Howard Kottler (1930 - 1989) was an artist truly ahead of his time. He received a Masters degree and a P.H.D in ceramics from Ohio State University, along with an MFA in ceramics from the Cranbrook Academy. He was the recipient of a Fulbright grant, and used the funds to spend time working at the Central School of Arts and Crafts and at the Arabia Ceramic Factory in Finland. During that time, he studied the creation and application of ceramic decals, and his experiences there had a great impact on his future development.
Begun in 1966 and continued until the early 1980’s, Kottler’s plate series was radical. Using commercially produced ceramic plates (which was unheard of for the time) as the canvas for commercially produced and hand made decals, Kottler created witty, pointed, and biting social commentaries that addressed sexuality, religion and war. He states, “decals were used not so much to effect a simulacrum as to set up a visual conundrum or as a form of art historical commentary.” His use of appropriated imagery predates the movement within the fine arts world that took place in the 1980’s.
In a 1980 statement, Kottler wrote about his plate series: “At first I did work using these factory ceramic decals on my sculpture, pots and plates. However, as I continued to use these decals for surface exploration, I began to concentrate my efforts in the use of the decals on plates. Most of the decals were purchased from wholesale houses or the manufacturer, but when I wanted an image that was not available commercially, I would make my own decal.”
“At first, I made my own plates on the potter’s wheel and used the commercial decals on these pates. However, I produced only a few of these plates because I was not satisfied with the combination of handmade plate and commercial ceramic decal. I wanted the precise, streamlined character that industry achieves with porcelain plates…which I was unable to achieve with any consistency in my thrown work. Furthermore, I also became interested in the idea of producing these plates in limited editions, and so it seemed foolish to throw the plates individually on the potter’s wheel. I was primarily interested in the surface image with no concern for making a statement about the plate as a form or in developing a new plate shape. The logical answer was to use the porcelain glazed blanks from industry. These plates were inexpensive, simple in design, consistent in their machine perfection and of excellent quality porcelain…The coupling of these two products (plates and decals)…showed the potential that industry had never developed – the use of images as a statement rather than simply decoration… Many contemporary craftsmen are overly concerned with the handmade qualities of craft. Machine perfection is just another aspect of ceramics and holds as much validity as the expressive character of thrown or hand-built work. Each of these opposite approaches to the use of clay reveals its own particularity. There is no one way to work with porcelain or any other clay body.”
“The 1960’s was an unbelievable period in American life. No one can imagine the full extent of the social forces of change at work during this time without living it. On my trips to San Francisco, I experienced the full bloom of hippie life. The Vietnam war, with all its social unrest, had powerful ramifications throughout the U.S.A. in daily life and in academia. Furthermore, there was a dramatic surge in the Bay Area into funk art, which manifested itself in ceramics through the use of bright colors, erotic images, narrative and the use of mixed media…It was a direction that worked perfectly for me, and gave me the freedom to let my craziness run amok. I became my own man and expressed my sarcastic wit through images and titles in my art-work.”
