You’ve got to be kidding....
By Karmien Bowman
How many of us have bravely paid dear money and included a sase only to be rejected from a serious attempt to have a reputible judge gaze upon our soul? Why does it all have to be so serious?
After the Color & Line with Rimas VisGirda Workshop in Dallas Texas last summer, Trinity Ceramic Supply, sent out a challenge to all participants to create a “Rimas Knock Off " piece for exhibit at the 2004, 12th annual Texas Clay Festival in Gruene, Texas. The workshop had produced a variety of exciting excursions using the techniques and style of VisGirda and the “Reamus Ripp Off Challenge was born. Re-named, it sported unbridled emulations and caused jovial consternation on the ripp offs by heady fellow contestant’s with ulterior motives of prejudice and envy. The pots were impartially judged, even though the judge’s work was also included. There was a declaration of rules, called the Rimas Knock Off Exhibit Rules. It included a caveat , a catapult, which was provided for any inferior entries to be flung into the Guadeloupe River. All in jest of course!
The invited participants were only from Texas, mostly professionals in ceramics. There were a few guest students from Tarrant County College Northeast Campus, in Fort Worth who also rose to the occasion. It was generous of the judge to include them and though the students learned a great deal from talented and well known clay people, only two of them met the challenge in time for the Clay Festival Exhibit in the fall. They were Jennifer Pilon, (alias Kiki) recently residing in Texas, a Ceramic BFA graduate from Arizona State, and Jo Beth Wiggington, corporate design executive-run-away newly devoted to form-experiments in clay. She is also known as “Wiggy”.
Among the ceramic professionals, “ Knock Off ” exhibitors were, The Peach, Joy Tallia, Rimasita Rip, Namwab. & Flippy J., and The Judge. Some were long time exhibitors at the Texas Clay Festival in Gruene but entered in this show using an alias.
The Judge had some rules, conveying vague guidelines that were interpreted variously and loosely met. The artists even renamed the show “Reamus RippOff”. The work had to incorporate the techniques and materials demonstrated by VisGirda and practiced on tiles during the summer workshop. At the workshop, ceramic artists applied velvet under glazes on greenware and on bisque with clear overglaze and without glaze, refired watercolor stains and fired again with opulent and metallic lusters. Techniques included were sgraffito though wax resist and inlay of black slip on greenware & bisque, and slip trail, or brush line, over color areas. (See Sept. /Oct. 04 ClayTimes). After initial bisque firing, the tiles, and the subsequent designs for the “Rimas Knock Off Exhibition” , went through multiple firings to achieve desired effects.
In a serious attempt to be silly, this time, each alias artist expanded on the guidelines while they included stylistic elements of VisGirda himself! They also had to bring a statement to Gruene, explaining their attempt. Some wrote about the work, or shared a personal reflection on the whole event. There was a very amusing scrapbook-like album produced from all the entries at the festival when all the images and artist comments were compiled. You would have had to have been there to appreciate the novelty and inside jokes, but the designs were inspired insights energetically executed with impeccable skill for the most part. No , they did not look anything like most of the clay work at the Gruene Festival, with the exception of exhibitors Vin Gurdy, Rimasita Rip , and ZZZDog. They were hands down the best in show for “ripping off”, via their own technique, some obvious stylistic elements of VisGirda. They have long ago absorbed and perfected a technique of their own, but their skill facilitated a genuine likeness of VisGirda’s work. Rimasita Rip added unique personal imagery and L G Vin Gurdy created a gutsy legally liable copy, were it not for the inclusion of herself as the central figure in the irreverent, capricious rendering of VisGirda’s "That Was Then" charger. Namwab’s whimsical use of VisGirda elements narrate in three chargers stages of the summer workshop.
Judge Johnson’s tiles were actually not his, but the real VisGirda’s, glazed by The Judge and signed "Reamus". Alias Flippy J., in his ‘Star Gazer style’, perfected VisGirda elements almost counterfeit of the master, except for the signature and the details of application. He provided commemorative “Ripp Off” plates minted especially for "worthy" participating artists at this event.
It could be said that there was no judging. It was not impartial or biased. Nor was it by some guy that didn’t know anything about the prospects. But there were witty certificates issued, each with special accolades to the maker’s achievement and contribution.
All the entries were spoofs of some sort. Each are now revealed in the album on file with the master himself for future judicial action, if VisGirda stoops to warrant those who vainly aspire to eclipse his glory. Only their aliases have paid tribute and only in jest. Actual names of other participants have not been used for their own protection.
When VisGirda got the scrapbook on the ”Rimas Knock Off Exhibit” , sent by The Judge, he said, "... that it was really nice of the judge to send it. It was a collection of the artist statements, shots of each piece in the challenge and copies of the award certificates …very thoughtful.”
So why do we all have to be so serious? Without the entry fee or the rejection it is just all in fun. There is not really a catapult waiting to hurl inferior work into the Guadalupe, because of environmental concerns. We all know an alias can’t make a reputation emulating some one else’s style. Or can they? Just kidding.
A note about the Texas Clay Festival: There are over fifty top Texas clay artists/ demonstrators who exhibit, and over 3,000 visitors to the annual Buck Pottery October invitational in Gruene, Texas.
Karmien Bowman is associate professor of art, Tarrant County College, Ft. Worth Texas.