Mourning Ware with Funeral Fringe
Collection: Houston Airport System (HAS)
2019
Inherited crushed dinnerware embedded in obsidian clay, cut up discarded inner tube
Location:
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
2800 N Terminal Rd
Houston, TX 77032
About the Artwork:
Mourning Ware with Funeral Fringe (2019)
by Anna Mayer
Anna Mayer, born in Illinois in 1974, is a professor of sculpture at the University of Houston. Her artworks have been featured in the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Moody Center for the Arts, California Museum of Photography, Glasgow International, and more. Mayer has received the Houston Artadia Award, Galveston Artist Residency, Guggenheim Fellowship, and more. Here is one of her sculptures that measures over two feet high, one foot wide, and one foot deep. It has two main elements: the first is a vase-like vessel, and the second is a “fringe” of rods with swirling handles and spherical tops that surround the vessel. Both elements are made of manganese-saturated clay that has been fired to approximately 2167 degrees. Note the specks of white throughout the black surface of the ceramic work; these are crushed pieces of dinnerware inherited by Mayer from her family. According to Mayer, this is a reference to a mourning ritual from the Victorian era where women wore black clothes, to symbolize grief, that gradually included lighter patterns over months and years to “transition” from grief. The rods are held together around the vessel by an inner tube from a bicycle tire.
Vajilla de Luto con Flecos Funerarios (2019)
by Anna Mayer
Anna Mayer, nacida en Illinois en 1974, es profesora de escultura en la University of Houston. Sus obras han sido exhibidas en el Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, el Moody Center for the Arts, el California Museum of Photography, la Glasgow International, y más. Mayer ha recibido el Premio Artadia de Houston, la Residencia de Artistas de Galveston, la Beca Guggenheim, entre otros reconocimientos. Aquí se presenta una de sus esculturas que mide más de dos pies de alto, un pie de ancho, y un pie de profundidad. Consta de dos elementos principales: el primero es un envase similar a un jarrón, y el segundo es un “friso” de varillas con asas en espiral y remates esféricos que rodea al envase. Ambos elementos están hechos de arcilla saturada de manganeso cocida a una temperatura de aproximadamente 2167 grados. Observe los puntos blancos dispersos por la superficie negra de la obra cerámica; se trata de fragmentos triturados de vajilla que Mayer heredó de su familia. Según Mayer, esto constituye una referencia a un ritual de duelo de la época victoriana en el que las mujeres vestían de negro, para simbolizar el luto, e incorporaban gradualmente motivos más claros a lo largo de meses y años a fin de realizar una “transición” fuera del duelo. Las varillas se mantienen unidas alrededor del recipiente mediante una cámara de aire de bicicleta.
Mourning Ware with Funeral Fringe (2019)
by Anna Mayer
Anna Mayer, born in Illinois in 1974, is a professor of sculpture at the University of Houston. Her artworks have been featured in the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Moody Center for the Arts, California Museum of Photography, Glasgow International, and more. Mayer has received the Houston Artadia Award, Galveston Artist Residency, Guggenheim Fellowship, and more. Here is one of her sculptures that measures over two feet high, one foot wide, and one foot deep. It has two main elements: the first is a vase-like vessel, and the second is a “fringe” of rods with swirling handles and spherical tops that surround the vessel. Both elements are made of manganese-saturated clay that has been fired to approximately 2167 degrees. Note the specks of white throughout the black surface of the ceramic work; these are crushed pieces of dinnerware inherited by Mayer from her family. According to Mayer, this is a reference to a mourning ritual from the Victorian era where women wore black clothes, to symbolize grief, that gradually included lighter patterns over months and years to “transition” from grief. The rods are held together around the vessel by an inner tube from a bicycle tire.
Vajilla de Luto con Flecos Funerarios (2019)
by Anna Mayer
Anna Mayer, nacida en Illinois en 1974, es profesora de escultura en la University of Houston. Sus obras han sido exhibidas en el Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, el Moody Center for the Arts, el California Museum of Photography, la Glasgow International, y más. Mayer ha recibido el Premio Artadia de Houston, la Residencia de Artistas de Galveston, la Beca Guggenheim, entre otros reconocimientos. Aquí se presenta una de sus esculturas que mide más de dos pies de alto, un pie de ancho, y un pie de profundidad. Consta de dos elementos principales: el primero es un envase similar a un jarrón, y el segundo es un “friso” de varillas con asas en espiral y remates esféricos que rodea al envase. Ambos elementos están hechos de arcilla saturada de manganeso cocida a una temperatura de aproximadamente 2167 grados. Observe los puntos blancos dispersos por la superficie negra de la obra cerámica; se trata de fragmentos triturados de vajilla que Mayer heredó de su familia. Según Mayer, esto constituye una referencia a un ritual de duelo de la época victoriana en el que las mujeres vestían de negro, para simbolizar el luto, e incorporaban gradualmente motivos más claros a lo largo de meses y años a fin de realizar una “transición” fuera del duelo. Las varillas se mantienen unidas alrededor del recipiente mediante una cámara de aire de bicicleta.