The eloquent and keenly observant Lily Kane has an engaging profile of potter and designer Andy Brayman in the new issue of American Craft Magazine. "Making the Most of the Margins" is the cover story of the June/July 2009 issue, (but if you haven't received yours yet, you can read it on the magazine's website).
Part of the piece relates how Brayman has been able to leverage commercial pursuits to finance the artistic side of his work (which I think can be a really smart biz model for artists to consider). Though successful, he recently decided to close this decal business, saying "I feel like I got away with something, but it stopped feeling creative so I became less interested in doing it."
I also love this funny passage:
"[Brayman] also has unerring comic timing and a wry ironic incantation regarding the ever-present debates about the theory and politics of craft. Asked if the error message that greets anyone following the 'theory' link on his Matter Factory website is an intentionally comic statement about his interest in theory, Brayman laughs, 'No, but that’s a great idea.'"
You can read it all at americancraftmag.org.
Brayman's website is matterfactory.com.
[UPDATE]
Just have to quote this really interesting point, too:
"...Brayman is aware of the fine line between making a statement or joke with a piece and having it retain its value as a functional object. 'I don’t want to make cups with text about Darfur. Not that Darfur’s not important, but once you put that text on an object it overshadows the function. It becomes a statement, a piece of art.' "
Posted by Amy Shaw for Greenjeans.
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