15A-2024 – Virgil Ortiz- ReVOlution: The Future of Clay

Introduction

In ReVOlution: The Future of Clay, master storyteller and futurist Virgil Ortiz will bring you into his world.  He reinvisions the historical events of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 in the year 2180 and will show how he has blended age-old traditional methods with contemporary clay techniques to world build a time yet to happen. Through experiencing his story, you will develop your own.

The context

In 2008, Ortiz started writing a screenplay, “Revolt 1680/2180,” an epic tale he portrays through a series of works including vessels, busts, sculptures, and now live actors. The central cast of characters Ortiz has created over the years—characters like the Blind Archers, Venutian Soldiers, Translator, and the Recon Watchmen depict a dystopian future as 500 years after the revolt time-travelers return from the year 2180 to the past of 1680, to protect the Pueblos preserving and recording Pueblo culture and traditions so that they can carry them over to future generations.

Course contents

ReVOlution: The Future of Clay begins with a visual presentation introducing a framework for this course. The course then will focus on showing students the tools and techniques with which they can evoke, explore and manifest their own stories. In addition to ways to develop creativity, techniques taught will be coil building and scraping, figure proportions, carving methods, and finishing details by adding color with underglazes. Finished work will be gas fired in oxidation atmosphere.

Teaching method

Virgil Ortiz’ message is the following: Prepare to dive into your imagination and storytelling and to connect to your personal past. Believe in your visions and messaging from the past, present, and beyond. Set your goals high and Never Stop Creating.

Further to the work in the studio, there will be the opportunity to collaborate with the students of Simon Levin’s class. Together we will be participating in storytelling, envisioning, and manifesting.  One person’s imagination ignites another’s.  Ideas will be shared, explored, developed and opportunities to work together in pairs or in groups will be encouraged.  A fearless approach to materials and processes will be supported by both artist’s vast experience in traditional and cutting-edge techniques.

Logistics

A full meal will be served on every class day. Lodging is included int he cost.

The artist

With a career spanning four decades, Virgil Ortiz’s artistry extends across various media and boundaries—challenging societal expectations and breaking taboos. Raised in a creative environment filled with storytelling, collecting clay, gathering wild plants, and producing figurative pottery, he remains influenced by his grandmother and mother, renowned Cochiti Pueblo potters. Through his exploration of working with clay and various media, Ortiz fuses his Pueblo culture with sci-fi, fantasy, and apocalyptic themes, yielding provocative and futuristic imagery while shaping the fantastical world he’s creating with clay and multi-media art. Ortiz’s works are in museum collections worldwide, including the Stedelijk Museum- Hertogenbosch, Fondation Cartier pour I’art contemporain, Smithsonian Institution, Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Minneapolis Museum of Art, and Denver Art Museum.

“Clay is the core of all my creations. Pueblo communities are very much alive and have a level of vitality that speaks to generations of strength, persistence, and thriving energy.” — Virgil Ortiz