American ceramist Justin Novak . . "The ceramic figurine has historically embodied a mainstream, bourgeois ideology, and for this reason I have employed it in the presentation of an alternative vision, an ironic anti-figurine, or `disfigurine`. In the "disfigurine" series, physical wounds such as bruises and lacerations serve as metaphors for psychological harm. Whereas the figurine has historically represented the dominant culture`s norm and ideals, the disfigurines speak of the damage inflicted by those very same expectations. "

Justin Novak has been an Associate Professor of Visual Art and Material Practice at Emily Carr since the Fall of 2007. He teaches in the areas of Ceramics and Illustration. After receiving his BFA in Communications Design from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, Justin spent fifteen years working as a freelance illustrator in New York City, for a range of clients (including The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Macmillan Publishing, Harper Collins, Tor Books, and the Book-of-the-Month Club, among others). A second career followed, as an exhibiting artist working primarily in the medium of ceramics. Much of his ceramic work, which has ranged from figurative sculpture to utilitarian design, has been developed within international residency programs, including the Kohler Factory in Wisconsin, the Walbryzch Factory in Walbryzch, Poland, the Arabia Factory in Helsinki and the National Workshops of Art and Crafts in Copenhagen.