Rudolf Staffel   1      2      -      PRINTER VERSION

Published in American Craft, 49(6), Dec/Jan 1990.

As I walked through "Selected Works: 1935-1989", a retrospective of Rudolf Staffel, I was surprised to find myself comparing his art with that of Peter Voulkos. Both are intent on capturing and freezing the spontaneous gesture in clay, and both appear to be committed to the vessel even though they don't explore a large variety of forms. (The majority of the 57 pieces in this exhibition, for example, were based either on the cylindrical vase or bowl.) And, as is the case with "action" artists who rely totally on intuition and the "moment", the gap between Staffel's and Voulkos' successes and failures is wide. The longer I looked at Staffel's work, though, the more I couldn't help feeling that it was every bit as adventurous, expressive and significant as VouIkos'. How then could I account for Voulkos' huge reputation and Staffel¼s relatively modest one?

Up until about 10 years ago, Voulkos was the model of a ceramics superstar. A hard-drinking, aggressive, macho performer, he excited and galvanized ceramists at workshops across the country. The charismatic Voulkos was perfect in the role of the modern artist as alienated hero ý la Jackson Pollock. In a field where critical discourse was rare, that kind of charisma and showmanship was as important—if not more important—to an artist's success as aesthetic content. Things have changed, however. The focus of ceramists and all their institutions has for the most part shifted away from an artist's persona to what he is saying in his work, and how eloquently. In this new climate we can, perhaps, finally begin to assess the importance of less flamboyant artists, like Rudolf Staffel.

Staffel, who was born in 1911 in San Antonio, Texas, and taught ceramics at Philadelphia's Tyler School of Art from 1940 until his retirement in 1978, is best known for his translucent porcelains. It was interesting, therefore, to see some of his early work in stoneware. The earliest, a wheel-thrown bust of an African-American male, titled Head, ca. 1935-36, reminds one of both an African tribal mask and a North Carolina face jug. In sgraffito on the back is a tableau depicting the lynching of a black man. Poignant without being overly emotional, the bust projects not only despair and outrage but also the sense of helplessness one feels when confronted with the lack of humanity and the injustice of one's own culture. Although none of Staffel's later pieces use imagery or have direct political content, they all share the same kind of seriousness and purpose.

Since the early 1960s, judging from the works on display, Staffel has been obsessed with the idea of translucence and how to achieve it. In the exhibition brochure, he says, "Process precedes ideas, the work is strictly determined by process in relation to my ability to invent processes. Translucence was about the only thing I wanted." This approach may explain some of the less successful pieces in the show. In these, color, form and surface treatment all struggle against each other for recognition. The result is like a fibrillating heart whose uncoordinated movements keep it from performing its vital role.

When Staffel is in the proverbial "groove", however, his pieces have an extraordinary sense of urgency rarely found in contemporary ceramic art. He achieves this without using any of the tricks that others employ: tremendous scale, luscious, eye-catching glazes or attempts to make clay look like something
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