Betty Woodman Work of Art - Research Paper Example

Betty Woodman, an artist of our times Betty Woodman was born in 1930 in Connecticut . She became enthralled with ceramics in high school when a piece of clay became a ceramic glaze after it was fired in a kiln. She studied ceramics in university and she came to Italy the first time on a Fulbright scholarship during her studies. Italy in its "more Baroque aspects seems to have provided the basic impetus for her work ever since, no matter how far-flung her inspirations." (Glueck 2006) She shares her time between New York and Italy where she has a studio.

She has shown her ceramic works of art all over the world, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006 (Glueck 2006) to a museum in Japan. She has combined the artwork of ceramics into the functionality of day to day use and as pieces of art. Most of her works are colorful and varies in style. She would rather be eclectic that be identified by one style. Her work is not boring. It is diverse, interesting and shows influences that span different cultures. Her work cannot be said to come from one nation.

She is an international artist. The two works chosen represent two complete opposites of her scope of artwork and to show her style is eclectic. In 2008-2009, she composed a series of Gauguin, Vase Diptyque for the Sevres Gallery. They are made of tender porcelain. It is interesting to understand why she called them Gauguin. She must have been influenced by his Double-Vase decorated with a Breton Figure, 1886-7. (History of ..) It is made of clay. He considered ceramics another form of sculpture and the Sevres Porcelain factory had ruined it with their development of porcelain.

expressed in these vases come from the Baroque period of the 18th century by the sumptuous use of curves in furniture. This is a personal interpretation. These vases are wonderful in the use of white because they are so atypical of most of her works. They can been seen on the Sevres site listed in the "Works Cited". A similar representation of these vases can be seen on the American Academy in Rome Site. Last year until December 2010, she was showing at the American Academy in Rome. Her Roman Fresco/Pleasures and Places was the premium work.

It has a double interest as it shows her diversity in her work and represents her life that she spends in Italy. She has divided her life between the New York and near Florence where she has had her studio for the last 30 years. The Fresco is made of ceramic on canvas. She was strongly influenced by her time spent doing a fresco in the American Embassy in China in 2009 . She was able to add to her wealth of knowledge by studying Chinese ceramic painting and Chinese painting. This particular fresco can also be seen on the internet.(YouTube) The site explaining her exposition in Rome is fabulous, as it shows all the different types of her artwork.

There are even examples of the dyptique vases in different forms with the use of the white color ceramic which has not been kilned in the same fashion as she did for the Sevres Gallery. She has shown that she has used examples from all walks of life and all elements of art. In looking at her patio of her studio, " Drawing no boundaries between traditions of fine art and craft, Woodman takes elements from the rich heritage of each and makes them her own. She uses the motif of the vase and the vessel repeatedly, allowing it to enrich her exploration of formal and painterly traditions".

(Frank Gallery). The scope of her work shows the beauty and forms from a park bench to a vase to a small table to a fresco. As the list is endless as her public showings have traversed most of the World.Works CitedBetty Woodman: Roman Fresco/Pleasures and Places http://sofaarome.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/opening-21-october-at-the-aar-betty- woodman-roman-frescopleasures-and-places/Frank Lloyd Gallery, Betty Woodman Artwork, http://www.franklloyd.com/dynamic/artist_bio.asp?ArtistID=37Gauguin, vase diptyque, Betty Woodman, 2008-2009 http://www.

sevresciteceramique.frGlueck, Grace, Betty Woodman, Turning the Humble Vase Into High Art, NY Times, 2006, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/28/arts/design/28wood.htmlHistory of Clay, http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/exhibitions/historyofclay/section1.htm