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Text for Symposium by Janet Mansfield

Janet Mansfield

Talk for Croatia


This talk is divided, as my professional life is divided, into working as a ceramist and my role as editor/publisher of the magazines, Ceramics: Art and Perception and Ceramics Technical. I have been working as a potter for nearly 40 years, and as editor of ceramic journals for the past 29 years.

My work in clay over those years has embraced many techniques and styles but I have always believed in permanency, in the purpose of clay vessels, and in use of ceramics over many millennia. They are a reflection of their civilisation, and the way the values and needs of a particular society are portrayed.  The images that I show of my work and my environment illustrate my interest in the basic concepts of clay and fire. Relying on these two factors I seek to use the qualities of clay in its most permanent state, its total vitrification, and use the colours of the clay and melted ash in a specific manner. I use the materials around me, continuing to find challenges in form and surface – challenges that could last a lifetime in this one small area of ceramic art.

My other full-time occupation is writing and publishing. When I established Ceramics: Art and Perception I wanted to encourage quality critical writing in the field of ceramics. And there are many artists with the talent to write and the talent to make ceramic art.

All editors have their own idiosyncrasies, as well as their own philosophies and policies, as to the place and purpose of their magazines. During an informal research project in the ceramics department library at the Edinburgh College of Art some years ago, the students amassed a count of 65 journals on ceramics, some perhaps only fairly substantial newsletters but at least 45 bona fide magazines representing all levels from 'how to' and hobby categories to quality, full colour magazines and scientific journals, and written in all, or most, languages. So when submitting an article to a magazine editor, decide yourself where your story is most appropriately placed. This wealth of printed matter in ceramics is rich and we are fortunate indeed. The more the better, I believe, if we are to be advocates for ceramics to the wider public; the more work and writing seen by the general public the more they must know that we, as ceramic artists, are a significant force.

For this talk I have been reading books on the art of writing so that I can relay some helpful advice to you. I came across such phrases as: Don't be discouraged / Editors need writers as much as writers need editors / Editors make mistakes / Perseverance pays / Understand about deadlines.

I am prepared to work with writers and, after emails, faxes, and the like, back and forth, we try to make a story clear and strong, that does justice to the magazine, the artist and the writer. I welcome articles that appear on my desk. I can't know everything that is happening around the world, and I try to use all those unsolicited articles that are sent to me. I also seek out, commission and encourage articles from people or about exhibitions and projects that I see or read about. Sometimes it takes time to publish everything that comes in but we average 27 articles each issue so the coverage is wide.

There can be no doubt about the importance of documentation, to be seen, to have others read about your work and follow your development as an artist, understand your motivations, and this can lead to further opportunities and experiences. And that documentation should be presented to the reader at the finest quality possible, there should be no compromises on magazine quality: paper, presentation and colour and, most importantly, content. It is a serious business. Ceramic art is a global language and communication throughout the world is rapid.

The printed word, through magazines which come to you regularly will remain as the most current, as well as the most convenient method of keeping informed about trends in our art. The internet has an important place in disseminating information as well, and our magazines are indexed and also appear on line through three different companies. That means you can buy the e-version and download it on your computer. I hope that printed magazines are here to stay, however, and that they will remain in your library as a continuing reference.

With so many ceramics-related magazines available today, one can estimate that the influence they exert is broad and we can believe that the need for them is constant. I am sure that the policy, slant, indeed the strength of each magazine resides in the owner/editor. An editor/owner needs to have definite ideas of the magazine's goals and be steadfast in adhering to them. He or she needs to follow a personal conviction and not be swayed by what is perceived to be 'popular' or what are 'hot topics' or what will attract advertisers. Magazines need not have regulations on content but should follow focused guidelines.

I had the opportunity to ask other editors about this, to describe the main goals they are seeking with their magazines. Gabi Dewald, editor of the German language Keramik Magazin, replied that she has three major goals, the first being to inform her readership about trends and tendencies in ceramic sculpture, pottery and design. She sees these fields as all-important and all deriving from one material, clay, but without hierarchy, just with different forms and intentions. She also feels, as a second goal, that it is important to build a bridge between the artists and their public by finding writers who can interpret the work, writers who can suggest ways of understanding what are an artist's intentions. This is especially true with installation art and abstract ceramics, a field that needs more support, more notice needs to be taken of these works in order for them to be fully appreciated.

I also spoke to Ronald Kuchta, editor of American Ceramics, who told me that one of the main aims of his magazine is to present ceramics as an art form. With the use of a well-defined format and an analytical interpretation of the diverse forms of ceramic art, he means to serve the intellectual and aesthetic interests of artists, collectors, educators and connoisseurs of ceramics. All these premises I concur with. I established Ceramics: Art and Perception with the objective of fostering critical international discourse because I believe that understanding the purposes of ceramic art has global implications through its practice and that the cultural differences, the backgrounds and training of artists – in different countries, expressed through their work, would lead to a stimulating dialogue, even to international goodwill.

While not all the work that I publish is strictly to my own taste, I look for what I consider to be a quality expression, from the classical to the most experimental. With the magazine Ceramics Technical I provide a venue for the publication of research on materials and processes used by ceramic artists. This magazine is intended to be a useful adjunct to ceramic practice and enable artists to realise their ideas.

I was thinking about this talk a week or so ago when I was firing my wood kiln. As the kiln became hotter reflecting the heat back towards me, I needed to provide myself with heavy gloves, long sleeves, stout boots, etc, in other words if I was prepared, I was ready to do my best with the firing. In the same way, if an artist or writer is prepared with a specific angle to address in the writing, a point of view, good photographs, it just remains to write the story, and polish it, and polish it. But it is easy to be published. And there is always the right time, a body of new work or a new slant on earlier work, a special exhibition coming up. Use the magazines – they are tools for you to promote your work to a wider audience, in my case to people in more that 60 countries – believe that other artists want to know about what you are doing, what you are thinking. We can work together and know that nothing is printed in my magazines before the author, and usually the artist too, has had the opportunity to check the layout and any editing. There is no point presenting inaccuracies.

Editors have a responsibility to their writers as well as the artists and they work with gallery directors and curators of museums. They reference history as well as look to cover the work of contemporary artists using perspective, promote scholarship, and serve as a continual reference and resource. Any magazine concerned with art and aesthetics must be attractive to look at and be both timeless and a source of current thinking. It would be nice to be just a little ahead of our readers to keep them on the edge of discovery... and this is where we rely on the artists and the people who write about them.


 
29.03.2024 - 05:39