists who examine dimensions of decoration, pattern and form through their varied practices to engage with some of the most pressing issues of our time. The objects featured within this gallery deepen the legacies of the studio craft movement that has flourished in the United States since mid-century and complicate the limited understanding of how we interpret the hand-made.
Within “Spiraling, Twisting, Unraveling,” delicate lines, trailing threads and endless spirals are used as devices to unearth themes of the natural world and the alternative concepts of eternity, life cycles, space and time represented across millennia through diverse cultures. In tactically rich and materially diverse objects –– from ceramics to stoneware, fiber to woodwork –– the artists each consider the expansive geographies of form, pushing the boundaries of their chosen medium while also sparking necessary conversations, stories and narratives that are part of our everyday lives.
Artists like Jiro Yonezawa (Japan, b. 1956) and Christine Joy (United States, b. 1952) explore the abstract form and dynamism of the spiral through wood and bamboo, where conversations of the natural world and renewable materials emerge. Makers like Antonella Cimatti (Italy, b. 1956) and Linda Lopez (United States, b.1981) highlight their interest in the poetic potential of everyday objects and the tension between fragility and durability. Others like Irene Vronik (Ireland, b. 1952) are chiefly concerned with exploring the tactile qualities of clay, discovering a vernacular and lyrical freedom within the often technical and practical confines of the medium. Taken as a whole, “Spiraling, Twisting, Unraveling” offers the gallery space as a location for deep looking at manifestations of form.
“Spiraling, Twisting, Unraveling: Explorations in Pattern and Form” is organized by ASUAM Senior Curator Alana Hernandez and ASUAM Curator Brittany Corrales and made possible by generous funding from Windgate Charitable Foundation and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with a Community of Practice composed of Carol Eckert, visual artist, Yaritza Flores Bustos, visual artist, and Yu Yu Shiratori, visual artist.
Spiraling, Twisting, Unraveling Audio Guide
Use the audio players below at the corresponding exhibition location.
Stop 1: Maria Poveka Martinez
English
Puebloan artist Maria Poveka Martinez (San Ildefonso Pueblo, 1887–1980) is celebrated for her stylized blackware pottery. Having learned traditional pottery techniques by observing her aunt and grandmother, she radically revived the ancient Puebloan process of black-on-black ware. The historic pottery of the San Ildefonso Pueblo, established circa 1300 in the region north of Santa Fe, featured blackware pottery with matte and glossy design motifs, such as feathers and waves that were used as storage jars for water and food. Martinez achieved the black color by reducing the amount of oxygen in the kiln, smothering the fire with cow or horse dung, and causing the pottery to carbonize. Her modern black geometric shapes, seen in wares like “Black on Black Feather Bowl,” stood in high contrast to the red or multicolored ware that dominated Pueblo pottery then. Martinez gained national popularity, perhaps because her aesthetic aligned with the contemporary Art Deco style of the 1930s and 40s, which emphasized geometric shapes and bold contrasts. As she affirmed, “black goes with everything.”
Español
La artista pueblo Maria Poveka Martinez (Pueblo San Ildefonso, 1887–1980) es celebrada por su cerámica estilizada de color negro. Habiendo aprendido las técnicas tradicionales de alfarería observando a su tía y a su abuela, revivió radicalmente el antiguo proceso pueblo de la cerámica negra sobre negro. La histórica cerámica del Pueblo San Ildefonso, establecido alrededor del año 1300 en la región al norte de Santa Fe, presentaba cerámica de color negro con motivos mate y brillante, como plumas y olas, utilizadas como jarros de almacenamiento para agua y alimentos. Martinez lograba el color negro reduciendo la cantidad de oxígeno en el horno, ahogando el fuego con estiércol de vaca o caballo, lo que carbonizaba la cerámica. Sus modernas formas geométricas en negro, que se aprecian en cerámicas como el “Cuenco de plumas en negro sobre negro”, contrastaban notablemente con la cerámica roja o multicolor que dominaba entonces la alfarería pueblo. Martinez adquirió popularidad nacional, quizás porque su estética coincidía con el estilo contemporáneo Art Deco de los años 30 y 40, que realzaba formas geométricas y los contrastes llamativos. Como ella afirmaba, “el negro combina con todo”.
Stop 2: Bradley R. Miller
English
Bradley R. Miller finds imagination in nature, where he sees patterns in everyday circumstances. In “Convex Spiral,” Miller painstakingly creates smooth, spiraling lines out of stoneware. For Miller, pattern and form have endless inspiration. “I keep reworking a handful of patterns including spirals, packing patterns, and dendritic systems. These patterns appear in different materials and processes, sometimes incorporating several of these patterns in one piece. My intention is to permeate my work with these timeless and familiar symbols as they dance between order and chaos.”
Español
Bradley R. Miller encuentra la imaginación en la naturaleza, donde ve patrones en circunstancias cotidianas. En “Espiral convexa”, Miller crea meticulosamente líneas suaves y en espiral utilizando cerámica. Para Miller, el patrón y la forma son fuentes inagotables de inspiración. “Continúo trabajando un puñado de patrones que incluyen espirales, patrones de embalaje y sistemas dendríticos. Estos patrones aparecen en diferentes materiales y procesos, a veces incorporando varios de estos patrones en una sola pieza. Mi intención es impregnar mi trabajo con estos símbolos intemporales y familiares mientras estos danzan entre el orden y el caos.”
Stop 3: Jiro Yonezawa
English
Building upon methods of traditional Japanese basket-making, artist Jiro Yonezawa (Japan, b. 1956) employs bamboo as a sculptural medium. Used for its uniquely regenerative quality — growing back quickly soon after it is cut –– Yonezawa’s coiled sculpture, “Monk,” asks us to consider lifecycles and what we might learn from nature. The title perhaps suggests spirituality and rebirth within the natural world, where each twist and spiral represents time and lifelines.
Español
Basándose en métodos de la cestería japonesa tradicional, el artista Jiro Yonezawa (Japón, n. 1956) utiliza el bambú como medio escultórico. Empleado por su cualidad única de regeneración, ya que vuelve a crecer rápidamente después de ser cortado, la escultura en espiral de Yonezawa, “Monk”, nos invita a reflexionar sobre los ciclos vitales y lo que podemos aprender de la naturaleza. El título sugiere quizás espiritualidad y renacimiento dentro del mundo natural, donde cada giro y espiral representa el tiempo y las líneas de vida.
Interpretation questions
Jiro Yonezawa (Japan, b. 1956), “Monk”, 2003. Bamboo, 8 x 6 in. (20.32 x 15.24 cm). ASU Art Museum, Gift of Diane and Sandy Besser Collection, 2004.037.020
