Cush

2011 • 19 sayfa • EN

Yazan Christopher Pickett, University of Florida Digital Collections

Regardless of age, class or culture, the human desire for comfort is universal. No matter how all consuming or fleeting, the ephemeral sensation of comfort momentarily insulates one from anxiety and unease. The catalysts for these passing moments are often related to our emotional experience of nostalgia or predisposed perception. The project in lieu of thesis, Cush, examines the use of form, color and design in functional pottery, and how these elements can be used to evoke a sense of comfort and ease that can be experienced by the audience both aesthetically and through use. The formal language of my work is suggestive of the comforting nature of physical intimacy, casual interaction, community and childhood. Cush uses functional ceramic vessels to cater to the human desire for physical and emotional comfort and gratification. These vessels use visual language to reference memory traces relating to comfort. The primary device used to activate these memory traces is form. Generous volumes are metaphors for our own bodies, which signify the comforts of physical intimacy while simultaneously referencing childlike items, such as toys and stuffed animals. Casually constructed, exaggerated pillow forms create a desire to physically interact with the work. Voluptuous forms awaken our preconceptions of volume and what it represents: the allure of vitality, sensuality, generosity and abundance. Generosity of form rather than economy of space, allows these vessels to evoke a sense of delight / fulfillment/ pleasure using colorful, casually constructed forms that suggest a sense of play and ease. The value of these vessels lies in their ability to provide a transformative personal experience through use, rather than to address needs of utility, necessity, or convenience.