February Issue 2002
Charleston Museum in Charleston, SC, Presents Exhibit on Pottery & Ceramics
The Charleston Museum in Charleston, SC, will
present an exhibition entitled, The Difference in Dirt: South
Carolina Pottery and Ceramic Arts, which will be on view from
Feb. 6 through May 19, 2002.
This exhibition has two main components. One component traces
the state's long tradition of fashioning pottery and other utensils
from clay, and the other focuses on pottery and ceramic arts made
in South Carolina in the last three quarters of the 20th century.
The title Difference in Dirt acknowledges the different
types of clay characterizing South Carolina's natural clay resources.
Catawba Native American potters have used Grey Catawba clay for
generations. Bethune is yellow clay found upstate in the areas
in and around Kershaw, SC. 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.
The traditional section chronicles 1,500 years of South Carolina
pottery making through 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 South Carolina Jug Factory area, and works
of contemporary folk potters continuing these traditions within
the state. The work on view is drawn from private collectors as
well as the South Carolina Arts Commission, McKissick Museum,
The Charleston Museum, Museum of York County, and the South Carolina
State Museum.
The contemporary section of 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 Dirt exhibitions were created as part
of the South Carolina 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 involved college and university galleries, art centers,
and museums throughout the state. The project was 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 exhibition through a
special education initiative by the South Carolina Arts Commission.
The Difference in Dirt was organized by the Museum of York County in Rock Hill, SC. The Museum of York County is a York County Culture & Heritage Commission Institution. The Difference in Dirt was funded in part by Bowater, Jim and Judy Udick and the South Carolina Arts Commission.
For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings or call the Museum at 843/722-2996.
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer
427, Bonneau, SC 29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
E-Mail: carolinart@aol.com
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Carolina Arts
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Copyright© 2002 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts
from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts
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