Panels

Schedule of Activities
Ceramic Stroll
Helena Artists Studio Tour
Demonstrations
Panels
Exhibitions

Craft, Innovation, and Contemporary Art: Three Perspectives
with John Buck, Deborah Butterfield, Jun Kaneko
Moderated by Rick Newby
Friday, June 24, 9:00a–10:15a

Three contemporary masters—Jun Kaneko, Debbie Butterfield, and John Buck (from both within and outside the ceramics field)—share their views on the role of craft and innovation in the art world today. Out of their experiences in sculpture, printmaking, textile arts, glassmaking, and other disciplines, these three artists will focus on the notion of craft within their own artistic practices, which often involve collaborations with assistants, master printers, foundry workers, and others. They will also address the role of innovation at this time, when many ceramic artists are moving away from the studio potter model, with its emphasis on the solitary artist and the hand, and into realms that involve digital technologies, collaborations across disciplines, blurred boundaries between craft and design, and the use of skilled artisans (other than the artist) in the production of complex works.

Among the most highly regarded artists in the American West, sculptor Debbie Butterfield and sculptor/printmaker John Buck make their homes in Montana and Hawaii. In 2009 they jointly received the Montana Governor’s Award for the Arts. Jun Kaneko has been based in Omaha Nebraska since 1986. His artwork is included in more than seventy museum collections and he has realized over thirty public art commissions in the United States and Japan. His work has ranged from ceramics, glass, and painting and he recently designed a new production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, which premiered at Opera Omaha in March of 2006 and continues to tours nationally.
Poet and cultural journalist Rick Newby will moderate the panel.

2020: Looking at the Future of Ceramic Art
with John Balistreri, Andy Brayman, Ayumi Horie, Bobby Silverman, and Linda Sormin
Moderated by Chris Staley
Friday, June 24, 10:30a–11:45a

In June of 2011, the Bray will bring together leading thinkers in the field to work in a collaborative and communal studio setting. These artists were chosen for their ability to look beyond tradition and forge new paths in their creative processes that have led to such innovations as the development of rapid prototyping in ceramics using 3D scanning technologies and building online ceramic communities in support of studio practice. While innovation takes many forms, the 60th anniversary visiting artists represent fresh and original thinking in areas of technology, culture, design, studio practice and interdisciplinary collaboration; each one of them pushing the boundaries of tradition to illuminate the future of ceramic art.

Commenting on Clay: Artists Respond to Real World Issues
with Richard Notkin, Jason Walker and Patti Warashina
Moderated by Peter Held, Curator of Ceramics, Arizona State University Art Museum Ceramics Research Center
Friday, June 24, 1:30p–2:45p

Historically, artists have utilized their art to be cultural critics, political provocateurs and agents for social change. From Francisco Goya to Käthe Kollwitz and Robert Arneson, artists are often first responders to war, injustice and other social divides. The panelists span three generations of studio artists whose approach and visual aesthetics differ but are bound together by their firm commitment and passion to use clay as a vehicle for not only self-expression, but creating an engaging and meaningful dialogue in an increasingly complex world. Whether their approach is in-your-face or seducing the viewer with virtuosity of skill, all strive to become effective in stimulating a climate for positive social change.