- The museum, in its mission, you know, we collect ceramics, we care for ceramics, we restore ceramics.

We have a scholarship around ceramics.

We talk about, we write books on ceramics.

It's the ceramic art museum.

And I say, yeah, see that little piece of porcelain right here on the end of this wire?

That's ceramic.

(soft music) - [Announcer] Production funding for Upstate Attractions is provided by: Franklin County Development, Allegany County, Oswego County Tourism, and the Watkins Glen Chamber of Commerce.

With daily flights to Boston Logan International Airport, Massena New York offers access to locations such as the Adirondack Mountains, the St.

Lawrence River, and destinations in Canada, like Ottawa and Montreal.

Online at fishmassenany.com.

(bright music) - [Narrator] In this episode of upstate attractions, one might consider our hidden gem location as outside of ordinary, a place specialized in education, and enlightenment, that's possibly better known internationally than here in America.

- We see folks from all walks of life here at the museum, students, faculty and staff, but also community members, people from all over the world.

- [Narrator] Welcome to the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, a treasure trove of ceramic artistry and art history.

A world-class museum nestled in the heart of the campus at Alfred University in the town of Alfred, New York, which itself is comfortably immersed within the rolling hills and exceptional beauty of Allegany County, just to the west of the Finger Lakes and south of Letchworth State Park.

Over the next half hour, we'll take a guided tour of a critically praised ceramics exhibit and we'll uncover the special connection between the museum and the university, an integrated century old relationship.

Alfred University is a private academic institution that was founded in 1836 and is known for its strong engineering and arts programs.

And the origins of the ceramic art museum can be traced back to 1903 when Charles Fergus Binns, a pioneer in ceramic education, began assembling a pottery collection at the university.

- The history of ceramics is of such appeal to so many people because it is tangible and ceramics are old.

The earliest ceramic objects that exist are almost 30,000 years old - Students, maybe they believe me, maybe they don't, but I can bring them here and Susan will pull out a 600 year old Korean bull and I can put that right in their hands.

- We are in the archives, we are underground, where normally all the objects are kept in the dark, so they'll stay safe and protected from the elements.

- So we may have a show of ceramic design that features dinnerware from the First Lady of China.

We may have another show that just features Waylon Gregory, one of the most important ceramic sculptures of the early 1930s.

So we want to bring in and address all of that range of possibility.

- [Narrator] As you can see, much has evolved at the museum over the past century.

Today, the museum boasts an impressive collection of nearly 8,000 ceramic objects, evidence of remarkable expansion since its early days when the collection was situated in a humble area within the New York State College of Ceramics.

Over these years, the museum has undergone several configurations, including in 1991 when the University Board of Trustees formally established the Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred with art historian Margaret Carney as its first director.

In 2015, the current state of the art building opened its doors marking a significant milestone in the museum's history and the increasing recognition of its importance in the world of ceramic art.

This new facility was designed by renowned American architect, Michael McKinnell, and built with funds provided as a gift to Alfred University by Marlin Miller, an Alfred University graduate and renowned ceramic art collector.

A significant figure contributing to the museum's prominence is internationally renowned ceramic artist and professor, Wayne Higby, who's been the director and chief curator since 2011.

In this role, Wayne oversees the museum's collection, exhibitions and overall vision, helping to shape the museum's educational and artistic influence globally.

As a creator, Wayne is a celebrated artist, has received numerous awards and honors, and his work is held in the permanent collections of major museums worldwide.

Now, getting back to the academic and artistic mix that is a secret sauce, a key factor in the museum's success is a team of dedicated educators and professionals who collaborate with Wayne.

Each member is uniquely qualified in their field and shares a deep passion for ceramics.

- I love ceramics.

I always have.

- The Alfred Ceramic Art Museum is this ideal venue.

- It's really great to be here in this space.

- The museum is always a very valuable resource for inspiration for different artworks.

Just being able to come in as a student, it's a great opportunity for students to have their work seen and shown.

There's always the chance that something gets plucked from permanent collection.

- One thing I've learned is why Alfred has been so great over the years.

I'm like, it's the commitment of the faculty.

- I've been here for nine years and one thing that's nice, that's about how long the museum's been here.

So that first fall I was here, the museum opened.

So the museum and my tenure here have really been intertwined.

Yeah, it's a real gift to show up and then here's a museum.

- The museum started in 1991 and I was the guy who they came to to take pictures for the, whatever the museum needed for publications, brochures, catalogs, and so forth.

