December Issue 2000
York County Exhibit Celebrates SC Pottery & Ceramic Arts
Billy Ray Hussey
The Difference in Dirt: South Carolina Pottery and Ceramic Arts opened Nov. 11 at the Museum of York County in Rock Hill, SC, with over 250 works displayed in the first three of five exhibitions focusing on the state's long tradition of fashioning pottery and other utensils from clay. The November openings included The Difference in Dirt: Traditional Pottery from South Carolina on view through Aug. 19, 2001, and The Difference in Dirt: Contemporary Ceramic Arts of South Carolina on view through Aug. 5, 2001. Also on view is the first of three The Difference in Families exhibitions beginning with an exploration of the critically acclaimed pottery of the Robbins family, traditional Catawba potters who live and work in York County which will run through Jan. 21, 2001. These exhibitions are funded in part by Bowater, The Charlotte Observer, Jim and Judy Udick and the SC Arts Commission.
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Billy Henson
The name Difference in Dirt recognizes the different types of clay characterizing South Carolina's natural clay resources. Grey Catawba clay has been used for generations by Catawba Native American potters. Bethune is yellow clay found upstate in the areas in and around Kershaw. Kaolin, abundant in the Edgefield district, is white. Kaolin is one of the clays used in making porcelain and during the post-colonial era Carolina kaolin was shipped to the Wedgwood pottery works in Europe.
Winton and Rose
Eugene
The Difference in Dirt: Traditional Pottery from South Carolina chronicles 1,500 years of South Carolina pottery making through the exhibition of 150 works representing prehistoric, historic, and traditional pottery methods. The exhibition includes Native American pottery, utilitarian vessels made throughout the state from York and other upstate counties, the Old Edgefield District, Union District, the SC Jug Factory area, and contemporary folk potters continuing this tradition within the state. The work on view is drawn from private collectors as well as the SC Arts Commission, McKissick Museum, Charleston Museum, Museum of York County, and the South Carolina State Museum. The majority of the pots featured in "Traditional Pottery from South Carolina" have never been publicly exhibited. The exhibition features several firsts including the first to focus on stoneware reproduction in the Carolina Piedmont.
Earl, Viola and
Margaret Robbins
The Difference in Dirt: Contemporary Ceramic Arts of South Carolina focuses on pottery and ceramic arts made in SC in the last three quarters of the 20th century. The exhibition includes some of the earliest known ceramic-based sculptures created as works of art, rather than pottery produced for utilitarian needs, as well as ceramic art by contemporary artists working in the State.
The Difference in Families, will focus on the contemporary pottery and ceramic arts created by three families in SC representing three different cultural traditions. These include the work of five generations of the Robbins family, York County-based Catawba potters, on view through Jan. 21, 2001. Future Difference in Families exhibitions include the work of Winton and Rosa Eugene, self-taught African American potters from Cowpens, SC (Feb.10 - May 14, 2001) and the Meaders family from Six-Mile, SC and White County, GA (June 3 - Aug. 19, 2001), traditional folk potters of European American descent.
G and B Pottery
The Difference in Dirt exhibitions were created as part of the SC Arts Commission Views from the Edge of the Century, project that features 37 thematically linked art exhibitions and projects in 16 counties throughout South Carolina. Views from the Edge of the Century was designed as an end of century celebration of the visual arts in South Carolina. The project involves college and university galleries, art centers, and museums throughout the state. The project is sponsored by Bank of America with special funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. More than a thousand teachers throughout South Carolina and the Charlotte region received educational materials related to The Difference in Dirt through a special education initiative by the SC Arts Commission.
The Difference in Dirt will be open during the NCECA (National Conference on the Education of Ceramic Arts) annual meeting in Charlotte, NC, in March 2001. As an aspect of the CHC continuing effort to create destination tourism opportunities, arrangements have been made for conference attendees to view the exhibitions during their stay in the Charlotte region.
For further information check our SC Institutional
Gallery listings or call the museum at 803/329-2121, or visit
our website at (www.yorkcounty.org).
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer
427, Bonneau, SC 29431
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