The Development of Ceramics in Australia
Diversity
Embarking upon a future in ceramics at the beginning of the twentieth century and being told that by it's end, diversity would be one of Australias great strengths in ceramic art, would have been thought incomprehensible to most.
With the 'White Australia' policy spanning seventy years from 1901 to 1973, a protectionist policy which "included the cultural customs of non Anglo-Saxon migrants"67 and assimilation 'courses' where it was expected that migrants became 'Australian' it would have been hard to imagine Australia as diverse. Leading up to the seventies, and with the arrival of the Whitlam government, alternative ideas of integration were proposed and assimilation gave way to ethnic diversity and multiculturalism.
The geographical vastness of the country, the distance from one side to the other and the distance from Europe produced a lack of communication and almost total isolation. What it also produced, however, was a pioneering resourcefulness to materials and information. What began to emerge during this period was a number of regional characteristics that were emphasised further by those who were teaching and what was being taught. The landscape also had its effect - the climate, the light, the distinct geography, the growing spiritual association with the land, and the geographical availability of materials.
As time moved along the source of ideas became more varied. Originally (as previously discussed) influences came from English and Chinese ceramics through the Art and Craft societies, the search for a national identity, artists travelling overseas, exploring industry, the influences of Bernard Leach and A Potters Book, and later, forging direct cultural links with Japan. What was also happening during this period was a cultural change. Chinese settlements came with the gold rushes and Northern Queensland sought indentured labourers from the Pacific Islands. Immigrants arrived from European countries, some well established in art practice and history. After the Second World War non-European refugees and Japanese brides where permitted to remain in Australia. The Vietnam War and an easing of restrictions on non-European migrants in 1966 saw an influx of Asian migrants.
Bubbling away under the bronzed-Australian image of ourselves was a cultural diversity that was being developed through a variety of media, communities, artists and personal experiences. Such diverse backgrounds and experiences, motivations and expectations brought an unexpected hybridity to Australian art and culture. As John Teschendorff states at the 8th National Ceramic Conference held in Canberra, "...in a post-modern world the margins will declare war upon the postcolonial legacy of Modernism, hybridisation will become a real cultural force..."
New art and art movements such as Funk and Pop, Conceptual art and Expressionism were all devoured, explored and challenged adding another layer to this hybridised art form. Having no strong local tradition meant the crafts could absorb aspects of different cultures freely68 and interpret ideas, techniques and styles, adapting them and making them personal.
The artist/craftperson had also changed. There was a change in colonial attitudes and a move from largely self-trained to tertiary trained, from amateur to professional, from isolation to overseas training and exchanges - experiencing a wide range of influences and networks. Eyes were now looking toward America, not England, for cultural nourishment. The professional sought employment and practice and became involved in co-operative communities, public practices, arts programmes and the administration and management of galleries, teaching and workshops. The artist/craftperson had also moved through changes in practice. From the influences of the Art and Craft Movement espoused by Ruskin and Morris, to the philosophical approach of Leach and Hamada, Murrumbeena and Winifred West at Sturt (to name a few). Later, as Norris Ioannou points out in his book Masters and Their Crafts, came the 'collaborative model' and the 'designer-maker model' (employed and cooperative). Grace Cochrane sees the Australian craftsperson as having "...developed an intelligent and noticeable self-critical way of working, challenging many of the conventions of both theorising and designing, as well as making and marketing."69
John Teschendorff, in 199670, believed there was an urgency to redefine our culture that would acknowledge the diversities of histories and their diaspora, identifying a real image of contemporary Australia. In 1999 the Contemporary Australian Craft exhibition toured Japan as part of the 1999 Olympic Arts Festival Reaching the World. The experiences and insights of the Japanese contingent that came to Australia could be viewed as a critique of Australian craft today. What became most evident whilst selecting artists for the exhibition was the wide range of expression seen in the works, reflecting the individual cultural backgrounds of the artists.71 These reflections ranged from being straight forward, as an identity crisis, as memory, or in some cases, working as descendants reflecting the influence of the culture and their ancestors.72 It was also visible in the work of Aboriginal Australian artists. An increasing number of urban Aboriginal Australian artists were studying in art schools and producing unique artistic works, as well as those artists preserving their traditions.73 As Naoko Tomana, curator, Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Japan, reflected, "This diversity, we realised, is the very nature of this immigrant nation, Australia, and has become the driving force behind the country's stimulating and energetic craft production."74
Where does this leave us in 2002? Are we still not faced with the duality of our image? On the one hand we have this diverse cultural character with an exciting complex cultural mix and on the other a nation still insisting upon the 'comfortable icon' image. Don't the policies in keeping our shores 'safe from queue jumpers', the racist Hanson years, the failed Republic, and our detainment of children in appalling conditions paint quite a different picture?
