The Unfinished Artification of Ceramics in France: Reversing Stigma and Creating a New Artistic Norm

Abstract

Ceramic artists emerged as a professional group in France in the second half of the 20th century by shunning industrial standards and basing their practice on the notion of singularity. They also reappropriated the craft legacy of the small pottery companies that began disappearing in the 1940s, embracing principles such as seriality and functionality, and defining a specific bundle of tasks. Ceramicists underwent a partial artification process, rendering their practice discordant with what institutionally and legally constitutes art, as well as diverging from the standard definition of craft. Certain art ceramicists contest the cultural ranking that policymakers apply which excludes art-crafts from the purview of art. To claim recognition for the composite nature of their practice, they seek recourse to the courts to create new legal norms. They also strive to expand the definition of art. The article demonstrates how shifts in the balance of power both inside a professional group and between the group and government agencies can influence institutional definitions of art.