reading 3

In the essay, Where What's Done Comes Undone (Is a Museum), Ezra Shales writes about a topic that is often discussed in the world of ceramics, whether or how art is affected when it is placed into the confines of a museum or art gallery. When so much of the beauty of ceramics comes from the ability to handle and touch the object's glaze and clay textures, it is difficult to appreciate work as much when it is placed upon a pedestal, as when it is found in the home. Shales takes this stance, and describes the perks of being able to handle an object as well as the connection it allows you to make to the artwork that a more formal setting could not.

Shales also brings up an interesting point about how people only see the "boutique best of all", or the final pieces of art like a final draft in literature, not the "historical flaw" that lead to the perfect museum piece, and how the flawed piece can give us more insight and understanding to the final piece. We know more about the process in which it was made and we are able to understand the flaws because we aren't perfect either. This reminds me of the "hand of the artist" being left behind. This seems to correlate to the ability to feel the textures and flaws of the clay or glaze. The hand of the artists invites us to touch the same spots they touched and can enable us to share the experience with the artwork and become more connected with it.

Connection is an important thing in art, in the ability to sell it to others but also in expressing ones-self or an idea, and physical connection can be stronger than just the ability to view something. Long after a sight or image disappears, the touch remains in one's memory and on their fingertips. Shales says that, "Our eyes move too fast and don't slow us down," the way that feeling an object can and I agree. The placement of artwork in a museum setting can take away some of the excitement and understanding of a piece, but is a necessary display for realistic viewing. If every museum could allow it's visitors to handle the artwork people would perhaps have a better experience and appreciation for the work but there would also be a lot more accidents and broken ceramics. Perhaps ceramics were meant to be handled, loved,  used "as tools for feasting", and eventually broken as we as humans are, instead of being placed on a pedestal or behind a locked door for most of their lives.

Erin Doherty