ARTH 264 Aspects of the History of Ceramics

• Wednesdays, 8:45-11:15 am
• Course delivery TBC
• Instructor: Dr. Susan Surette

During the last three thousand years, ceramic tiles have performed the function of containing, cladding and dressing buildings. However, in the twentieth century this rich history was largely eclipsed by modernist architecture’s rejection of ornament. Happily, it lingered on at the periphery of Western and non-Western practices and discourse just long enough to become a force in late modern and postmodern expressions, testified to by the wide variety of artistic approaches to ceramic tiles within the art, craft and architectural communities. Some of these include the modernist works of Josef Albers and Claude Vermette, as well as postmodern examples that combine industry and craft, decoration and concept. Turning to examples of tile forms, their glazed and relief decorative surfaces, sculptural variations, and applications to buildings from the first millennium BCE to the present, this course explores how contemporary Western expressions have revisited historical precedents. Specific historical tile productions to be covered include Islamic, Medieval, Renaissance, and later European and North American studio and industrial productions. These objects will be considered within their original and present architectural spaces and modes of making, understood as social, cultural and even political. This interdisciplinary course looks to art and craft histories, anthropology and material culture and explores issues pertaining to Heritage, Decoration, Orientalism, and the Applied Arts.