Creating a ceramic piece is a process that takes a great deal of time and effort from an artist. The piece must be molded, textured, glazed and fired before it can be considered a final product. Artists aren’t spending their time in vain though. Often, ceramic-wear outlasts its creator by hundreds – if not thousands – of years.

From Feb. 21 until March 8, a series of ceramics dating from 7,000 B.C. until as recent as the early 20th century will be on display at the Crossman Gallery in the Greenhill Center of the Arts.

According to assistant professor of the arts Jared Janovec, the pieces, which come from Africa, Asia and the Americas, have been generously loaned to the exhibit by Douglas Dawson, a prominent art collector and owner of the Douglas Dawson Gallery in Chicago.

While the creators of the pieces on display lived continents and centuries apart, their pieces have many similarities.

“I encourage viewers to notice and consider the similarities that certain objects have beyond their general material similarities,” Janovec said. “To some degree, utilitarian vessel forms are linked globally by formal characteristics. Consider how people refer to a ceramic vessel as either a jar, bowl, vase, plate, cup, etc. It is fairly easy to understand how specific human needs, relative to the consumption and storage of food or drink, drive the development of a vessel’s basic but characteristic form, scale and proportional arrangement. This is logical. A drinking vessel makes little sense if its physicality is too heavy or too large. What I find more fascinating and somewhat mysterious are the links in imagery, pattern and texture from cultures that are separated by centuries and even millennia.”

In spite of the vast time span these pieces cover, many of them are still relevant today.

“Many of the pieces in the show embody a sense of timelessness,” Janovec said. “In other words, it’s almost as if some of the pieces could have been made in 2011. With each piece to piece there are varying degrees of technical mastery and finesse that are evident.”
Janovec said it is important to remember that these historical works and the vast majority of historical ethnographic art in general, were produced by skilled artisans.

“I would argue that some pieces in the show would be very difficult to replicate, even for the contemporary trained and fairly well-versed potter or sculptor,” Janovec said.

The artwork ranges from functional objects like a tea bowl and low bowl from Japan, to storage vessels from Africa, to an amazing figure of a Shaman from the pre-Columbian era, according to Michael Flanagan, director of the Crossman Gallery.

Dawson will make a special appearance at the Crossman Gallery tomorrow at noon to discuss the exhibit.