Object Record
Metadata
Artist |
Jordan, John |
Title |
Black Textured Vessel |
Medium |
Carved, dyed maple |
Date |
1998 |
Description |
John Jordan (Nashville 1950; lives and works in Cane Ridge, Tennessee) Black Textured Vessel, 1998 Carved, dyed maple 10 x 8 x 8 inches Knoxville Museum of Art, 2006 gift of Martha Connell John Jordan, of Cane Ridge, Tennessee, is known for his refined lathe-turned vessels. The conservation-minded artist prefers to salvage his raw material from dumps or construction sites. He begins by lathe-turning a block of freshly cut or "green" wood, which is less prone to cracking or splitting. After creating the basic vessel form on the lathe, he removes it and spends weeks adding a variety of surface details and textures by hand with a variety of personally-designed tools. The two vessels here represent the broad range of surface effects in Jordan's repertoire. For Silver Maple Vessel he uses a clear, smooth finish to reveal the beauty of the swirling wood grain, and introduces the illusion of movement with a network of carved lines. For Black Textured Vessel, Jordan pits the surface with thousands of tiny cuts and then masks the wood grain behind a dense coating of black dye. Jordan's work is represented in the collections of the Birmingham Museum of Art; Birmingham, AL; Detroit Institute of Arts, the High Museum of Art; Atlanta; Hunter Museum of Art; Chattanooga; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Long Beach Museum of Art; Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Mobile Museum of Art; Alabama; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Philadelphia Museum of Art; the The Smithsonian Museum of American Art/Renwick Gallery; Washington, D.C.; Victoria and Albert Museum; London; White House Collection of American Crafts; Washington, D.C.; and the Yale University Art Gallery. John Jordan, of Cane Ridge, Tennessee, is known for his refined lathe-turned vessels. The conservation-minded artist prefers to salvage his raw material from dumps or construction sites. He begins by lathe-turning a block of freshly cut or "green" wood, which is less prone to cracking or splitting. After creating the basic vessel form on the lathe, he removes it and spends weeks adding a variety of surface details and textures by hand with a variety of personally-designed tools. The two vessels here represent the broad range of surface effects in Jordan's repertoire. For Silver Maple Vessel he uses a clear, smooth finish to reveal the beauty of the swirling wood grain, and introduces the illusion of movement with a network of carved lines. For Black Textured Vessel, Jordan pits the surface with thousands of tiny cuts and then masks the wood grain behind a dense coating of black dye. |
Catalog Number |
2006.04.01 |
Search Terms |
Carving Dyeing Maples Wood Wood carving Wood carvings |
Credit line |
Gift of Martha Connell |