We Specialize in the Wholly Impossible [-Nannie Helen Burroughs]
A blog of discovering clay. A chance to explore the philosophy and practicalities of twenty-first century pots. A collection of leads for my students and myself.
The elongated spout of this vessel is bird-shaped, with the head of the
bird curving back towards its tail. The imaginative shape is typical of
Iranian ceramics of this period.
As you’ve probably heard, Frida Kahlo is coming to the Brooklyn Museum! Our exhibition, opening in February, is based on the 2012 Mexico City exhibition Appearances Can Be Deceiving: The Dresses of Frida Kahlo and the V&A museum’s recent Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up. While we are very excited and honored to be exhibiting the artist’s personal objects from La Casa Azul and paintings from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art, the upcoming exhibition also offers us an opportunity to delve deeper into our own collection of Mesoamerican Art. From pre-columbian figurines to 20th century tablewares, fifty works from the collection will be on view—some for the very first time.
Some of the Brooklyn Museum objects that will be exhibited have personal connections with the artist and her inner circle - such as this pitcher (below) which is on long term loan from Frances F. Paine, who can be seen standing next to Kahlo in the image on the right below; Curator Nancy Rosoff chose others for their similarity to objects that decorated the artist’s home, Casa Azul, or reference different aspects of her life and work.
[On left: Pitcher with Handle, L32.195; On right: From left to right: doctor Leo Eloesser, Frances F. Payne, Frida Kahlo, Jean Charlot, Elie Faure, Diego Rivera. Cuernavaca, August 1931. Courtesy of the Rockefeller Archive Center]
After the objects were selected for the exhibition, our museum conservators get the lucky job of examining, photographing, and researching each one going on view. The snapshot below shows some of the works waiting to be photographed. Once inspected, objects may be cleaned, undergo treatments to become more stable, or have custom mounts made if they need additional support. For example, graduate intern Chantal Stein used toned Japanese tissues to secure the wheels of this small dog figurine to limit movement that could lead to damage.
On left: Image of objects on cart awaiting documentation; On right: During treatment image of Wheeled Effigy in the Form of a Dog, 2009.2.29
More of these incredible works will be featured in the coming months but in the meantime, enjoy these amazing images of the Casa Azul which serve as a sneak peek of the types of works that will be on view on February 8th! Lastly, we leave you with an image of a lab favorite: the pregnant Dog Figure whose cousin can also seen at the Walters Museum in Baltimore.
Colima. Dog Figure, 200 B.C.E.-500 C.E. Ceramic, 11 ¼ × 8 ½ × 16 ¾ in. (28.6 × 21.6 × 42.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum. One of the selected artifacts for the upcoming Frida Kahlo show that will reflect her personal, material world. How many formal attributes of this work contribute to its remarkably animated character?
I’ve got such a soft spot for the vibrant colours and beautiful patterns of Iznik fritware. This tile is exemplary of the motifs and hues used at one of the most prolific pottery centres of the Ottoman Empire. The V&A has an amazing collection of Iznik wares, both in the Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art, and in the extensive Ceramics Galleries.
The simultaneous humbleness of this tankard - rough red clay surface, casually finished edges - alongside its delightful off-center animation and dynamic negative spaces pack a happy punch.
This
vessel is a flattened round shape with the bottom half painted brown.
Also brown on the bottom half of the stubby neck and side lugs, to which
is tied a leather thong. The top half has a severely worn white ground
over which a whirlwind figure in red and brown is painted. The white
ground area is encircled with a stripe. A piece of corn cob was used as a
stopper. https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/canteen-37485
