Ceramics and Glass
In the film Breakfast Club (1985), a group of students are held in detention with an assignment to write about who they think they are. This film offers a picture of a school that is different in many ways from Konstfack and the Ceramics and Glass Department. At the same time there are similarities: like it’s not enough just to do things; you have to put your thoughts into words too. This is a part of understanding one’s role in a field of work; it is also a task that students view positively as well as with resistance. The demanding teachers in the film have given the students the task of writing about themselves, but the task is more than that of course. They have all been detained for different reasons and on the surface they appear to be different too. But somehow they manage to agree to give the teacher the finger and write a common paper about confronting prejudices or problems, themselves and others, and solve a problem in a creative way. A love affair and maybe even a loyal friendship are other results.
So there are some similarities between the students in the film and the students who are now graduating from Ceramics and Glass. They all have different perspectives on form and craftsmanship. They all have different qualities and are deeply a part of their own time. The questions they ask, practically and thematically, embrace a number of areas and are based upon personal observations, which they have further developed in an effort to touch other people, areas and issues. We can choose to view them as fantastic individuals with a lot to give, or as contemporary stereotypes. The choice is not theirs, but ours.
This degree project poses questions regarding the field in which these graduating students are working. It poses questions that also require something of those of us who are here. These students are compelled to express their views on their art and craftsmanship, as well as on their position in the field, which they forward on to us. We don’t talk about detention – at Konstfack we talk about learning goals achieved by students through their work. All of these students express a strong desire to formulate something on their own; they propose that it is necessary to revise views on arts and crafts. And maybe they’re giving us all the finger. But they are doing it in a gesture of love and with respect for materials, forms of expression and tradition. We’re proud of what they’ve done.
We wish them all the best of luck. To you from us: always remember to be yourselves.
Zandra Ahl, Professor of Ceramics
Per B Sundberg, Visiting Professor of Glass
So there are some similarities between the students in the film and the students who are now graduating from Ceramics and Glass. They all have different perspectives on form and craftsmanship. They all have different qualities and are deeply a part of their own time. The questions they ask, practically and thematically, embrace a number of areas and are based upon personal observations, which they have further developed in an effort to touch other people, areas and issues. We can choose to view them as fantastic individuals with a lot to give, or as contemporary stereotypes. The choice is not theirs, but ours.
This degree project poses questions regarding the field in which these graduating students are working. It poses questions that also require something of those of us who are here. These students are compelled to express their views on their art and craftsmanship, as well as on their position in the field, which they forward on to us. We don’t talk about detention – at Konstfack we talk about learning goals achieved by students through their work. All of these students express a strong desire to formulate something on their own; they propose that it is necessary to revise views on arts and crafts. And maybe they’re giving us all the finger. But they are doing it in a gesture of love and with respect for materials, forms of expression and tradition. We’re proud of what they’ve done.
We wish them all the best of luck. To you from us: always remember to be yourselves.
Zandra Ahl, Professor of Ceramics
Per B Sundberg, Visiting Professor of Glass