Student Pop and Funk Art Sculpture

Sculpture Inspired by Pop and Funk Art:

Selected Works by F-M Studio in Ceramics Students

F-M students in Studio in Ceramics are challenged each year to create a sculpture that communicates their perceptions about their cultural context. Students may choose an everyday, often overlooked object to replicate in clay or they may use their sculpture to make a statement about their cultural context.

To prepare students for this project they are introduced to a variety of clay-forming and "tromp-l'oeil" (fool the eye) techniques. In order to replicate specific commonplace (mundane) objects in their environment, students are introduced to the myriad of ways that clay can mimic virtually any form, surface texture and coloration. Students are also challenged to think of ways that they can show how ordinary objects reveal their cultural and historical contexts.

Students are introduced to the history of Pop Art and Funk Art and are shown slide examples of significant works from both movements. Pop Art originated with the British artist Richard Hamilton's provocative collages depicting crass consumerism in the late 1950s. Andy Warhol is recognized as the leading American Pop artist who produced a multitude of silk screen prints depicting consumer objects and celebrities. He also created sculptural simulations of packaged products. (See Illus.1) Another American Pop Artist named Roy Lichtenstein, famous for his large paintings of comic strip cells, created a series of ceramic sculpture and pottery painted with with his "Benday" dots and cartoonish colors. (See Illus.2)

The Funk Art movement was largely a West Coast movement that also began in the late 1950s. These iconoclastic artists, many of whom worked in clay, created art that satirized and challenged the traditions of high art and culture. Robert Arneson's work in clay was often controversial in the ways it ridiculed social conventions and high art. His acerbic wit can be seen in his "Typewriter".(See Illus.3) Richard Notkin followed in his teacher's (Arneson) footsteps. His sculptural teapots (See Illus.4) draw attention to political and social issues. Also associated with the Funk movement was the master of "tromp-l'oeil" ceramics sculpture, Richard Shaw. His flawless depictions of books and playing cards (See Illus.5) seem to freeze objects in time. Marilyn Levine's sculptures depicting a wide variety of leather objects (See Illus.6) are also masterpieces of "trompe-l'oeil" art that pay tribute to the mundane object.