bryce brisco's Page

While I do not think that pottery or the act of making pottery will change the world, I do maintain that the production and use of handmade objects is a way to counteract the consumer glut we as Americans have found ourselves entrenched in. Corporate responses to the demands of a growing western cult of domesticity ultimately bred a culture that appreciates convenience over quality, time saved rather than time spent, and artificial homogeneity rather than local distinction. As the sphere of corporate influence continues to find its way further into our daily lives, distinctions between locality become erased, the handmade is relegated to functionless art-objecthood, and craft people become antiquated oddities. In addition to these processes, our western enculturation has led us to believe that anything falling even remotely within the boundaries of “art” should not be handled and is for display and visual appreciation only.
It is with these issues bearing very much in the forefront of my mind that I pursue a career in handmade functional pottery. I seek to become a professional artist working within the framework of tradition, rather than seek novelty to its own ends. I am operating under the assumption that pottery continues to be a valid art form because it provides the opportunity for localized, independent commerce to provide a functional product that can enhance aesthetic experience through use. While I do not believe that such a simple equation will bring the behemoth of industrialized society grinding to a halt, I do believe that it can elevate people’s basic sensory and intellectual experiences, and in terms of local economy serve as a proactive way to resist globalism.
As citizens of a highly informed, late capitalist country we are growing decidedly more aware of the origins and circumstances that surround the products we buy. I conclude, therefore that we as artists are accountable to exploit our unique position to produce items that educate, as well as operate responsibly on all levels. Rather than creating work that browbeats the audience with messages of political dogma, I believe I am more effective producing work that is ethical in it’s creation and consumption, strives for a practical integrity in function, and a straightforward honesty in design.