Out of Anarchy: Five Decades of Ceramics and Hybrid Sculptures (1959−2009)
2011
Published by Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art20.5 x 25.5 cm90 pagesHardcoverISBN 9781450735995
Out of Anarchy sets out the change in ceramics that took place in the 20th century and includes a marvelous golden period during the 1960s and ’70s when clay was simply a medium for expression with very few preconceived ideas or rules. Locke’s approach is, first, art and expression and second, the containment of ceramics. He has seen both the birth of studio ceramics, and for me, to a great extent, its death as expressive force. His consistent drive in the mixed-media work for the expression of emotion, exploration and uncertainty, is evident in each new series produced over the five decades illustrated in this book. In Britain, the base for Locke’s development as an artist, these elements are unfashionable today. Design is art and art schools have returned to rules of what is good and bad.