Robert Arneson Audio Tour

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The Southern California art scene exploded with artistic innovation and social change post-World War II. The years 1945 to 1980 saw the creation and collapse of various art movements and shaped Southern California as a major cultural force. Laguna Art Museum continues to explore the Getty's region-wide initiative Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980 with its own permanent collection, revealing important paintings, sculptures, and often overlooked artists from the crucial post-World War II years through the tumultuous period of the 1960s and 70s.

Robert Arneson Video Presentation

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In this video I will be discussing a brief background on Robert Arneson. Along with brief information, I have also discussed the background on each artwork that Arneson created. I have put the portraits in order from the year they were created to insure a easy way for listeners to understand the similarities between each piece. The materials used in each piece is also described in the video. Thank you and enjoy!

Robert Arneson & The Davis Group — Revolutions Of The Wheel

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Part Four of the five-part American ceramics history film, Revolutions Of The Wheel, examines the career and work of one of the most controversial of 20th Century American potters, the San Francisco Bay resident and professor, Robert Arneson – the father of ceramic Funk Art.

Fellow artists Jim Brady, Peter VandenBerge and Richard Shaw reminisce about the years they worked along side Arneson at the University of Californi, Davis.
An extensive interview with Arneson's widow, the artist Sandra Shannonhouse, explains his need to explore the human condition. Historians and critics clarify the work of this most extraordinary artist.

For details on how to order this American ceramics documentary film, please visit

California Draftsman – Robert Arneson – Self Portrait Drawing

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Robert Arneson was an American sculptor and ceramicist who is considered as the father of Funk Art, the anti-establishment movement that incorporated a mélange of found objects, autobiographical subjects, and humor.
Although he worked in many media (including painting and printmaking), Robert Arneson is perhaps best known as the most important ceramic sculptor in the field. He mixed a sense of humor and a strong, political point of view in his body of work. His work focused on Social Commentary with major themes being the Self Portrait, Friends and Influential People and Concerns about Nuclear War.

Ceramic artist Richard Notkin demonstrates slip casting

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Ceramic artist Richard Notkin demonstrates slip casting for a teapot. Richard is featured in the Landscape episode of Craft in America, which premiered in May 2007 on PBS.

For more on Craft in America, visit www.craftinamerica.org.
All Craft in America programs are now viewable on the PBS iPhone/iPad app and online at video.pbs.org/program/craft-in-america.
To purchase DVDs: www.shoppbs.org/family/index.jsp?categoryId=3854896

Richard Notkin: The Trumpolini Series

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Produced on the occasion of:
Richard Notkin – 2020
October 1–31, 2020
Russo Lee Gallery
Portland, Oregon

Artist's Statement

2020. If only this year could be erased from history as easily as unsolicited spam can be deleted from an email account.

For over 50 years, and as many one-person exhibitions, my quest as an artist has been a personal plea for sanity, an end to war and the elimination of the threat to humanity of nuclear weaponry. I believe that the works of artists, of all media, can—and has—made a difference in the trajectory of human history. This group of artworks is my latest contribution, however small, to that collective effort.

I turn 72 years of age at the end of this month. One week later, our nation goes to the polls to elect the next president, and determine the future of our democracy and the fate of human civilization. Nothing less than the survival of our children and grandchildren is at stake. My art expresses my passions and my views.

I hope this work has an impact on you. I hope it inspires you to vote.

Richard Notkin
October, 2020