About Barnaby Barford

British artist Barnaby Barford is an Associate Lecturer at Central Saint Martins in London right now. At the Royal College of Art, he earned an MA in ceramics and glass. He was a student on the Erasmus Socrates exchange program in Faenza, Italy. He completed his 3D design bachelor's degree at the University of Plymouth.
The enormous Tower of Babel at the Victoria and Albert museum in London is one of his most notable recent critical triumphs. Three thousand bone china houses make up the 6.5 m-tall Tower of Babel. Each of the pieces depicts real shops in London as photographed by Barford himself.
Society
Barford Is well recognized by the society. According to Barford himself, he is in love with his city, London. His work, Tower of Babel, celebrates trade and commerce that flourishes around the city. As a native of the city, he poses a question to other dwellers, whether their consumerism has engulfed their citizenship.

Technique

His technique involves the use of everyday objects in order to make a larger ensemble. Each piece represents something that connects to the bigger theme of his work. In his work “The Seven Deadly Sins” he chose mirrors to represent humans and although they are beautiful aesthetically, the representations are also captivating. For example, “Lust” was a mirror adored with flower with each petal looking like porn star faces.

Belief

In November 2016, Barford launched his latest body of work entitled “ME WANT NOW”. The work offers a highlight of the self-centric nature of humans. Barford showed that large scale phenomenon such as power, hope, change, and greatness, tends to boil down to our self-desires. This particular work shows that Barford believes that an insatiable need for more almost constantly leads to discontent. As with his previous works, Barford exhibited great contrast between what he wanted to project and the elements he use for the piece.



Robert Harrison

History

Robert Harrison has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Ceramics. He is currently teaching and was previously an administrative officer in Ceramic Programs both in Canada and USA. Harrison is well known for his large architectural sculptures which he evolves continually. He also exhibits smaller scale studio works. He is generally interested in history and world cultures, and has not passed up on opportunities to work and travel on foreign lands. He also published a book, “Sustainable Ceramics” which discusses the factors to consider when switching to alternative firing technology and methods that are energy efficient compared to the traditional ways.

Society

Harrison is well recognized in the society. In 2007, he was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. A year later, he was awarded from the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, the Meloy Stevenson Award of excellence.

Technique

Robert Harrison is a pioneer in sustainable ceramics. He ought to produce works that are environment friendly and socially responsible aside from being beautifully designed and skillfully produced.

Belief

Robert Harrison believes that there are socially responsible ways to collect clay, use it, and produce craftworks. On his book, he suggests methods to reduce the carbon footprint of the entire workflow of producing ceramic art.

Environment

Harrison acknowledges that working with ceramics is not a green activity. Knowing its impacts on the environment, he devised some ways in order to make it a sustainable industry. In his book, he even featured artists who are currently working with ceramics in a sustainable manner in order to encourage other and spread the awareness.

Lucie Rie

History

Lucie Rie was born in Vienna, 1902. She studied at the Vienna Kunstgewerbeschule, a technical school. She was thirty when she began to exhibit her work in France and Italy. Like many other fine potters,, her work demonstrated a strong feeling of form.

After the war, she worked with a young guy named Hans Coper. In 1948, she started working in porcelain and stoneware. Rie and Coper was commonly exhibited together and they benefited promotions from the ceramic expert and critic, Cyril Frankel.

Her life is quite popular as there are many authors who wrote about her. She even became a subject of a BBC film. After her death, her works drew the same attention as before and is still a subject in prestigious exhibitions.

Technique

Rie learned to pottery in Vienna in the 1920s. She studied under the great designer Josef Hoffmann, at the Arts and Design School. Hoff man was a man who strongly believes that handmade objects are made for simple luxuries. His vision of all the artworks and crafts depended on his wealthy and educated patronage. Rie benefited from his mentor’s ideas in her early career. Her pots – mainly dishes and bowls – were glazed to give a pitted and rugged surface. These kinds of pots are the ones that fit perfectly on Modernist apartments. They are gaining popularity today. Afterwards, she shifted from earthenware to porcelain and glass craftwork.

Belief

When Rie came to London, she tried to adapt the prominent designs that prevail at that time. When she met Coper, he told her to go back to what she used to do in Vienna. Her work became predominantly with a tough of humanity as she calls it. There are slight dents on the lips of the bowls and some interiors are left with the markings of fingerprints. Rie believes that this makes her work unique.



References

De Waal, E., 2003. 20th century ceramics. Thames & Hudson.

Honey, W.B., 1933. English pottery and porcelain. A. &C. Black, London.

Livingstone, A. and Kim, J.A., 2011. Ceramic Arts and Design for a Sustainable Society (pp. 36-53). Frolunda Culture centre.

Perryman, J., 2008. Naked clay: ceramics without glaze. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Pulley, R., 2011. Feeling good. Craft Research, 2(1), pp.97-114.

Schwartz, J.S., 2008. Confrontational ceramics: the artist as social critic. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Turner, R., 2002. Barnaby Barford and Lee Critchlow: Ceramic Illusions.

Wood, D., 2006. Catalogue of map artists. Cartographic Perspectives, (53), pp.61-68.