Tony Marsh (artist)
Encyclopedia
Tony Marsh is an American
contemporary
ceramic art
ist. He lives and works in Long Beach, California
.
playing baseball in his last year of high school. He had never been that good of a student and was sent by his guidance counselor to the pottery lab at his high school to receive a discipline from the strict and dedicated professor. The day he walked in to the lab, he never left, from then on he knew he would be working with clay. Marsh received a Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree in 1978 from California State University, Long Beach
. From 1978 to 1981, Marsh studied as an apprentice under Japanese potter Shimaoka, in Mashiko
, Japan
. After receiving a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1989 from New York State College of Ceramics
at Alfred University
, Marsh returned to CSU Long Beach to teach in the art department's ceramics program. He has been the department chair for ceramics at CSU for much of his tenure career.
Marsh credits his experience in Japan with much of his personal development: "Working every day at pottery seems now to have served as a vehicle for great lessons that have stayed with me. I painfully taught myself to speak another language, which in turn allowed me to begin to see the world through the lens of another culture. I was introduced daily to the power, beauty, and confines of history." In this way, the work that Tony Marsh creates is many times refers to the homage of ceramics he hopes to provoke in his work.
Shimaoka's method provided an example for Marsh that contrasted with his experience of art-making in the United States. Marsh says of his time spent at Shimaoka's pottery:
As these images of Tony's most current work provide, he has been interested in the history of the vessel, while developing a new language for this. This language asks the simple question of what to hold? The items he chooses to contain create a discussion of curiosity and interest. Some of Marsh's earlier work has many times been referred to ideas of play, whether it be the game like parts, such games as Bao
, a traditional African game or Perfection
, an early 90's children's game. He also plays with the capabilities of clay in the conscious contradiction of material with his attempts to make items float or to be fully perforated. Tony has referred to this idea of perforation and floating with, "gravity is what ceramics is about" He discusses the element of clay and its boundaries such as a material of the earth that has a very evident weight as " a thorn," you can choose to react or obey these boundaries, and clearly Tony has made the choice to react.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
contemporary
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
ceramic art
Ceramic art
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
ist. He lives and works in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
.
Biography
Born in New York City, New York, Marsh first learned about ceramics after he injured his rotator cuffRotator cuff
In anatomy, the rotator cuff is the group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the shoulder. The four muscles of the rotator cuff, along with the teres major muscle, the coracobrachialis muscle and the deltoid, make up the seven scapulohumeral muscles of the human body.-Function:The...
playing baseball in his last year of high school. He had never been that good of a student and was sent by his guidance counselor to the pottery lab at his high school to receive a discipline from the strict and dedicated professor. The day he walked in to the lab, he never left, from then on he knew he would be working with clay. Marsh received a Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
degree in 1978 from California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California by enrollment...
. From 1978 to 1981, Marsh studied as an apprentice under Japanese potter Shimaoka, in Mashiko
Mashiko, Tochigi
is a town located in Haga District, Tochigi, Japan. As of October 1, 2009, the town has an estimated population of 24,760 and a density of 277 persons per km². The total area is 89.54 km².-Culture:...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. After receiving a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1989 from New York State College of Ceramics
New York State College of Ceramics
The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in Alfred is a statutory college of the State University of New York . It is divided into the School of Art and Design and the Inamori School of Engineering. Although the School of Engineering is nominally administered by NYSCC, the...
at Alfred University
Alfred University
Alfred University is a small, comprehensive university in the Village of Alfred in Western New York, USA, an hour and a half south of Rochester and two hours southeast of Buffalo. Alfred has an undergraduate population of around 2,000, and approximately 300 graduate students...
, Marsh returned to CSU Long Beach to teach in the art department's ceramics program. He has been the department chair for ceramics at CSU for much of his tenure career.
Marsh credits his experience in Japan with much of his personal development: "Working every day at pottery seems now to have served as a vehicle for great lessons that have stayed with me. I painfully taught myself to speak another language, which in turn allowed me to begin to see the world through the lens of another culture. I was introduced daily to the power, beauty, and confines of history." In this way, the work that Tony Marsh creates is many times refers to the homage of ceramics he hopes to provoke in his work.
Shimaoka's method provided an example for Marsh that contrasted with his experience of art-making in the United States. Marsh says of his time spent at Shimaoka's pottery:
"His art was not the art school stuff (my frame of reference) of taking aim at the fringe in order to explore the new. Nor was it an overly self-conscious attempt at radical expression. His art was homage and a walk through the heart of an enormous and rich pan-Asian ceramic tradition. I have always thought that it seemed more difficult to add to a rich history in a meaningful way when the measuring-stick, by which the contribution will ultimately be understood, is long."
