Ecology Krater II (Out Biking with Aunt Samantha)

Michael Frimkess, Ecology Krater II (Out Biking with Aunt Samantha), 1976, wheel-thrown and painted stoneware, 26 ¹⁄₄ x 26 x 19 ¹⁄₂ in. (66.8 x 65.9 x 49.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance, 1998.6

Artwork Details

Title: Ecology Krater II (Out Biking with Aunt Samantha)
Artist: Michael Frimkess
Date: 1976
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 26 ¹⁄₄ x 26 x 19 ¹⁄₂ in. (66.8 x 65.9 x 49.5 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of the James Renwick Alliance
Mediums: stoneware
Mediums Description: wheel-thrown and painted stoneware
Classifications: Decorative Arts
Subjects: Figure group
Animal
Architecture — vehicle — bicycle
Portrait female — unidentified — Samantha
Object Number: 1998.6
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1998.6

Artwork Description

Michael Frimkess combines the Greek krater with contemporary subject matter in Ecology Krater II (Out Biking with Aunt Samantha). In the 1960s, Frimkess created a fictitious character, Uncle Sam, who was a Mormon with three wives and two sisters, one of whom was “Aunt Samantha.” Encircling the body of the krater are two bicycles built for four, carrying riders of different ages. On the neck of the pot are images of endangered animals. Frimkess calls his pottery “ethnic melting pots,” making a pun on the diverse neighborhood in East Los Angeles, where he grew up.