Deconstructing Failure: The Ceramic Works of Peter Voulkos

Acknowledgements

The foundation of this thesis was laid in the spring of 2013, when I was a newly transferred student at California College of the Arts (CCA). At the time, Kari Marboe, my ceramics Professor, had brought our class to the Oakland Museum of California and it was there that my peers and I were first introduced to American West Coast Ceramics. During that visit, I was exposed to Peter Voulkos’ ceramic oeuvre, such as Ice Bucket (1993), for the first time. This experience however, was not love at first sight. Far from it, I initially found Ice Bucket to be a strange and unattractive piece. Three years later, it is now a central subject in my thesis, having radically transformed my view of the ceramic medium. In many ways, Deconstructing Failure: The Ceramic Works of Peter Voulkos is a reflection of my paradigm shift as a writer and critic.  Nonetheless, it is just as much a collaborative product that arose from multiple chance encounters with fellow artists, craftspeople, designers, intellectuals, philosophers and theorists that paved my academic journey at California College of the Arts. In recognition of the many Professors, Lecturers and peers whose cumulative efforts have made this experience possible, I would like to extend my appreciation towards each one of you.

Firstly, I would like to thank the Department Chair of Visual Studies, Jordana Moore Saggese, for her efforts in mapping out the requirements for my Senior Project class and organizing the Visual Studies Symposium 2016. Thank you for giving me the valuable opportunity to publicly present my thesis in an accessible, interactive format. Also, a big thank you to my Thesis Director, Professor Kathy Zarur who was an excellent coach and mentor in my last semester. My writing and public speaking skills have benefitted exponentially from your exuberant and supportive teaching approach. I would like to thank my Thesis Advisor, Professor Elizabeth Mangini for her patient and dedicated efforts in fact-checking my thesis content. I would be lost without your keen knowledge regarding Abstract Expressionism and post-war art. I would also like to thank Lisa Conrad, CCA’s Digital Scholarship Librarian, for her wry sense of humor and inexhaustible patience in answering my endless flow of questions about digital scholarship and legal copyright issues. To Professor Jeanette Roan, thank you for your astute humor and teaching me the importance of organization and clarity as a critical writer. To Professors Karen Fiss, Viet Le, Patricia Maloney and Scholar-in-residence, Christian Frock, thank you for introducing me to the pivotal role of ethics in the arts, as well as the political and social responsibilities of being a professional critic and writer.

I would also like to thank the Professors and Lecturers at CCA’s ceramic department. To the Ceramics Chair, Nathan Lynch and Lecturer, Kari Marboe, thank you both for igniting my love for ceramics and inspiring me to begin my own creative practice. To my Lecturer, Eric Scollon, thank you for your boundless energy in imparting your vast knowledge on Craft theory, as well as generously sharing your graduate thesis on ceramics. We had many illuminating conversations regarding the role of embodiment in ceramics and I am grateful to have been your student. I would like to thank Professor Nancy Selvin, who was Voulkos’ student at the University of California, Berkeley. Thank you for your enthusiasm in my writing and taking time out of your busy schedule in order to give me interviews on three separate occasions. They have been invaluable towards the structuring of my argument. To Professor Arthur Gonzalez, thank you for an “aha” moment that was pivotal in redirecting the flow of my thesis. Without the serendipitous conversation we had with Professor Selvin regarding the role of failure and perfection in Voulkos’ practice, my thesis would have turned out very differently.

Next, I would like to thank the Dean of Humanities and Sciences, Juvenal Acosta for recommending me to take up writing as a minor. Thank you for believing that I was a good writer when I did not. I’ll probably get around to writing a novel someday. To the good Professors of the Writing department, a big thank you to Professor Anne Shea for her enthusiasm and being a muse-like presence during the early stages of thesis-writing. Working with you has been a great joy and inspiration. I would also like to thank Eric Olson for his energetic and engaging approach towards teaching (Western) literary critical theory. Thank you for introducing me to Immanuel Kant and Jacques Derrida, whose writings have critically informed my thesis. Literary theory hasn’t been the same ever since. I would also like to thank my poetry Professor, Joseph Lease who taught us about paradoxes and ambiguity, as well as how they can expose subtle truths too easily overlooked.

I would also like to extend my thanks to Professors William Alschuler, Javier Arbona, Makeda Best, Howard Eige, Professor Susan Gevirtz, Caroline Goodwin, Matthew Iribarne, Michael Leonard, Melinda Luisa de Jesus, Julian Myers-Szupinska, John Rapko, Michael Schneider, Leslie Townsend and Lecturer, Amy K Lee. A big thank you to each of you for the many intellectual exchanges that have enriched my academic life at CCA. To Mike Rothfeld, thank you for scanning and sending me the signature page of my thesis. You’ve been a real lifesaver!

To my beloved peers, Lorenzo Cardim Dealmeida, Jeffrey Bussey, Shelley Carr, Abraham Chan, Assal Gheysari, Vivian Harp, Marte Hexberg-Fitzwater, Aya Kusch, Patricia Leal, Bo Luengsuraswat, Marissa Medina, Bonny Nahmias, Fabian Pablo, Dylan Pliskin, Megan Rowe, Esther Sadeli, Laura Thomas, Yau Chung Tong, Tenzin Tsomo, Lisa Wong, Katrina Wu, Eden Yisak, Jessica Young, Zhou Zoe Yuan and not least, Mahmoud Zaini, thank you for the many enlightening conversations we shared. I wish you all the best for your future endeavors! Most of all, I would also like to thank my good friend, Min Jin Kim, who kindly offered to model a three-dimensional, cross-section of Voulkos’ sculpture for me when I was facing image copyright issues. I truly do not know what I would have done without your help.

Finally, I would like to thank the American Craft Council, Foster Gwin Gallery and the University Art Galleries at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, University of California, Irvine for granting me permission to use images of Voulkos and his ceramic work. Your generous support in terms of burgeoning scholarship and education in the arts is deeply appreciated.
 

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