51³ÉÈËÁÔÆæ

Course Description

Summary

The contemporary art world has shown a renewed interest in collective activities and collaborative initiatives that focus on activism as well as reshaping or inventing new educational formats in recent years. We will explore the concept of placemaking and consider ways to use the distinctive utilitarian aspects of ceramics in creating a place where people with various skills can work together to achieve common goals, share interests, critique lifestyles, form production methods, and consider political stances. Researching integral dialogues about collaborative art practices involving ceramics, and surveying examples of community-building projects by artists such as Theaster Gates, this class aspires to serve as a jumping-off point for developing a reciprocal learning community at Bennington campus and its environs. While realizing that interdisciplinary collective working processes rely on individual standpoints, students will design functional ceramic objects that can be used in activities such as workshops, performances and communal meals. Ceramic skills are not mandatory to this class.