Cristina Carvalho
Richard Notkin is an artist who most known for his piece called "The Gift". He also is known for the small teapots he makes that were inspired by the Yixing teapots of China. His use of symbolism in his teapots and other pieces that he has made are based on the darker side of human existence. He once said this about his artwork, "As the poet economizes words, I have developed a similar means of expression in the ceramic arts through the conservation of materials. I believe that the aesthetic impact of a work of art is not proportional to its size, but to its content. It is not the objects created which are of prime importance, but the lives of people who may be touched in significant ways.”
I chose Richard Notkin because I liked how he chose to make pieces that symbolize a deep meaning that is unavoidable. Instead of doing some "light" topic, he dared to dive into a topic that many people may not easily think about. Also I really like all the detail that he puts into the pieces and how realistic they turn out.
So for the project I wanted to use concept of symbolism that he uses in his art and make something using that. The first thought that came to me was water contamination and in my pieces I would so that progression. After thinking a while about it I thought it was not a strong enough idea because Richard Notkin's are so much more meaningful. So i decided to have it symbolize the different amount of struggles people go through.