Artists combine styles to create computerized ceramics

Two artists explored the use of digital technology in ceramics in a SoFA Gallery exhibit, a collaboration resulting in a whimsical exhibition of clay pears, winding arrows and comic book-printed cups.

“Rendering and Meaning: Infinite Speed, Zero Errors & Total Memory: Creativity and Desire in the Digital Age” will run from Feb. 24 through March 13.

The two artists – Malcolm Mobutu Smith, associate professor of ceramics, and Anton Rejinders, Dutch artists, will give a gallery talk Friday, Feb. 27 at 3 p.m. in the SoFa Gallery, and an opening reception will be held that evening from 7 to 9 p.m. also in the gallery.

The collaboration between the artists investigated computer-aided design and its possibilities in ceramics.

It was made possible by the New Frontiers Visiting Visionaries Scholars Grant from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research. SoFA Gallery Director Betsy Stirrat said the gallery hosted an exhibit two years ago that used rapid prototype technology in plastics and she noticed the difference between artwork crafted purely by hand and work created using a computer.

“It’s a beautiful show and there’s a different sense to a hand-built piece,” Stirrat said. “You can’t deny that they have a different look and feel.”

Stirrat also said that although some might see digital technology as a threat to artistic talent, the pieces in the show still required human creativity and skills to take form.

“These pieces aren’t made by machine,” she said. “They’re made by hand.”

The pieces in the exhibit were made using rapid prototype technology in ceramic art.
They were designed on a computer and then constructed by a 3-D color printer that roughly sculpted the designs out of gypsum.

Rejinders and Smith also had to brush off the gypsum, the material the pieces were made of, after the pieces were printed. Some remained in a pale off-white shade, while others were printed in vivacious colors and comic book designs.

“It’s nice to see two people come together through an exchange and work,” SoFA Gallery Public Relations Director Megan Abajian said.

The contrast in printing reflects both artists’ style. Rejinders, who sculpted the pear-shaped pieces and left most of his work uncolored, has more of a quiet nature, according to Stirrat. Smith, who’s known for graffiti-inspired art, integrated comic book strips into his prints.

One of Smith’s pieces hung from the gallery’s back wall. It resembled a pipe, emerging from the wall and pouring what looked like water into a comic book-decorated cup. Smith said all the comic book characters on the cup had some relation to water.

“It’s a distorted cup pouring water into a vibrant cup,” Smith said. “They show turmoil and illustrate the liquid form.”

Smith’s favorite piece is a work of Rejinders, a seven-object line of spherical microcosms mounted on a wall.

All of the spheres contain a simple object, some easily recognizable like a pear or a twig, and others more vague in form.

“We connect with the objects,” Smith said. “We reflect on their details but under very different circumstances.”

Stirrat adds that the use of rapid prototype technology and other computerized tools is nothing new to art, and artists will continue to investigate their uses to expand their creativity.

“The show’s really unique and if people came here to look at it, it can broaden their view of art,” she said. “People need to accept that this is where the art world is going.”