Exhibitions

RACK CROSS: CLAY, CULTURE, AND CHANGE

Reece Museum (ETSU) / 363 Stout Dr., Johnson City, TN July 27 - October 23rd

Rack Cross

An exhibition by artist Rack Cross, Clay, Culture, and Change explores the ceramics of Southern Appalachia that have been associated with land and water for generations. Pottery once functioned as a necessity for storage and transport. With the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) transformation of river systems in the twentieth century, the Holston Valley and surrounding regions experienced rapid and widespread change. Flood control and electrification changed lifestyles on the farms and beyond. Because of this transformation, folk pottery also shifted from strictly utilitarian ware toward decorative and collectible pieces. Face jugs, with their sculpted features, became far more popular than the once familiar and simple jug form. This exhibition traces that adaptation where clay continues to be witness and evidence to the cultural change that includes pottery moving from the farmstead springhouse to the gallery gift shop.