AMERICAN CERAMICS: THE COLLECTION OF EVERSON MUSEUM OF ART by Barbara PerryReview by: Mary MolinaroArt Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, Vol. 8, No. 4(Winter 1989), p. 214Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Art Libraries Society of NorthAmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27948156 .

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214 Art Documentation, Winter 1989

over half of them in Festschriften and therefore not widely available. Those originally written in other languages have now been translated into a readable and largely idiomatic English. The result is a stimulating collection of ideas on various topics, mostly iconographical, ranging from the "door of death" in sepulchral art, to the changing symbolism of Judith, to the image of the defeated leader in 19th-century Romantic painting. Many of the examples are chosen from Polish collections; Bialostocki's Eastern European perspec tive, never parochial, is a useful reminder of often-overlooked masterpieces behind the Iron Curtain, such as Memlin's Last Judgment triptych in Gdansk. Bialostocki's method of anal ysis is selective rather than exhaustive; he assumes a broad general knowledge of art history on the part of his readers, but does not wander off onto the more obscure paths of iconography, and he interprets artists' intentions with a re freshing dose of common sense. One essay should be of special interest to art librarians: "The doctus art'rfex [learned artist] and the library of the artist in the XVIth and XVIIth centuries." (Bialostocki concludes that, with the exception of a few architects, "the doctrine of the doctus artifex seems to have been more of an ideal than a reality.") Although this book has a decent format and binding, the quality of the black-and-white photographs is mediocre, and the endnotes are needlessly printed at the end of the whole book instead of with their respective essays. The price, depressingly high for a book without color plates, ensures that this interesting collection will find its way only into libraries that are already likely to have the original publications.

Christina Huemer RILA?Italy

AMERICAN CERAMICS: THE COLLECTION OF EVERSON MUSEUM OF ART / Edited by Barbara Perry.?New York: Rizzoli, 1989.?400 p.: ill.?ISBN 0-8478-1025-9; LC 88-31282: $75.00.

In the world of art, ceramics as a medium has finally gained deserved recognition. Journals such as Ceramics

Monthly, American Ceramics, and Ceramic Review have a growing readership. More and more art galleries are includ ing ceramists along with sculptors, painters, and printmakers. Some galleries such as Garth Clark Gallery in Los Angeles and New York deal solely with ceramics. Museums are col lecting and mounting major exhibitions of ceramics. The Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York, is one such museum.

This catalogue, edited by Barbara Perry, a curator of ce ramics at the Everson Museum, is divided into five principal sections. The first, written by Perry, is entitled "Ancient American Ceramics." The essay discusses the work of such North American indigenous cultures as the Hohokam, the Anasazi, and those located in the Mimbres Valley and the Mississippi Valley. The essay is a straightforward historical treatment of the subject. The rich ancient ceramic cultures of Central and South America are not included and the exclu sion of the work of these cultures without having set specific parameters gives an ethnocentric perspective to the text.

The second section, "American Ceramics 1700-1880," in cludes two essays. The first, "Early Pottery and Porcelain," is by William C. Ketchum, Jr., author o? American Folk Art of the Twentieth Century (New York: Rizzoli, 1985.) He has used an historical approach to describe early American ceramics from the time European potters arrived on the shores of North America through the late 1800s. Outlined in detail are the varied clay bodies and glazes used by potteries for the principally utilitarian ware. The potters of this era were pri marily European and worked from European traditions. Ketchum indicates that as late as 1875 only 41 percent of New York's potters were native born.

The second essay in this section of the catalogue, "Early Potteries of Syracuse and Onondaga County," is by Richard Case, an editor and columnist with the Syracuse Herald Amer ican and Herald Journal, who has curated exhibitions of Onondaga County pottery for the Everson Museum. Again,

this essay takes an historical approach focusing on specific potters and potteries of Syracuse and the surrounding area. Because the Everson Museum is located in Syracuse, the ceramics of central New York is a matter of local interest and the collection of the museum reflects that interest.

The third section of this book is dedicated to the art pottery movement from 1880 to 1920. Ulysses G. Dietz, curator of decorative arts at the Newark Museum, describes art pottery as "the historic bridge between traditional ceramics and con temporary ceramics." This era was indeed a turning point for American ceramics. Dietz describes in detail the role of

women in the art pottery movement and the importance of firms such as the Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati, the New comb Pottery in New Orleans, and the Overbeck Pottery in Cambridge, Indiana, to the role of women in the ceramic arts is clearly delineated. Dietz's essay is both informative and elucidating, helping the reader better understand the rela tionship of contemporary ceramics to the utilitarian begin nings of ceramic art in this country.

Perry has written the fourth essay which covers American ceramics from 1920 to 1950. Among the topics addressed are the establishment of the university as an important breeding ground for young ceramic artists, the revival of traditional pueblo pottery at San Ildefonso Pueblo by Maria Martinez, the influences of Viennese ceramics and the Wiener

Werkst?tte on sculptural ceramics, and Depression-era projects funded by the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project. Of particular interest is the section which outlines the establishment of the Ceramic Nationals by the Syracuse Mu seum of Fine Arts (now the Everson Museum).

The final essay, by ceramic historian and gallery owner Garth Clark, discusses American ceramics since 1950. Clark presents an insightful narrative covering such topics as the Orienal influences of the early 1950s, Peter Voulkos and his students at the Otis Art Institute, Robert Arneson and the funk movement, the "Super-Object" of the 1970s, the can cellation of the Ceramic Nationals by the Everson Museum, and the growth in importance of private collectors and art galleries to the popularity of the medium.

American ceramics has had a long and interesting history and the collection of the Everson documents this history. This catalogue documents the museum's collection. Herein lies one major problem with this book; the coverage of the subject, with a book of this kind, can only be as comprehen sive as the collection it documents. While the ceramics col lection at the Everson is extensive, it is not, as evidenced by this book, comprehensive. Many major contributors to the field have not been included. Where are pieces by Patti War ashina, Howard Kottler, or William Daley?

Another problem with the book is the arrangement of the entries. Artists (and ceramic firms) are arranged alpha betically within each chronological section, with the artists' biographies preceding the catalogue entries of their work. Initially this does not appear to be a problem, but with the broad time periods covered (1880-1920,1920-1950, etc.) this arrangement gives the reader no chronological sense of the work being presented. In the medium of ceramics, vast changes have taken place within 30-to-40-year time spans and a more precise chronological bearing is essential. To add to the confusion, the reader will also find some artists' biog raphies with their catalogue entries on one page only to find it necessary to turn the page to find the accompanying plate.

The book is heavily illustrated with high-quality photographs (a great number of them in color); it has an excellent bibli ography, and is well indexed. While Garth Clark's book American Ceramics, 1876 to the

Present (New York: Abbeville, 1987) and Elaine Levin's The History of American Ceramics, 1607 to the Present (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988) are both overall surveys of American ceramics, it is indeed a pleasure to see the wonderful collec tion this museum has to offer. If only one or two surveys of American ceramics are to be purchased, this book would not be a first or second choice, but if a library has the resources, space and patron interest to warrant purchasing more, this book should be among those purchased.

Mary Molinaro Broward County Libraries

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