Convertible Car Kiln

Copied Patti Warashina, Convertible Car Kiln, ca. 1971, earthenware, gold and silver luster glaze, and Plexiglas, 14 1⁄2 x 35 1⁄2 x 14 1⁄2 in. (36.9 x 90.2 x 36.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance, 1994.37.1, © Patti Warashina

Artwork Details

Title
Convertible Car Kiln
Artist
Date
ca. 1971
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
14 1⁄2 x 35 1⁄2 x 14 1⁄2 in. (36.9 x 90.2 x 36.9 cm)
Copyright
© Patti Warashina
Credit Line
Gift of the James Renwick Alliance
Mediums
Mediums Description
earthenware, gold and silver luster glaze, and Plexiglas
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Architecture — vehicle — automobile
  • Allegory — element — fire
Object Number
1994.37.1
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1994.37.1

Artwork Description

A closer look at Patti Warashina's engaging ceramic works often reveals an underlying layer of social or political commentary rife with tongue-in-cheek humor. In her Kiln series from the late 1960s and early 70s, Warashina pokes fun at the ceramic world's "cult of the kiln" and clay's often exaggerated association with masculinity during that time. Here, Warashina puns on the term "car kiln" -- literally, a kiln on wheels -- conflating the macho cultures surrounding clay and cars. Gold and silver luster flames allude to hotrod culture while adding a distinctly decorative feminine touch.


Luce Center Label

Convertible Car Kiln was part of a Car Kiln series that Patti Warashina began in the late 1960s to challenge the idea that cars and kilns were part of a “man’s world.” A car kiln is literally a brick oven with shelves that rests on wheels, and Warashina puns on this idea by presenting an image of a car with a dual meaning. As a woman artist, sculpting both a car and a kiln, she demonstrates that neither of these objects is beyond a woman’s understanding or mastery.