Film history is filled to the brim with depictions of fictional painters and sculptors (personal fave: Julianne Moore in The Big Lebowski), performance artists and oh-so-many aspiring filmmakers, but where are all the ceramicists?
Please see Ghost. No, please. See Ghost. Released in 1990, the supernatural thriller/love story includes possibly the most famous scene of ceramics in action, courtesy of Demi Moore’s character throwing some clay in the middle of the night.
Who should join her to the sound of the Righteous Brother’s “Unchained Melody,” offering to “help” make a vessel? Why, a shirtless Patrick Swayze, of course. (Spoiler: They don’t have a future as a collaborative artist duo.)
But the Oakland artist collective Mutual Stores doesn’t seem to mind. On Saturday, Aug. 17 they’ll screen Ghost in their backyard garden (doors at 6pm, movie at sundown, a.k.a. 8:30pm), the second in an ongoing series of movie nights they promise will deliver “art films to classic American kitsch” (Ghost is, of course, the latter).
It’s also a great opportunity to meet Mutual Stores’ organizers (the space was founded by Rosa Novak, Brendan Page and Kate Pruitt) and learn more about their events (brick-making workshops! clay days!), gallery space and residency program—which is dedicated to developing sustainable systems by offering artists the studio’s ceramic waste as a raw material.
And if you find yourself inspired by the aforementioned scene, the Mutual Stores folks might know where you can sign up for some pottery classes. —Sarah Hotchkiss