John Byrd
He teaches at the University of South Florida,
received his BFA from Louisiana state university and his MFA from the
university of Washington in 2000. He won
the Myhre fellowship at the Archie Bray Foundation and the Virginia A. Groot
award in 2004. He won the juror’s prize
at the World Ceramic Biennial and is in many collections worldwide.
Untitled (hunting dog)
17x33x9 inches
Porcelain, taxidermy (fox), cast plastic, mixed media
Tricky Buck
33x25x22 inches
Ceramic, taxidermy,
cast plastic, smoking unit, led light, smoke fluid.
"A significant part of my visual language is that of autonomous, decorative art objects (figurines, trophies, souvenirs). Within a domestic space, I’m intrigued by the ability of an encapsulated aesthetic to establish, challenge, and defy characteristics of culture and class."
Untitled (bobcat)
23x14x11 inches
Hand-built, polished porcelain, taxidermy, cast plastic,
mixed media.
(N)ever the Worst of
Us
Hand-built Porcelain, taxidermy, mixed media
66x22x22
(N)ever the Worst of Us
(Detail)
What I needed in an Ashtray
Hand-built ceramic, electric light, mixed media.
24 x 36 x 20 inches
He talks about
influences coming largely from childhood and background as a ceramic
artist. Growing up in the rural south but
not originally from there he was around a hunting culture but felt like an
outsider looking in. The consumer hunter
culture and their trophies can be seen clearly in his work. He isn’t directly responsible for killing the
creatures he uses in his work but does acknowledge that by consuming them he
plays a role. He rationalizes using them
by attempting to elevate them to an honorable state, some of his work seems to
be humorous so I am not sure if this is successful. He claims to not make a firm stance on animal
rights which would be difficult because his process may conflict heavily. These are interesting pieces that do draw a
viewer in to look closer. The story they
tell isn’t always obvious but it seems intentional.
Many of his pieces have a beautiful
surface that is achieved by polishing porcelain. While looking for how I came
across this site that explains what it is and has a few other interesting
techniques (http://www.bakedclaystudio.com/surfaces
). From a few other threads it seems that
the porcelain is wet sanded after bisque, working up in grit. This gives a unique marble like finish.
Citations
Artist Talk –
Everyday Atrocities: John Byrd, Gregory Green, & Julie Weitz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AIHUrAKkl4