Stacking box 1999

Curator: This striking ceramic work is titled "Stacking box" and was created by Randy J. Johnston in 1999. The piece employs earthenware and what appears to be a wooden-fired technique, creating rich surface variations. Editor: My first impression is how much it feels like a utilitarian object striving to be something grander. The bright orange-red, the stacked form… It hints at ceremony, maybe a connection to earth and hearth. Curator: Exactly! When considering this "Stacking box," we need to examine Johnston's process. Notice the textured surface of the clay – likely achieved through the impressing of fabric or another material directly into the wet clay. Then consider how the act of stacking the boxes speaks to repetitive processes – similar to the repetition and actions that craft traditions depend on. Editor: And culturally, stacked boxes often signify hierarchy and status, but here the slightly imperfect edges and very grounded form destabilize that potential meaning. Could it be about a collapsing of such systems? How even containers are subject to entropy? Curator: That interpretation highlights an important tension, that it appears as a container, a box, but doesn't present traditional notions around containing power. It questions the idea of craft objects as purely functional through the incorporation of visual interest that outweighs functionality, disrupting typical art hierarchies and production processes. Editor: Looking closer, I can almost imagine this box belonging to someone...perhaps storing cherished belongings. The color, especially, is warm, giving a tactile sense, although of something baked and sturdy and potentially heavy to lift, but ultimately still quite domestic. Curator: Precisely, and think of how earthenware is formed in clay. Its own transformation in substance by heating the materials. From earth elements to crafted vessel, it embodies a profound transformation process, that is meant to speak to craft and functional form. Editor: In the end, I am stuck with this work straddling functional design and symbolic cultural commentary; I wonder, are we seeing an intimate conversation piece around themes of social mobility? Curator: I would say it has demonstrated a strong and sophisticated materiality of art practice.