Ken Price & The Egg Series Phenomenal Transgressions in Post-war Ceramics
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2017-05
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Abstract
Kenneth Martin Price (1935-2012) was a key protagonist in moving ceramics into the avant-garde realm during the 1960s. At this time, Price made his first major contribution to the expanding field of ceramic sculpture with his Egg series. This series represents a significant breakthrough in ceramic sculpture by transgressing the traditions and processes of mid-century ceramics. Post-war ceramic conventions were generally dominated by the craft theories of the folk pottery movement. During the 1950s, Peter Voulkos and others had begun making interventions aimed at broadening ceramic practices, but relied upon the techniques and processes of the very practices they were challenging. Price’s Egg series, which he made while in league with Los Angeles’ revolutionary Ferus Gallery, pushed Voulkos’ explorations of clay beyond the limitations of ceramic traditions and processes. My thesis offers critical and contextual analyses of the Egg series by interrogating its significance to broader trends in American post-war ceramics.
Description
Thesis completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Art History and Theory degree in the School of Art and Design at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY.
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Thesis
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Art History and Theory thesis, Ken Price, The Egg Series, Post-war Ceramics