Essay
The Warren MacKenzie Platter included in the Faulconer Gallery, Grinnell College Art Collection encapsulates several of the potter’s goals and is an excellent example of the utilitarian tradition which MacKenzie initiated in the Midwest. By examining the decoration, process, function, and title of the piece, it is possible to see how Platter is a prime example of MacKenzie’s artistic objects and how those goals were influenced by Bernard Leach.
The Platter is a large concave spherical shape with an approximate diameter of 19 inches and a height of six inches, weighing about 15 to 20 pounds. Gestural markings inside the object stand as the main decoration. The vessel’s surface, a shino glaze, ranges from white to burnt orange with darker blemishes across the surface. The surface greatly reflects the time in which the work was produced as shino glazes were very popular in the 1970s and 80s. The small cluster of organic lines inside the platter is iconic in MacKenzie’s style. Garth Clark describes MacKenzie’s approach to activating the surface as “brusquely decorated” and “casually edited” (44). Paul Donhauser delineates the decoration as “direct and spontaneous brush decorations…[MacKenzie’s] work [is] conspicuous for its spirited thrown quality as well as for its brush work which was very much in the spirit of Oriental pottery” (115).
The process of creating the lines on Platter uses wax resist. The potter applies wax in a pattern on a glazed piece then glazes the object again. After glaze firing, the wax will burn off to reveal the first layer of glaze. This technique is used in Japan and is thought to have been brought to America by Leach, a prominent British potter, and his disciples, including MacKenzie (Donhauser 115). In the case of Platter, the artist likely administered decorative slip to the inside surface of the object, applied wax by dipping his finger or using brushes, and then glazed the entire object. This process allowed the lines to appear as a terracotta shade even though the artist used stoneware clay. The use of stoneware is apparent by examining the bottom edge of the platter, which generally is hidden because it rests on the surface, such as a table, supporting the object. Since the clay medium is not terracotta, it is likely that an oxide was used to darken the inside of the platter prior to the application of the shino glaze.
Through this examination of the quality and craft of the throwing lines, it is possible to understand the artist’s attitude towards throwing and decorating. Upon examining the surface of the piece, small ridges become obvious. These ridges are throwing lines. Some potters attempt to hide the process and minimize the indentions created while throwing on the wheel. In contrast, MacKenzie keeps the throwing lines. Although the simplicity of the shape and surface of the piece may seem amateur, Clark rebuts this argument by stating in American Potters that “there is an anonymity and minimalism that can be penetrated only through intimacy of use” (44). Elaine Levine states in The History of American Ceramics: 1607 to Present that “[MacKenzie] had learned from Leach that repetitive throwing gave the potter a sense of ease with the form and an intuitive feeling for the process; after that kind of concentrated effort the potter was free to approach form in an expressive manner” (199). MacKenzie includes the throwing lines not due to lack of knowledge of the medium, but as a conscious aesthetic decision as an artist. This decision reflects MacKenzie’s desire to simplify the final products and focus more on function rather than aesthetics.
MacKenzie carries out his ideals for utilitarian art by producing functional works. The platter on display is a large bowl that is minimally decorated. Due to the concave form, the final product can become a vessel to hold objects. The simple decoration inside the platter also encourages utilitarian use. If the final product was more decorated, placing objects inside the piece would detract from the original work and not be aesthetically pleasing. However, with minimal decoration, the platter can hold objects without losing its original beauty. Not only does its function as a platter represent MacKenzie’s goal of creating functional art and giving it a use in daily life, but the title Platter also delineates the artist’s simple and utilitarian approach to ceramics.
MacKenzie introduced a new, simpler form of ceramics to the United States. His focus on creating multiple, functional forms during a time when American potters were creating one-of-a- kind aesthetic works was a bold statement and one that has stayed important today. Platter is just one example of MacKenzie’s work, but it exemplifies many of his objectives and artistic qualities.
-A.F.
Sources
Clark, Garth. American Ceramics: 1876 to Present. New York: Abbeville
Press, 1987. Print.
Clark, Garth. American Potters: The Work of Twenty Modern Masters. New
York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1981. Print.
Donhauser, Paul S. History of American Ceramics: The Studio Potter.
Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co, 1978. Print.
Levine, Elaine. The History of American Ceramics; 1607 to Present. New
York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1988. Print.
Peterson, Susan. Contemporary Ceramics. New York: Watson-Guptill
Publications, 2000. Print.
Biography
Warren MacKenzie is an American potter who greatly impacted the nation’s style and view of ceramics. At a time when potters concentrated on designing sophisticated, unique works, Warren and his wife, Alix, established a ceramic utopia in Stillwater, Minnesota, where they focused on throwing simple, utilitarian forms. Their work continues to have an effect on American ceramics today (Levine 199).
Warren MacKenzie was born in Kansas City in 1924 and graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1947 (Clark 44). In 1950 MacKenzie and Alix apprenticed under Bernard Leach, a prominent studio potter in Britain. Leach is best known for introducing American and British potters to contemporary Japanese practices (Donhauser 111). He did this through his book, A Potter’s Book, and his apprentices. In his own work, Leach incorporated the knowledge and experience he gained while apprenticing and working in Japan, such asymmetric calligraphic decoration. While working under Leach, MacKenzie learned the Leach-ian ideals of simplicity, utilitarianism, and repetition. For example, MacKenzie was expected to create 150 to 400 pots every three weeks (Galusha 5). Two years later, at the end of the intense apprenticeship, MacKenzie relocated to Stillwater, Minnesota, near Minneapolis and built a country workshop modeled on what he learned in England (Levine 199). MacKenzie states that although he was influenced by “Shoji Hamada and Korean pottery…Leach has always guided my thinking [in attitudes and goals]” (Galusha 6).
This move signaled a significant change in American ceramics. During the 1950s, potters were not interested in functional wares, but instead produced individual pots emphasizing aesthetics rather than function (Clark, American Potters 44). Not only did MacKenzie set up a country studio, but he also hosted workshops and became a professor of art at the University of Minnesota, allowing him to further spread his ideas and techniques (Peterson 170). Garth Clark states in American Potter: The Work of Twenty Modern Masters that MacKenzie “has become one of the leading spokesmen in the United States for the functional potter” (44). Clark further expounds in American Ceramics: 1876 to Present that “[MacKenzie] has been one of the major forces in the United States in establishing the aesthetic-philosophical credo of the functional potter, based on his affinities with the Anglo-Oriental beliefs of Leach” (280). By incorporating Leach-ian ideals, MacKenzie diversified American pottery by producing simple, hand-thrown, and functional wares with gestural shapes and decorations. MacKenzie stands apart from many of his contemporaries through focusing on simplicity, utility and low prices, as opposed to expensive decorative works.
-A.F.
Sources
Clark, Garth. American Ceramics: 1876 to Present. New York:
Abbeville Press, 1987. Print.
Clark, Garth. American Potters: The Work of Twenty Modern Masters.
New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1981. Print.
Donhauser, Paul S. History of American Ceramics: The Studio Potter.
Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co, 1978. Print.
Galusha, Emily and Mary Ann Nord, Eds. Clay Talks: Reflections by
American Master Ceramists. Minneapolis, MN: Northern Clay Center, 2004. Print.
Levine, Elaine. The History of American Ceramics; 1607 to Present.
New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1988. Print.
Peterson, Susan. Contemporary Ceramics. New York: Watson-Guptill
Publications, 2000. Print.
