Tulip Vases Assignment #2

In my "research" (Google image search) for tulip vases I came across many images of the traditional stacked vases that were shown in Stevens overview. some of the less traditional forms i found were not from ceramic artists but were from designers- typically dutch designers- go figure. these items were produced as a design product not a a singular piece of art. that doesn't in my mind make the work less important as an inspirational reference, but I want to keep in mind that they were also designed for ease of mass production- meaning details and possibly some form has been sacrificed.

my first example here was such a piece- it was made for production as a tulip vase- I was not able to find an artist or designer unfortunately. this work stood out to me due to the fact that it very clearly defies the traditional structure of the quite orderly and symmetrical tulip vases. Rather than being rigidly uniform this vase takes on an organic form and seems to be growing itself.  this vase does have the vertical-ity of the traditional tulip vases as well as "stem tubes".

This  tulip vase was created by the Dutch designer Ineke Hans, again this strays from the traditional tulip vase yet has elements of the tulip vase form. I enjoy the sheer minimalism of this in contrast to the traditional vases- it is one unit, has a solid mat finish and yet still reads as refined and as a tulip vase.

this is a wonderful Tulip vase that is produced by a ceramics company called Cor Unum. I like that it takes the traditional form of a house and utilizes the chimney for the tulip "spouts". In today's modern times we have shed the Value of the tulip (compared to how it was perceived in history) thus we have little use for a formal tulip vase. similarly we have converted most of our homes from wood fire to- electric or gas furnaces to heat homes- making the chimney a thing of the past. yet it is an instantly recognizable symbol of a home- its what children draw to delineate a home from just a square and a triangle. I was also able to find a video of the production process which looks very hands on.

 this was yet another piece that was mass produced as a product, frankly i think that it is ugly- yet I feel the idea is good. I like the way that vertical is achieved and that the bud vase is hanging in mid air. the attention to negative space is a very good idea.

now this work is more of an installation, not a vase but I (sometimes) like the concept of creating words or even sentences to spell out to the viewer your statement. this is a part of  Thomas Muller's "Nothing Rhymes With Orange" the letters are ceramic, made into sentences that have been literally fragmented. I am inspired by the form of this work.

Similarly I am inspired by Lihong Li's work. here instead of using words an letters Li takes recognizable brands and forms that are cheap, and highly recognizable and crafts them in a traditional way. these pieces speak to the loss of culture through capitalism- and the cheapening of quality of life. - though they are not vases I think that the concept could be translated int a vase form. 

I wanted to incorporate one of the very cheesy slip molded works. this particular wino was produced by an Italian company, Barsotinni Ceramics. I remember seeing these as a kid in older peoples houses, on a bar or a hutch or at thrift stores. they make light of the drunk, poke fun at a pretty serious situation, now I am not trying to be a prude here- i enjoy a libation and imbibe beyond what I should from time to time, but I was always saddened by these sculptures- I would be surprised if these are still in production now a days due to the sadness and trauma that alcoholism causes. - these were produced(not at the same time frame) not for the higher classes like the tulip vases, but for the middle and lower class- there was defiantly a lack of craft in the making of these pieces yet I think that something about them could be tied into the tulip vase- to question the historical "worth" of the purchased object.