Cracked Wheat
Artist
Shary Boyle
(Canadian, 1972-)
CultureCanadian
Date2018
MediumStoneware, steel, fiberglass, resin, foam, bronze
DimensionsOverall (Sculpture and Base): 2.74 × 1.63 × 1.63m (9 × 5.33 × 5.33ft)
DescriptionArtist Statement
My public sculpture on the front grounds of the Gardiner Museum celebrates our human connection to clay. Standing guard as a ceramic museum mascot, Cracked Wheat embodies history on legs.
In consideration of the universal role of ceramics in the human story, I believe a new work of public art at the Gardiner Museum should honour the primary symbol of the functional vessel. Pottery was the first synthetic material created by humans, and our strong relationship to its inherent functionality continues today. Although we now live in an age of industrialized production, the potter’s wheel and the mark of an individual’s hand cannot be divided from the material. Clay has also been rediscovered by a new generation of contemporary artists, and with them, a new audience and artistic relevance has followed. Cracked Wheat embraces the contemporary, historical, and domestic possibilities of the medium.
Standing on an 18-inch granite pedestal, the sculpture tilts provocatively towards the viewer and the street, with a friendly nod towards the Gardiner’s front doors. The sightline of the sculpture matches Jun Kaneko’s plinth, to create a visual symmetry flanking the grounds. As stage-left of the Gardiner is anchored by Kaneko’s ‘head’, stage right is balanced by a clay ‘body’.
In silhouette Cracked Wheat suggests a voluptuous cartoon figure, a vertical yet curvy Yin to the squat, masculine Yang of Kaneko’s sculpture. Reminiscent of early Renaissance alchemical drawings, the vase (or flask) nods to the experimental chemistry of ceramics, as well as the surrealist distortions of perspective that could result from consuming its contents. Balancing on human legs, it’s uncertain whether the vessel is a costume or a character compound.
Consisting of a 7-foot-tall smashed and restored vase, the painstakingly reassembled pieces reference ancient pottery shards of archeological digs. Like Humpty-Dumpty, its re-combined elements remind us of the extraordinary care taken to preserve an exceptional museum collection of such inherent fragility. The materials and form evoke transformation and alchemy, re-envisioning damaged goods as playful treasure.
Mounted on larger-than‐life childlike legs, the polished bronze and white clay of Cracked Wheat references the 18th-century European decorative tradition of ormolu. A map of gold painted cracks between its 220 unique porcelain shards pays homage to the reinvigorated 16th-century Japanese tradition of Kintsugi, which celebrates breakage, and repair, as part of an object’s history.
Public sculpture should consider site and architecture, but most importantly, generously reflect the public it serves. Ceramics are found in every world culture, within traditions as diverse as the citizens of Toronto. My sculpture is decorated with a vintage “Canadian Wheat” pattern, internationally mass-produced in the 1960’s for common, affordable tableware. The relationship between ceramics and food is symbiotic, from ancient pots to a favourite mug. Alongside rice, wheat is the world’s major staple food.
With its broken Canadiana and visible attempts at restoration, Cracked Wheat dares us to confront our complicated relationship to vulnerability, value, and our colonial status. It embodies a hybrid of cultural and ceramic references, iconic simplicity of form and welcoming accessibility: to delight and challenge children, art novices and insiders alike.
My public sculpture on the front grounds of the Gardiner Museum celebrates our human connection to clay. Standing guard as a ceramic museum mascot, Cracked Wheat embodies history on legs.
In consideration of the universal role of ceramics in the human story, I believe a new work of public art at the Gardiner Museum should honour the primary symbol of the functional vessel. Pottery was the first synthetic material created by humans, and our strong relationship to its inherent functionality continues today. Although we now live in an age of industrialized production, the potter’s wheel and the mark of an individual’s hand cannot be divided from the material. Clay has also been rediscovered by a new generation of contemporary artists, and with them, a new audience and artistic relevance has followed. Cracked Wheat embraces the contemporary, historical, and domestic possibilities of the medium.
Standing on an 18-inch granite pedestal, the sculpture tilts provocatively towards the viewer and the street, with a friendly nod towards the Gardiner’s front doors. The sightline of the sculpture matches Jun Kaneko’s plinth, to create a visual symmetry flanking the grounds. As stage-left of the Gardiner is anchored by Kaneko’s ‘head’, stage right is balanced by a clay ‘body’.
In silhouette Cracked Wheat suggests a voluptuous cartoon figure, a vertical yet curvy Yin to the squat, masculine Yang of Kaneko’s sculpture. Reminiscent of early Renaissance alchemical drawings, the vase (or flask) nods to the experimental chemistry of ceramics, as well as the surrealist distortions of perspective that could result from consuming its contents. Balancing on human legs, it’s uncertain whether the vessel is a costume or a character compound.
Consisting of a 7-foot-tall smashed and restored vase, the painstakingly reassembled pieces reference ancient pottery shards of archeological digs. Like Humpty-Dumpty, its re-combined elements remind us of the extraordinary care taken to preserve an exceptional museum collection of such inherent fragility. The materials and form evoke transformation and alchemy, re-envisioning damaged goods as playful treasure.
Mounted on larger-than‐life childlike legs, the polished bronze and white clay of Cracked Wheat references the 18th-century European decorative tradition of ormolu. A map of gold painted cracks between its 220 unique porcelain shards pays homage to the reinvigorated 16th-century Japanese tradition of Kintsugi, which celebrates breakage, and repair, as part of an object’s history.
Public sculpture should consider site and architecture, but most importantly, generously reflect the public it serves. Ceramics are found in every world culture, within traditions as diverse as the citizens of Toronto. My sculpture is decorated with a vintage “Canadian Wheat” pattern, internationally mass-produced in the 1960’s for common, affordable tableware. The relationship between ceramics and food is symbiotic, from ancient pots to a favourite mug. Alongside rice, wheat is the world’s major staple food.
With its broken Canadiana and visible attempts at restoration, Cracked Wheat dares us to confront our complicated relationship to vulnerability, value, and our colonial status. It embodies a hybrid of cultural and ceramic references, iconic simplicity of form and welcoming accessibility: to delight and challenge children, art novices and insiders alike.
Credit LineCommissioned for the Gardiner Museum to celebrate Canada's Sesquicentennial in 2017.
Artwork Commissioned by La Foundation Emmanuelle Gattuso
Project Supported by the City of Toronto
Object numberG18.3.1
Classifications
Modern and Contemporary CeramicsSub-classification
CanadianCollections
Status
On view
Artist / Maker: Casa Pirota Workshop
1537
Object number: G83.1.351
