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Inside the 'New White Cube' II

eramics that exist in cyberspace may be called 'Virtual Ceramics'. Cyberspace is not something that can be measured in centimeters or inches. In a way, it can be understood as a virtual reality, a type of alternative digital world, made by real people, that we experience through manifestations on our computer screen. It has become a very real element in our lives and is no more or less real than other spaces.

While some people have trouble accepting virtual ceramics as objects or even object to calling them ceramics, these things do exist. They just exist in another realm than we are used to. The computer file is a bit like a plaster mold. Once you have made the mold, you can cast as many objects from it as you like. Similarly, with a computer file you can print as many prints of an image as you like, or go even further and produce as many objects on a milling machine as you like. Where does the justification for the term 'ceramic' come in? This can come from many sources - it may be a chosen ceramic surface that we apply to the virtual object, it may come from historical references we assign to the virtual object or it may just be a traditional ceramic form, like a teapot - easily recognizable by anyone.

Virtual Ceramics are not just designs made for industrial production, i.e. CAD/CAM, but a hybrid form of ceramics combined with elements of computer art and design, which constitute something altogether new and different. Of course the rise of a new 'virtual ceramic' aesthetic also poses many new questions such as When is a piece virtual and when is it not? Where are the boundaries? Clearly the definitions have to be refined. One could ask "Is there an original?" The computer file can be copied ad infinitum without any loss in quality, so can it be the original? Or is the print of a model the original or the first solid output, made on a milling machine or lathe? If the notion of the original or one-off is negated by the digital medium, what does this mean for the craftsperson or collector? Another question which arises from these issues is that of copyright. Because the digital medium can be copied so easily, is there a danger there? When someone buys a digital art work or virtual ceramic, who retains copyright of that work? One big problem we have when dealing with this relatively new area is that of terminology. We haven't yet developed a proper language to deal with virtual craft. Antagonisms between different camps in this matter sometimes arise purely from differences in interpretations of definitions. When you say 'a mug' you mean a ceramic mug. If I say 'virtual mug', you might see a contradiction in terms. Yet if I show you a photo of a mug, you will say 'that is a mug' - the signifier becoming the signified - but why is no longer a mug when it is created digitally? The digital mug is actually much more multidimensional and than the photo, as it can be viewed and manipulated 3-dimensionally.

One fear of some ceramists and potters with their feet firmly rooted in the various age-old ceramics traditions have, is that computers and other new technologies are taking over and replacing those old traditions. Will we all end up just sitting at computer terminals, hacking away at keyboards, modeling in bytes and bits and leaving the actual act of production up to machines? Will we all be turned into designers?

Is the information revolution sending the crafts into a Diaspora? Is cyberspace taking over the crafts like a 'Plan 9 from Outer Space'? I doubt this very much. At least for the moment. We have already witnessed the industrial revolution of the 19th century with its methods of mass production and new materials such as plastics. Tupperware hasn't replaced the ceramic mug. The mass produced mug hasn't replaced the hand made one-off piece. Industrial ware can't compete with handmade work when it comes to the sensual experience. There is nothing more beautiful than the feel of a wood-fired Japanese tea bowl that fits just snugly into your hand or a piece of smooth velvety unglazed porcelain. And the industrial revolution hasn't stopped ceramic artists and other crafts people from making highly individual work, or buyers and collectors from purchasing that work. On the contrary, the rise of industrialism freed the ceramist from the shackles of controlled artisanship and finally brought about the rise of the studio pottery we are familiar with today. However this is not to say, that computers and new technologies are not influencing, or will not influence our ceramics practice. This is undoubtedly already happening today.

The computer offers us some avenues of exploration that were previously not possible. While it may be a steep learning curve to master some of the necessary software, even simple programs can offer a high level of design flexibility. Simple functions like lathing or extruding forms, which relate to actions we are used to from handling clay, can be replicated on the computer and put to good effect. Freed from the constraints of the material world, potters and ceramists are free to let their imaginations run wild and create imaginary works with a high level of realism. This can go as far as creating not only quasi-ceramic objects, but whole scenes or worlds. In cyberspace there is no gravity, so tea can flow upwards from a teapot, virtual clay can be made to do things which would be impossible in the physical realm. You might ask "why". I ask "why not"? And if you wanted to make an actual work in clay, a model could be worked on in 3D before actually rendering it in a ceramic medium.

The possibility of disregarding the law of gravity, importing surfaces from any source, deforming and manipulating and combining different elements, gives the ceramist a new set of tools which can help to visualize ideas, view ceramics from a different perspective and even to create alternate ceramic realities. But Virtual Craft need not be restricted to the virtual walls of the 'New White Cube'. Virtual Craft may also be translated into actual works in clay or other materials. These may be a straight translation of 3D modeled objects into clay. Resourceful potters may also source alternative technologies to materialize their work, such as Judith Cook's use of a new decal manufacturing and firing process, or Les Lawrence's use of inkjet printers with fireable inks. Possibly the most advanced technique of creating work at the moment is the use of the industrial techniques of Rapid Prototyping, Stereolithography and Selective Laser Sintering. These techniques are used in industry to create models for industrial testing and manufacture and are still quite expensive. A 20cm bowl could cost thousands to make, but this technology will eventually come down in price. Rapid Protoyping uses a computer file of a 3D model to cut slices of paper, which are bonded together layer by layer, building up an object. Stereolithography uses computer controlled lasers to harden a resin bath in increments of one tenth of a millimeter. As you can imagine, incredible detail becomes possible. Selective Laser sintering is a similar technique that uses a mixture of nylon and glass powder, which is then also hardened by lasers.

In fact, I would not be surprised if one day, we will have kilns that 'fire' clay by sintering a clay powder with computer guided lasers. Technology may even go further and at some time in the not-too-distant future, we may be able to rearrange the molecules of the air to produce any desired material. Experiments in this direction are already happening. The result would be a 'ceramics replicator' - a machine which might look similar to a microwave and would create an object chosen from a 'menu' - maybe an Alessi or Walter Gropius teapot, a Leach Bottle or an Anagama water jar, or maybe even a 2nd century BC Greek Vase.

I realize that many of you will scoff at such ideas, but with rapid prototyping, nano-technology and self-replicating machines, we are already moving in this direction. Less than a decade ago, we wouldn't have thought it possible to manipulate genes so well that we could clone other beings. Yet not long ago a sheep named 'Dolly' was cloned. And a doctor in the USA is openly working towards cloning the first human being. It's certainly not going to hurt to be aware of current developments and future possibilities. And let's not forget that it's not always easy to foresee the future correctly. In 1949, the magazine Popular Mechanics, forecasting the development of computer technology, suggested that "Computers in the future may weigh only 1.5 tons" (!).

Inside the 'New White Cube' Part I
Inside the 'New White Cube' Part III

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