Funk Art - Now and Then

The Museum of Art and Design in New York recently opened the exhibition Funk You Too! Humor and Irreverence in Modern and Contemporary Ceramic Sculpture, a major re-consideration of the concept of Funk Art in a modern context. Pulling together work from a cross-generational group of over twenty artists, the exhibition demonstrates how Funk can define a style of art the conveys personal and political narratives humorously, subversively and expressively. The groundbreaking Funk exhibition was orgranized by Peter Selz in 1967; Funk You Too! features ceramics by several artists from that original exhibition, notably Robert Arneson, and updates it with work by a contemporary group of artists working in clay.

Curator Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy spoke with us about her vision for the exhibition, how Funk has evolved since 1967, and what this means for ceramics moving forward.

George Adams Gallery:    Why do you think Funk is an enduring style even now, over 50 years since Peter Selz's exhibition?

Angelik Vizcarrando-Laboy:    Selz's exhibition was not perfect by any means, but it did give artists and curators the freedom to go wild, let loose, and embrace things outside the prescribed rules of the art world. The work in that exhibition was political by simply existing, but it also led the way for more pointed sociopolitical critique in the artists' work. The exhibition fueled the fire already kindling in ceramicists pushing beyond abstract expressionism and functional pottery at the time. It validated that they were going in the right direction and opened space for artists to continue exploring politics with humor and clay. Today's political climate is ripe for this kind of work.

GAG:    Do you think the meaning of Funk has changed over the years?

AVL:    Funk has always been hard to define, and it still is. But I'm hoping that with Funk You Too!, people can grow more conscious of how Funk changed the course of art history. Many people turn their noses up at ceramics, especially Funk ceramics. Without Funk, we wouldn't have this exciting present moment. We would have arrived at making sculptures of funny and representational things eventually (and again, because there are ancient and historical examples). Still, modernity gave it a long pause by focusing on functional pottery and abstract sculpture.

GAG:    What was your motivation for organizing this exhibition?

AVL:    I wanted to contextualize contemporary practice in relationship to Funk ceramics. I'm giving credit where credit is due while celebrating the incredible creativity, wit, and fearlessness of artists now and then. Other goals include demonstrating how much the field of ceramics has grown and diversified, the significant value of clay as a sculptural medium, and how humor is a powerful strategy of criticality in art.

GAG:    Do you see the place of ceramic as a medium within art as having changed or evolved in the past 50 years?

AVL:    When Selz put together Funk in 1967, there didn't seem to be a stigma around ceramics. However, the material was siloed from the cannon of modern art in the decades after. Ceramics became relegated to "craft" and seen as less valuable within the problematic hierarchies of the art world. There have always been artists working in ceramics that break through barriers and make it onto the mainstream. Bob Arneson is an excellent example of that. But he was more of an exception than the rule in his prime. In the last decade, and especially in the last few years, the fabricated "wall" between craft and art has become extremely porous, with many artists (from different backgrounds) embracing the medium. In turn, the art world has too. Clay is one of the leading sculptural mediums in contemporary art. But there's always been great ceramics; it's just that now more people are paying attention.