CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
CL~Y
,,
AND METAL:
A DIALOGUE
An abstract submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of rvlaster of Arts in
Art
by
Marilyn Abers
-------
January 1978
approved:
California State University, Northridge
ii
Table of Contents
Statement .
Prose Poem
0
..
..
•
1
3
Brief Descriptions of a Few Pieces
and Illustrations .
4
iii
. Acknowledgments
I owe part of the solution of my technical problems
to the· low-shrinking clay body formulated by Jerry
Rothman of California State University at Fullerton.
I
thank John Cannavier for his constant and ener-
getic help.
I thank Howard Tollefson for his help and patience
in listening to my problems.
I thank Joe Soldate and Tom McMillan for their
impatience, encouraging me to work out my own problems"
And I thank my children, Geoffrey and Rebecca, for
accepting a neglecting mother.
iv
ABSTRACT
CLAY AND METAL:
A DIALOGUE
by
Marilyn Abers
Master of Arts
Burdens and supports is the beginning idea---amorphous
organs of clay, bound, supported and pierced by ribbons
of st:eel.
The clay reacts to the steel which is con--
structed first, like the feminine dancer following the
masculine lead.
The clay harmonizes with the energy of
metal where it is supported and constricted, and breaks
away when it gets the chance.
The metal is strong, dis-
ciplined, rigid, taking hard physical strength and heat
to form; the clay is soft, flexible, fragile.
affects both materials:
The fire
distorts and carbonizes the metal
leaving it prone to rust, and hardens and colors the clay.
The work is brutal and physical in approach, formed
as directly and simply as possible with no pret;tifying,
except for the beauty brought by the fire.
1
It is about
2
the interaction of these two materials which are metaphors
for people and the way they react with each other and
within themselves, the way in which different parts
support and then interfere with another, a·t times causing
pain.
Paradoxically, the energy of the metal energizes
the clay while constricting it; the clay needs the metal
for support.
In the most recently made piece, the wall
combines with the metal to hold up the clay, which is
like a cloud pinned to the wall.
The pieces are sometimes about particular people I
have known or parts of myself at war, and always are
visual fantasies for the working out of these ideas,
feelings and musings.
PROSE POEM
My pieces are about burdens and. supports, relationships, organisms, growing, changing, paradox, men I have
known, people I have tried to exist with, feeling, dreams,
emotions, intuitive images, very old insights 1 the
demonic in me, freeways ·twisting around and constricting
and supporting my organs, my desire to be independent vs
my need for companionship, grappling with difficult problems and materials, forging and molding situations to
suit my fancy or to express my feeling, alternately
playing safe and taking risks, energy flows and stoppages,
impulsive motion, sexual fantasies, discipline vs spontaneity, fragility vs strength, rigidity vs flexibility,
precariousness vs sturdiness, submersion vs emergence, a
dance, a flowing, amorphousness defined, crudities,
beauties, the structure of chaos, structure vs non-structure, a search for order or union, conflict vs acceptance,
discipline vs self-indulgence, passivity vs aggression,
conscious vs unconscious, impetuousness confined through
compression, wrapping, piercing.
My pieces are about metal which is rugged, roughed
up, emphasizing its toughness, and clay, which is soft
and organic; both are me.
3
Brief Descriptions of a Few Pieces
and Illustrations
4
"To the freeways that wrap around my heart, or
• The.re are no straight lines,' says the Buddha"
8' X 1-1/2'
Because of the necessities of my life, I spend a
great deal of my time driving around the LA freeways
v.rhich at times have felt to be strangling my heart and
other inner organs.
wor~ing
This feeling is what initiated
with clay and metal, because when I first tried
to make this piece out of clay, it kept falling apart.
I needed the metal as a support that could be thin.
The
relationship bet'I..Yeen the metal and clay in this piece
remind me of a discussion by ·the Buddha about relationships between two people, in which he said, contrary to
popular belief,
11
There are no straight lines."
6
"To Diane Nho Always Fi t.s"
.3 1 -2 11 X 29"
•rhe clay conforms to the !netal which is lyrical and
in motion.
does not try
The clay merely emphasizes the movement and
'tO
express anything of its
O\m.
8
"Escape of the
Glyph~
3-1/2
1
X 21"
This piece was inspired by Mayan hieroglyphics which
are stylize<l, controlled, two-dimensional, as the metal
is here.
But the spirit of the culture, like the clay,
succeeds in breaking away from the stylization.
10
'
.
"Self-Portrait"
3-1/2
1
X 21"
This piece, at this point, best sums up what I have
been trying to express visually.
I am both the metal,
which gives support a.nd res.traint r and the clay, which
is fluid and inpetutous.
The clay would fall apart with-
out the restraint of the metal but resents and constantly
pushes
agains~
that restriction.
The support is so
strong that i t can balance en delicate legs.
12
"Harmonizing \vi th I<i n
3'-3" X 15"
In Aikido when you are attacked by another person
you use their energy, or Ki, to move away from the
attacker and then defend yourself.
You are then said to
be harmonizing \vi th anot.he:t.:' s energy.
'rhis is part of. my
philosophy and the prevailing feeling behind this body of
w·ork.
14
"Cloud Up Against the Wall"
5'1/2'
X
3'
'I'he clay is supported by both the metal and the wall
in this four-part piece* bringing in a new element.
The
clay is ambiguous; is it soft and floating in the air or
hard and pinned, struggling, to the wall?
16
"Triangulated"
20" X 20"
18
'
'
11
Moi:hered 11
13" X 1'
20
''To Ken:
A Rigid Force Through An
Amorphous Hass"
21" X 15"
22
"Cruel Blue 1'
2 1 X 20"
24
'
'
"Pinned Elbows 11
3'-2" X 27"
26
,.
15" X 1 1
28