Description of work
Marsh's description of his own work:"I am fascinated by [the ceramic vessel's] deep and unparalleled history and position between nature and culture. While the vessels that I make are not utilitarian nor do they specifically refer to an historical pottery type or style, I believe that I use them as a device to address the essential. On a simple level they do attempt to pay homage to what pottery from around the world has always been required to do: hold, store, preserve, offer, commemorate, and beautify. In the end, whether it might be a vase on a table, an empty coin bank, the bowl on the night stand, a burial urn or a ballot box, what could be more natural than to put something in a vessel? "
As these images of Tony's most current work provide, he has been interested in the history of the vessel, while developing a new language for this. This language asks the simple question of what to hold? The items he chooses to contain create a discussion of curiosity and interest. Some of Marsh's earlier work has many times been referred to ideas of play, whether it be the game like parts, such games as Bao
Bao (mancala game)
Bao is a traditional mancala board game played in most of East Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Comoros, Malawi, as well as some areas of DR Congo and Burundi. It is most popular among the Swahili people of Tanzania and Kenya; the name itself "Bao" is the Swahili word for "board" or "board game"...
, a traditional African game or Perfection
Perfection (Game)
Perfection is a game by the Milton Bradley company. The object is to put all the pieces into matching holes on the board before the time limit runs out. When time runs out, the board springs up, causing all or at least many of the pieces to fly out. In the most common version, there are 25 pieces...
, an early 90's children's game. He also plays with the capabilities of clay in the conscious contradiction of material with his attempts to make items float or to be fully perforated. Tony has referred to this idea of perforation and floating with, "gravity is what ceramics is about" He discusses the element of clay and its boundaries such as a material of the earth that has a very evident weight as " a thorn," you can choose to react or obey these boundaries, and clearly Tony has made the choice to react.
Awards
- 1996
- Drockman Distinguished Alumni Award, Alfred University, New York, New York
- 1998
- Individual Artist Fellowship, Public Corporation for the Arts, Long Beach
- Distinguished Faculty Scholarly and Creative Achievement Award, California State University, Long Beach
- 2005
- Curator: Scripps 61st National Ceramics Exhibition
Books and Catalogues
- Clark, Garth. The Artful Teapot. London: Thames & Hudson, 2001.
- Del Vecchio, Mark. Postmodern Ceramics. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2001.
- Lauria, Jo. Color and Fire – Defining Moments in Studio Ceramics, 1950–2000 Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Rizzoli International Publications, New York, 2000.
- Lynn, Martha Drexler. Clay Today: Contemporary Ceramists and Their Work, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Chronicle Books, San Francisco
- Peterson, Susan. Contemporary Ceramics. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2000.
Periodicals
- ____. “Bay Area Potters”, Studio Potter, Winter/1985.
- ____. “West Coast Clay”, Artweek, May 1995, Vol. 26, No. 5.
- ____. “Acquisitions”, American Craft, April/May 1997, p. 31.
- ____. “Interview with American Artist Tony Marsh”, Korean Monthly Art Magazine, August 1994, p. 142.
- ____. Kerameiki Techni, Panorama, Exhibition Notice, Summer 1996.
- ____. “Exhibition Review”, Artweek, October 17, 1993, Vol. 24, No. 19.
- ____. Photo, American Craft, August/September 1983, Vol. 43, No. 4, p. 62.
- ____. “Building a Ceramics Program at the Mendocino Art Center”, Mendocino BeaconMendocino BeaconThe Mendocino Beacon is a weekly newspaper for the community of Mendocino, California, owned by MediaNews Group.The Mendocino Beacon was founded on October 6, 1877 by W. H. Meacham and William Heeser, an immigrant from Germany who also founded the Fort Bragg Advocate-News and three other local...
, February 6, 1984, p. 4. - Cavener, Jim. “Exhibition Review”, San Gabriel Valley Weekly, January 26, 1996, p. 10.
- Colby, Joy Hakanson. “Exhibition Review”, The Detroit News, March 8, 1991.
- Deragon, Rick. “Tony Marsh”, American Ceramics, 1995 Vol. 11, Issue 4, p. 56.
- Hohenboken, Steve. “Tony Marsh”, The New Art Examiner, Summer, 1996.
- Lagorio, Irene. “Review”, Monterey Peninsula Herald, August 14, 1983.
- Lauria, Jo. “Dialogues in Clay: A Conversation between Tony Marsh & Kurt Weiser”, Ceramics Art and Perception, December 2002, Issue 50, pp. 8– 13.
- Mansfield, Janet. “Exhibition Review”, Ceramics: Art and Perception, 1998, Issue 31, p. 33.
- Marsh, Tony. “Juror’s Statement”, Ceramics Monthly, November, 1991.
- Melrod, George. "Tony Marsh Profile", Art Ltd.: West Coast Art + Design, March 2007, p. 73.
- Merino, Tony Dubis. “Tony Marsh’s Puzzling Narratives”, Contact, (Spring 1998), pp. 21–23.
- Ollman, Leah. "Exhibition Review", Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2007.
- Pincus, Robert L. “Exhibition Review”, Los Angeles Times, February 3, 1984.
Interviews
Tony Marsh - Ceramicist. The University of Colorado department of Fine Arts presents Tony Marsh, "What Follows."Sources
- Marsh, Tony. "Art as Homage", Studio Potter 29, number 2.
- Marsh, Tony. General Artist's Statement, December 2001.
- Lauria, Jo. "Dialogues in Clay: A Conversation Between Tony Marsh and Kurt Weiser", Ceramics: Art and Perception no. 50, 2002. pp. 8–13.
External links
- Tony Marsh CV at CSU Long Beach Art Faculty website