Clay Revisited: Tradition in Shards (Caroline McCrady)

Clay Revisited: Traditions in Shards

Caroline McCrady

Me at the Exhibit

On December 6^th, I visited the exhibit Clay Revisited: Traditions in Shards and learned a lot more about sculptures and ceramics than I ever have. When thinking of an art exhibit, I usually just think of the art as something to look at rather than read more into the meaning of the art. I was thoroughly impressed by the ceramics that were on display at this exhibit.

Minuteman Sculpture

One sculpture that really stuck out to me was named Minuteman and was created in 1982 by Robert Arneson. This piece was unlike anything that I have ever seen with a bloody, deformed head of a man on what appears to be an iron cross. When making my own assumptions of Arneson’s work, I first thought it was making a biblical reference because the cross was the biggest part of the sculpture which could signify its importance. The head really made me start to think about the meaning behind this sculpture. First, there are large and deep wrinkles on the mans head which could represent wisdom because of his old age or deep thought about something of a serious matter. Next, there is blood all over his face and what appears to me to be three bullet holes in his head. I believe that this symbolizes some type of war or altercation because of all of the blood and bullet holes. On his forehead there appears to be a target which really led me to believe that this sculpture represented some type of war because he was being targeted in the head with the intent of killing.

Picture of the Arlington National Cemet

After reading the description behind the piece of work, I was even more interested in the sculpture. It stated that Arneson is considered one of the most prominent ceramic sculptures in his field of work and blends his comedic side and political views into a style of his own. Minuteman was specifically created to bring attention to the problems associated with President Ronald Reagan’s time in office. While the cross did have some biblical meaning behind it, the cross was primarily meant to represent the grave markers in Arlington National Cemetery. While all of the markers in Arlington National Cemetery are white, Arenson used black materials to make the grave markers to look burned to signify the consequences of using nuclear weapons.