Sierra Palochak, response 2

Discourse and Decoration was a very intriguing article involving the art of ceramics and how it is judged by the art world. I enjoyed the author, Paul Greenhalgh’s, interpretation of past judgments against ceramics as being poorly constructed. In particular, I found his view, which argues that ceramics is a different art form entirely and, as such, should be judged differently than other artistic movements to be very intriguing. The author made numerous arguments as to why ceramics are a different art entirely from other mediums such as painting and sculpting. However, the author then moved on to describe the art of ceramics which I found to be much more enjoyable. The point in the article which I found most fascinating was Greenhalgh’s description of the ceramic heritage and how long standing it is in history. The author seemed particularly passionate while he discusses the artist and their ties to the ceramic past. The way he describes ceramics as being a movement far beyond the artist is an interesting theory. In part, I do agree with the author that ceramics is an extensive field and that it is a collective form of art; however, I do not believe that the objects keep a distance from their maker’s personality. I believe that the artist can be viewed in the pieces they create and that ceramics can have a voice. Overall the article gave an interesting insight into the world of ceramics and was fascinating to read.