Peter Voulkos - The Man Who Broke the Rules (Part 1)

What happens when a master potter decides to break all the rules?

In the first of two episodes, Stephanie Rozene and Paul Greenhalgh explore the life and work of Peter Voulkos, the artist who helped transform American ceramics after the Second World War.

From his Montana childhood and wartime service to his first encounter with clay, Voulkos begins as a brilliantly skilled traditional potter. But through teachers, fellow artists and the experimental world of 1950s America, he starts cutting, tearing and rebuilding clay in radically new ways.    By the mid-1950s, pottery was becoming sculpture and a revolution in clay was underway.

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Featured Images:

Photo of Voulkos doing pottery by Stephanie Rozene

Photo Filming Voulkos at work, by Stephanie Rozene

Voulkos Correcting a student, Stephanie Rozene.

VOulkos nished platers on table, Stephanie Rozene

Photo of John Balistreri assisting Peter Voulkos. 1990s (Creative Commons)

Voulkos at Potters wheel, ca. 1956

Photo of Frances Senzka smiling

Photo of Edith Heath, Date Unknown, (Wikipedia)

Photograph of Maija-Grotell-1920s (Wikiedpia)

Marguerite finishing a vase, ca.1950s. 1998 Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona Foundation

Face Vessel, ca. 1970s, Marguerite Wildenhain

Archie Bray and Rudy Autio photograph, ca. 1951

Photograph of Frances Senska and her pots, 1988, Linda Best photo / Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Chicken and Wine Set, 1960, Frances Senzka

Ya Ba Bo jar, 1970, Frances Senzka

Bottom of Ya Ba Bo jar, 1970, Frances Senzka

Peter Voulkos Painting his Ceramics, ca. 1950s

Ceramic National Piece, 1950, Peter Voulkos ????

Gourd Shaped Vases, Vases with Leaf, Green-Swirled Vases, 1952, Peter Voulkous

Archie Bray Putting Soda in Beehive Kiln ca. 1950s

Yanagi, Leach, Autio, Voulkous and Hamada at the Archie Bray Foundation

Voulkos kicking the wheel for Hamada at Archie Bray Foundation, 1952

Karen Karnes, (1925-2016), Western Regional Archives, State Archives of North Carolina

David Weinrib, (1924 – 2016)

Robert Rauschenberg at Black Mountain College, Black Mountain, NC, United States, circa 1951. Photo: Cy Twomble

M.C Richards (1914 – 1999) Wikipedia Picture

Untitled Stoneware with Acrylic Paint, ca. 1953, MC Richards Collaboration with Peter Voulkos

Covered Jar, 1953, Peter Voulkos

Jackson Pollock at work – photograph by Hans Namuth (Wikipedia)

Marguerite Wildenhaine, ca. 1962, Wikipedia page.

Rocking Pot, 1956 Peter Voulkos (Smithsonian ART Museum)

Peter Voulkos working, ca. 1960.

Tony Prieto Tall Vase, Stoneware, 1950. The Everson Museum of Art. Photo credit Stephanie Rozene.

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Introduction: Peter Voulkos - The Man Who Broke the Rules
• 00:00:58 Stephanie's Personal Encounter with Voulkos at Alfred University
• 00:05:07 The Two Sides of Peter Voulkos: Machismo and the Dance
• 00:07:47 Early Life: Montana, Greek Immigrant Roots, and World War II
• 00:10:37 Finding Clay: Frances Senska and Montana State College
• 00:14:54 The Foundations of Mastery: Learning Traditional Pottery Skills
• 00:17:31 Early Success and the Archie Bray Foundation
• 00:21:09 The 1952 Leach and Hamada Tour: International Influences
• 00:22:09 Black Mountain College and M.C. Richards: Opening New Doors
• 00:32:33 New York City 1953: Abstract Expressionism and Transformation
• 00:39:47 Breaking with Tradition: The Rocking Pot and Radical Experimentation
• 00:44:59 Setting the Stage: Otis College and What's to Come

Credits:
Hosts: Paul Greenhalgh & Stephanie Rozene
Editor: Dennis Caouki
Executive Producer: Emma Cahusac