The Scripps Voice

The pieces in Williamson Gallery’s 67th Ceramic Annual explore elements of play and whimsy.

By Asia Morris ’12
Staff Writer

Tim Berg is the Assistant Professor of Ceramics at Pitzer College and this year’s guest curator of The Scripps College Ceramic Annual. Professor Berg has also taught at Louisiana State and Ohio Universities, and has exhibited his work in a variety of solo exhibitions around the world, from Sweden to New York. The show will continue through Sunday, April 3 and includes the following artists: Barnaby Barford, Pattie Chalmeres, Gerit Grimm, Ayumi Hori & Sara Varon, Janice Jakielski, Matthew McConnell, Peter Morgan, Thomas Muller, Brendan Tang and Matt Wedel.

Berg gave a lecture in the Humanities Auditorium on Jan. 22 to fill us in on the laborious joys of developing the 67th Scripps College Ceramic Annual: “Making Fun.” Berg read his lecture, slowly, as if attempting to give his audience ample time to really ponder each idea, before moving on to the next topic. His PowerPoint presentation kept viewers engaged, and small bouts of laughter ensued every minute or two in reaction to Berg’s “making fun” of the curatorial process. He spoke to an attentive audience of students, professors, friends and collegiate contemporaries. Before he began, he graciously and comically thanked his wife, informing his audience that the reason they would not be sleeping during his talk was because of her superb skills in editing.

He then proceeded into summarizing each section of his presentation so that we would understand which artists he would be talking about. He touched upon the individual pieces in the show and how they fit into the overall theme. He spoke about working with each artist and some of the different interactions he had had with them and their artwork. Berg spoke about the traditional seriousness associated within the art sphere and how this exhibition was chosen to “affirm the value of play, a creative state requiring openness, vulnerability, and creativity.”

Few questions were asked at the close of the lecture, except for one man’s inquiry into the absurdity and, in his opinion, inappropriateness of making fun of the sinking of the Titanic. Berg sort of chuckled at the man’s critique, and gracefully acknowledged that yes, the Titanic seen sinking next to an ice cream bar did make light of the awful tragedy, but that reacting to tragedy merrily with grief and solemnity is simply not as healing or fun as taking these past events lightly. Making fun of something tragic is a better way to respond to an inherently negative thing, and what better way to respond happily and with laughter than with grief, sadness or regret?

When asked how he whittled the exhibition down to these eleven artists, Berg said “Well, I started out with 53…” Astonished murmurs could be heard from the back of the auditorium as Berg went on to explain that the more he worked individually with each artist, the easier it was for him to better understand the theme.

By Tiffany Yau ‘12
Arts & Entertainment Editor

Plato once mused: “Forms are the only true objects of study that can provide us with genuine knowledge.” In Laurie Fendrich’s work, then, is a quest for true knowledge. On Oct. 30, the retrospective exhibition “Sense and Sensation: Laurie Fendrich, Paintings and Drawings 1990-2010” presenting her geometric abstract work opened to the public. During an artist talk prefacing the opening of the exhibition, Laurie Fendrich discussed her work with critic Mark

Photo by Tiffany Yau

Stevens. Topics included her use of color, arrangement of forms, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and the epistemology of painting. Although Fendrich’s bold use of color and confident forms all look considerably effortless, they are far from that. During the conversation, Fendrich revealed “I think I essentially am a Platonist. When I paint a painting, I know I’m striving to make something perfect.” This Platonic philosophy drives her to create perfect form in her work. Fendrich achieves luminous, straight edges by painting layer upon layer of color. She repeatedly traces the lines without any straight-edge tool until the shapes are near perfect, and the resulting wavering edges of each form lend a painterly touch to the relatively flat forms. This sense of perfection spills over to the arangement of forms. Fendrich described arranging a composition much like arranging the blueprint of a house, noting that certain shapes/rooms must be adjacent for a successful layout. Although her geometric abstract art is certainly serious, Fendrich’s work is often described as whimsical and humorous. The brassy, off-kilter color palette of Fendrich’s paintings suggests play in her work. And though Fendrich intentionally avoids any resemblance to animals or people, her work naturally pushes anthropomorphic suggestions. Fendrich comments on the “cute” aspect of the ovals in her work which resemble babies, though she deliberately avoids representation as much as possible. In discussing the epistemology of painting, Fendrich commented that “the paint is the painting,” and therefore no print or digital image can provide that same experience of viewing a painting in person. “A painting has to be seen in the flesh. In a reproduction, there’s no color depth or luminosity.” Fendrich is right—postcard reproductions do not do her work justice. So visit the Williamson Gallery before Dec. 19 to view her work in person.

On Monday night, a sudden explosion of percussion echoed throughout Scripps’ campus. No, it was not a drumline’s accompaniment to a 5C cheerleading squad. It was the celebratory clamor for the commencement of the latest exhibition in the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, “Zen! Japanese Paintings from the Sanso Collection.” The outdoor opening reception welcomed Zen and art enthusiasts alike to the gallery, and festivities continued inside, where visitors admired the paintings to a soundtrack of live traditional Koto music.

The Zen exhibition features 35 paintings out of the 200 in the Sanso Collection, each piece chosen for its portrayal of Zen themes. The paintings were selected to represent a variety of Zen concepts and subject matter, and pieces include paintings of typical Zen monks and abbots as well as portraits of the Zen master Bodhidharma and Bodhisattva Kannon. Though the collection represents Zen art as it has been for hundreds of years, the individual pieces are mainly from the 15th to 16th century. Many of the pieces were created by Zen monks and abbots, and some were created by professional artists commissioned to make pieces inspired by Zen subject matter. Each piece evokes elements of Zen through powerful brushwork and strong composition.

Bruce Coats, professor of art history and the humanities at Scripps, explained that the main reason for the exhibition at the gallery is the Core III class, Arts and Literature of Zen Buddhism. The Zen exhibition serves as an extension of the class and provides texts for students to study firsthand.
The paintings belong to the Sanso Collection, a world-renowned privately owned collection, and as such are rarely seen by the public. Bruce Coats said of the collection, “It is a real honor to have these world famous works in our gallery.”

“Zen! Japanese Paintings from the Sanso Collection” opened on Oct. 31 and will run through Dec. 6. The gallery is free and open to the public, Wednesday through Sunday, from 1 to 5 p.m.

For more information, contact the gallery at (909) 607-3397.