{"id":73,"date":"2024-04-25T11:53:49","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T15:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/theclayarchive\/?page_id=73"},"modified":"2024-04-26T08:43:28","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T12:43:28","slug":"juan-quezada-celado","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/theclayarchive\/juan-quezada-celado\/","title":{"rendered":"Juan Quezada Celado"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Born in 1940 in Dr. Belisario Domínguez, Chihuahua, México and raised in Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua, Juan Quezada Celado was known for bringing to life ceramic traditions of the Paquimé and Casas Grandes Indigenous communities located in what is now called Chihuahua (also known as Oasisamerica region). Having no prior ceramic knowledge and no support from experienced potters, Juan studied the pots himself, recreated them, and eventually gained international recognition for his work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Photograph of Juan Quezada with two younger children.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Juan first shared his techniques with his siblings, Consolacion and Reynaldo, and later with other family and friends. Thus began the Mata Ortiz Movement of the 1980s and 90s. Juan’s work has resulted in about 300 families who earn all or part of their income from pottery, making it the main economic activity of the town. Everyone participates in the trade and everyone benefits from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A note on “art” vs “craft”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Discourse on making the distinction between “art” and “craft” has been constant in the contemporary “art world.” Some critics “claim that this difference in evaluative meaning reflects our culture’s elitist values: what white European men make is dignified by the label “art,” while what everyone else makes counts only as craft” (Markowitz). Think of holding a pot in your hands. What does its materiality, aesthetic, or style tell you? At first glance, we know it’s handmade and probably region\/culture-specific. Now, think of a Picasso painting in a museum. Everything about this painting, technique, style, even background story stems from Picasso himself as an acclaimed artist and him being an expert in this very specific style. Could ceramics do the same? Yes, even more so in the contemporary art circles. While the international recognition of the culture, craft, heritage can be valuable, at the same time we can encounter losses of meaning, history, and create misunderstandings. However, ceramics–craft in general– are not hierarchical or authoritative in the same way art is. Ceramics in this cultural context are inherently communal and non-hierarchical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Oscar G. Quezada, Mexican, 
Seed Pot. Unknown date, private collection.
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