Update from Kevin Kao - MFA Thesis

"Fallacies" MFA Exhibition, May 2015

Hello! Its been a busy year thus far. The majority of my focus has been on creating my thesis exhibition. Much of the show looks at a structured sense of seduction and desire. Specifically looking at how attraction is an extension of how we perceive our bodies. These ideas really stemmed from some of the hair studies that I had created while at Alfred's studio intensive program last summer. Thank you for the support of the Warren MacKenzie Advancement Award and all of the donors who have made this possible. 

Hair Bun Studies

Plop, a part-made study

Terra Cotta hair study

I think of hair as both something beautiful and grotesque, but above all, a quality that describes every single person. It's intrinsically you, as detritus and as hairstyle. Throughout history, it has been a marker for style, taste, value, and social class. The notion of part-making and interchangeable parts became an important factor as it draws from a history of Chinese ceramics (e.g. the terracotta army). It speaks to the significance of individuality, the hand-made, and the specialness of an object.

Press-molded works in progress

I think of the project as a way of looking at the individual and the collective. On one hand, the individuality gives meaning to one thing — its history, its context. However, against the sea of other objects, it loses its uniqueness to seriality. The collection negates, and absorbs the individual. 

Reinforcing this idea of seduction, the 104 ceramic sculptures are ambiguously hair, fruit and sex-toy. These "objects of lust" are rendered on a mirror-like platform, set close to the ground. A play on black on black, the sensualness of the work is hyper-accentuated.

For more information about the show or my work, please visit my website: www.kevinrkao.com

Update from Roberto Lugo

My desire to create a mosaic mural to memorialize Payne has been met with much more planning and complication than I originally considered. First, finding "The," or for that matter "A," location is complicated, because although the community is supportive of the project, few own a property that has a wall for me to work with. I’ve gone back and forth with individuals who have offered a wall, but have changed their mind for various reasons.

Meanwhile, my studio practice has been steadily churning out tiles and the ceramic elements that will be used for the mural. First, I am creating a wide array of shapes and sizes in order to fill in spaces that will present themselves during installation. The nucleus of the mural will be three centerpieces that will take the form of vessels—these vessels will provide homage to images of Payne. The color scheme is still being considered, as I wanted to ensure I had adequate tiles before continuing to pursue its colors. One element that I am still considering is whether the very center of the mural will have a vessel or a figurative sculpture of Payne.

In addition to my original plan, I am holding a “block party” in Philadelphia to allow the community to paint tiles for the mural. This addition will allow for the community to take ownership of the project and have a relationship with it. These tiles will be taken back to my studio and glazed, as well as incorporated, into the overall composition of the mural.

A special thank you to InLiquid, The Philadelphia Clay Studio, and the Kensington Community for their assistance thus far in helping me to coordinate this project.

Figure possibility for center of mural.

Jars for center of mural.

Kevin Kao: Alfred Summer Program

MWAA recipient Kevin Kao has been posting pictures from his time at the Alfred Summer Studio Intensive on his own blog. A few samples, with Kevin's captions:

Andrea Gill demo w/ John Gill as assistant…. 

Quick hair bun studies…

 

#sculpture #hair #marble #amazing

Lets scan stuff! 

Sculpture work from Alfred’s 4 week studio intensive. HUGE THANKS @northernclaycenter for facilitating the 2014 Warren MacKenzie Advancement Award, and helping me come here in prep for thesis!

Keep watching this blog for further updates from Kevin, including reflections and recipes from his time at Alfred. Congratulations, Kevin, great to see new and diverse work from you!

About Kevin Kao

Kevin hopes to create a body of work that will serve as a foundation for his graduate thesis exhibition (slated for spring 2015) at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University's four-week, studio intensive program.  While at Alfred, Kevin will explore various processes thru use of their digital fabrication lab, thru study of their ceramics collection, and thru use of their library.  Alfred's summer program will afford Kevin the opportunity to explore the appropriation of historic Chinese ceramic art through the use of such technologies as 3D scanning and printing, mold making and decal work. 

Kevin’s own practice is rooted in the explorations of personal and cultural identify as an always-changing experience.  He is completing his graduate course work at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.