The Ohr-O'Keefe Museum and modernist ceramic traditions

Impressions of the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art

The non-profit Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art -- located in Biloxi, Mississippi -- was recently commissioned and constructed to honor the legacy of ceramic artist George E. Ohr. According to the museum's website, "the self-proclaimed 'Mad Potter of Biloxi' created a body of ceramic work which defied the aesthetic conventions of 19th century America & #8230;while today Ohr is considered an early leader in the modernist movement and it is his creative spirit which informs the mission of the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum." Among the exhibits on display during my recent visit were a gallery of African-American art by Carl Joe Williams titled "Shades of Perception," a historical pottery exhibit sponsored by the Mississippi Sound Welcome Center, which featured the work of Biloxi transplant and Master Potter Joseph Fortune Meyer, and a gallery of clay and bronze sculptures by Rod Moorhead titled "Entropy." The diverse nature of these exhibits reflected the eclectic style of the museum's founder, as Ohr was well-known for experimenting with a variety aesthetics in his celebrated ceramic works.

After viewing the compelling sculptures found in Moorhead's exhibit "Entropy," which contains several depictions of the human form melded with surrounding forms of nature, I was struck by the similarities between the two artists' choice of modernist style. Both Ohr and Moorhead seem to imbue their creations with a sense of fluidity and motion, with curvatures in Ohr's pottery suggesting an inherent energy, and Moorhead's sculptures often appearing in groups with their legs seemingly set in motion, as if the figures were walking toward the audience. The color schemes utilized by Ohr and Moorhead also bear striking similarities, with both artists integrating earth tones in their work. In my mind, the use of browns, beiges and tans across a sampling of ceramic pottery or sculpture is indicative of the artist's chosen medium, as clay and bronze both come from within the earth itself.

The exhibition featuring work from master potter Joseph Fortune Meyer was also quite intriguing to me, as Meyer actually served as an artistic mentor for Ohr, offering the younger ceramic specialist an apprenticeship in 1879. In total there were 34 pieces of Meyer's pottery on hand at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art during my visit, with each display providing a tangible link between Meyer and Ohr through the subtle stylistic influences found in their work. Much of Meyer's pottery was finished with a distinctive blue hue, with the surrounding white background lending the piece an ethereal feel that suggested clouded skies or foaming ocean surf.