Ceramicist to Give Public Lecture

January 21, 2005

Ceramicist Mark Pharis will give a public lecture at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 25, in the Palmer Lipcon Auditorium, Palmer Museum of Art. His lecture is part of the School of Visual Arts’ Anderson Endowment Lecture Series.

According to Pharis, utility or function is just one aspect of a pot. He says the relationships between daily activity, domestic life and the “remarkable experiences” found in the studio serve as teachers. “The themes provided by function are familiar—vases, cups, teapots, et cetera. These forms represent a kind of shorthand for a longer and less obvious list of concerns, which includes—in no particular order—interactivity, material, chemistry, the realm of ideas, metaphor, formal constitution, social and cultural context, the pot’s relationship to ‘fine art’ and function as ‘idea’—the list goes on … I continue to learn how to take risks and weave these many elements together.”

For updates on the spring 2005 Anderson Endowment lecture schedule, live-casts and an online archive, visit www.sva.psu.edu/anderson.html.

Contact: Ann Shostrom, ams26@psu.edu or 863-9701