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Morphologizing

Exhibition Dates: May 3rd through June 16th
Opening Reception: May 3, 2019 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM

“Morphologizing” aims to explore ancient through contemporary pottery utilizing morphological analysis. The exhibition will focus on the forms, technologies, and materials that comprise pieces of pottery and how these features tell us something about the cultures in which pottery is produced.

Morphology began as the ancient impulse to understand, categorize, and name the natural world. It’s a scientific mode of analysis that originated when prehistoric humans started considering shapes, sizes, and structures of plants and animals.

Over time, morphology has become a defining field of study in biology, anthropology, and topology. But more importantly, it’s become a means of thinking about the reflexive relationship between elements and structure, culture and function, parts and wholes, tooling and technology. And for pottery, morphology helps articulate the significance between cultures and vessels, agriculture and tools, and materiality and ideologies.

The narrow-necked pots in Nigeria, for example, illuminate the need to transport liquids across long distances without spillage. And yet, the same shapes can also be found in numerous cultures across the world. What differentiates these artifacts are the processes they undergo, the materials that concretize their forms, and the ornamentation specific to their individual cultures. This exhibition engages the following morphological questions: How does process reflect and impact objects? How do individual elements support overall function? What’s the relationship between parts and wholes? How does ornamentation relate to culture? What’s the relationship between methodology, tools, and objects? How do materials provide artistic and historical context for objects? In what ways are parts and pieces meaningful in and of themselves, and to what degree do they depend on a whole, unified object?

This show aims to not only engage a conversation about pottery, but also provide an entry point to think about the infinite/innumerable intersections between pottery, culture, and our day-to-day lives.

Gallery Information:
Manhattan Beach Art Center (MBAC)
1560 Manhattan Beach Boulevard
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Wednesday through Saturday 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Sunday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Monday, Tuesday, Holidays, Installation/De-installation Closed