FREE and open to the public

Ceramics of all periods and cultures share a relationship with the human body. Whether utilitarian, ritualistic, decorative, or artistic in function, all ceramics interface with the human body in their design, manufacture, decoration, or use.  Indeed, the very nomenclature used to describe a ceramic pot – the lip, mouth, neck, shoulder, belly, and foot – is derived from the human form.  The symposium, organized in conjunction with the 28th Annual Alabama Clay Conference, will explore the relationship between ceramics and the human body by considering the subject in a broad array of historical and geographical contexts.

Speakers at the Symposium will be:

Keynote:  Magdalene Odundo, ceramic artist

Garth Clark, historian, critic, gallery owner, collector

Bonnie Kemske, ceramic artist, editor of Ceramic Review magazine

Jeannine O’Grody, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Birmingham Museum of Art

Emily Hanna, Curator of the Arts of Africa and the Americas, Birmingham Museum of Art

Julie Pierotti, Associate Curator, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis

Meghan Tierney, Ph.D. candidate, Emory University, Atlanta

SATURDAY SCHEDULE:

9am    Opening Remarks, Anne Forschler-Tarrasch, Ph.D., The Marguerite Jones Harbert and John M. Harbert III Curator of Decorative Arts

9:15am        Bonnie Kemske, Ph.D., ceramic artist, editor of Ceramic Review
Embodied Ceramics: engaging the body beyond representation

10am    Coffee Break (in conjunction with the ALCC) and free time to visit the galleries or the Clarence B. Hanson, Jr. Library

10:45am     Julie Pierotti, Associate Curator, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, TN
Celebrity Figures in English Porcelain

11:30am Emily Hanna, Ph.D., Curator of the Arts of Africa and the Americas, Birmingham Museum of Art
Clay Embodied: African Ceramics and the Human Form.  The Dick Jemison Collection of African Ceramics

12:15pm Lunch or visit the galleries

1:30pm Jeannine O’Grody, Ph.D., Chief Curator/Deputy Director, Curator of European Art, Birmingham Museum of Art
Masterpieces of Form: Michelangelo's Sculptural Models

2:15pm Meghan Tierney, Ph.D. candidate, Emory University
Considering Avian Imagery in Nasca Ceramic Effigy Vessels

3pm    Garth Clark, historian, critic, gallery owner, and collector
The Pot Tree: The Future of the Vessel in the 21st Century

3:45pm    Closing remarks and thanks