Blessed Are The Meek
Blessed Are The Meek, 2018
Video (unfired clay, powdered chalk)
Artist Statement
The intentional ruin of ceramic objects is a practice found in ceremonies by various cultures, yet despite the violent association of the action, it is typically a symbol for celebration and transition. In Germany there is "polterabend," a custom in which, on the night before a wedding, the guests brashly break porcelain tableware to bring luck to the couple's marriage. On the Saturday before Easter, many Greeks in Corfu celebrate the coming holiday by throwing heavy water pots out of their windows to the applause of a waiting crowd. In Vietnam, they celebrate the end of typhoon season by making “pháo đất” which translates roughly as "earth cannons" where participants create large wet slabs of clay and compete for the loudest bang and longest rip by slamming them to the ground.
Reminiscent of the colorful bursts in a firework display, my video “Blessed Are The Meek” records the impact of clay vessels fashioned solely for ceremonial destruction. This action challenges the determination of value for both the object and the self. Is their greater worth in what is said or what is done? Besides than the archetypical reverence of ceramic containers for the accomplished exterior of glazes, stains, lusters, or enamels, can greater esteem be established for what is contained?
Video (unfired clay, powdered chalk)
Artist Statement
The intentional ruin of ceramic objects is a practice found in ceremonies by various cultures, yet despite the violent association of the action, it is typically a symbol for celebration and transition. In Germany there is "polterabend," a custom in which, on the night before a wedding, the guests brashly break porcelain tableware to bring luck to the couple's marriage. On the Saturday before Easter, many Greeks in Corfu celebrate the coming holiday by throwing heavy water pots out of their windows to the applause of a waiting crowd. In Vietnam, they celebrate the end of typhoon season by making “pháo đất” which translates roughly as "earth cannons" where participants create large wet slabs of clay and compete for the loudest bang and longest rip by slamming them to the ground.
Reminiscent of the colorful bursts in a firework display, my video “Blessed Are The Meek” records the impact of clay vessels fashioned solely for ceremonial destruction. This action challenges the determination of value for both the object and the self. Is their greater worth in what is said or what is done? Besides than the archetypical reverence of ceramic containers for the accomplished exterior of glazes, stains, lusters, or enamels, can greater esteem be established for what is contained?
