From Pots to Places

Building a Collection: Ceramics from the Weisman Art Museum

Education Programs

All events are free and open to the public

The Mingei-sota Phenomenon: A MacKenzie-Inspired Tradition

Randy Johnston

Thursday, February 10, 7:00 p.m.

Warren MacKenzie, professor emeritus in the University’s department of art, has been a powerful mentor to generations of ceramists in Minnesota and beyond. From the 1950s onward, MacKenzie helped to revive the tradition of functional ceramics. This tradition is called "mingei" by the Japanese, and is an important reference for MacKenzie’s work and philosophy. In this slide lecture, Randy Johnston discusses the functional tradition of Warren MacKenzie and the ways in which his "integrity of purpose" have influenced other artists in the Weisman’s ceramics collection.

Randy Johnston was a student of MacKenzie in the 1970s. A respected ceramist, Johnston is associate professor of art at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Beyond Function

Warren MacKenzie

Sunday, March 12, 3:00 p.m.

Reception follows program

A master of functional ceramics, Warren MacKenzie takes an intriguing detour from his usual path in this personal commentary on clay works that ignore or go beyond functional design. In addition to his many other honors, MacKenzie was the recipient of the prestigious McKnight Distinguished Artist Award in 1999.

Walk-in Clay: Ceramic Installations

Janet Koplos

Sunday, April 2, 2:00 p.m.

In the last several decades, ceramics have been used for a great range of expressive purposes that have nothing to do with traditional utility or decoration. One new direction in ceramics is the installation, a large-scale and complex environment of multiple elements. In this slide lecture, Janet Koplos discusses an international range of ceramic installations, including work by Americans Jeff Perrone and Betty Woodman, Russian Alexander Brodsky, Dutch artist Gert Lap, Briton Andrew Lord, Flemish artist Piet Stockmans, and Japanese artists Takamasa Kuniyasu and Nobuo Sekine.

Janet Koplos is senior editor at Art in America magazine in New York City. Most recently, she spoke at the 1999 Ceramic Millennium symposium in Amsterdam.