And I've been doing that ever since.

With Wayne, we've been working on bigger, better books and more sumptuous productions.

- The museum has been really central to so much of my teaching here at Alfred, starting with the ceramic artist history graduate seminar that takes place every fall, which I've had the privilege to teach for the last 10 years, to upper level undergraduate courses in East Asian material culture, in Japanese ceramics history.

And I can't understate the importance of the museum to the students experience of learning here at Alfred.

It's experiential learning.

Nowhere else in the United States, I think, would they have such access to such a range of objects to draw from.

- [Narrator] As Wayne said at the beginning of the show, the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum was established with a mission to collect, preserve, and exhibit ceramic art for both aesthetic and educational purposes.

So, as we took a deeper dive into things, we can see this mission in action on the exhibit floor and behind the scenes.

The museum staff collaborates closely with the university faculty, many of whom are accomplished ceramic artists themselves.

As such, while the exhibits may showcase works from a diverse range of renowned artists, some may include distinguished faculty members, and some pieces may also highlight the creativity of former students.

Collectively and vicariously, they all contribute their expertise guiding the next generation of ceramic artists and researchers.

- So we're looking at pieces here made by Charles Fergus Binns, who was the first teacher here, and he taught here from 1900 to 1932.

These are many of his pots and including the ones down here, the larger pieces.

And so he was really the very first teacher who then later on went to teach many people who went off into the United States to teach elsewhere.

- [Narrator] And with the museum situated on campus, the back and forth flow of knowledge and creativity seems endless.

- I'm Paul Briggs and I teach in the Department of Ceramic Art, and this is my first year teaching at Alfred, but it is not my first year being at Alfred.

I came to Alfred as an undergraduate many years ago, and so it's kind of great to be back.

And actually Linda Sikora has been my mentor this year and helping me through the different hurdles, challenges, and joys of being here at Alfred.

And I think both of us bring our students to the museum quite regularly.

And so we came with journals in hand to take notes.

- Now, when I go to the museum with my students, as Paul mentioned earlier, I always have my drawing book because they have theirs.

And I often have a text with me because I'm instigating something in my own thinking and in my own world.

And sharing that with them, bringing that in and seeing what happens when you bandy at about.

- Linda Sikora was my student advisor, academic advisor after my freshman year.

Being a student here, it's the perfect environment.

It's a great opportunity for students.

- [Narrator] The integration of academic life in the Ceramic Art Museum provides an exceptional opportunity for students and stakeholders of all kinds.

It's a hub of research and education, and at the same time, offers insights into the cultural history and the technological advancements of ceramics, and as a platform for the development and presentation of world class artistry.

- I think entering, leaving Harder Hall and crossing the street and entering the museum is, it's the introduction to the museum if you haven't been in before.

But it's such a moment where you're rising up into the museum on this long ramp and off to your right, you get to view, you know, at first you're below the work, you know, and pretty soon you're face to face with it, and then suddenly you're looking down on it and how the exhibition reveals itself as you're coming up that ramp and you sort of feel like you're just emerging, you know, like clay is lifted up into space.

- [Linda] The museum really is a big player.

I mean, I guess I would say in some ways, the way that the shows become lined up or the way that they're curated at the museum really begins to impact what happens with the students.

- [Paul] Bringing my students to the museum is part of another level of learning.

I know, you've seen the piece in a book, you know, maybe you've met the artist or seen them at a conference, but then you come to the museum and you actually hold their piece.

You know, we were looking at some pieces and even I was like, "What?

Is that what the inside of this piece looks like?"

So that's critical.

- Ceramics offers a vivid set of insights into world cultures, local cultures.

In the United States, it's often said that there is not a long history of ceramics making and ceramics appreciation in comparison to other world cultures.

But one of the things that my students and I really explore in both the local and the global in world ceramics history, so we can gain tremendous insights into what happened here in the Genesee Valley, starting with the Haudenosaunee maid pottery, and then moving on to the Terracotta Company's production starting in the 1880s.

And looking then at the spectrum of ceramics production that took place here at Alfred, starting with Charles Fergus Binns and moving onto Marion Fosdick and the litany, the grand array of ceramic artists who've taught and studied at Alfred.

- I see the museum as a curricular piece.

Students, juniors, seniors, they're starting to get pretty serious about ceramics and they can come over here.

They start to see all the different ways that clay can be moved around, all the different surfaces that can be applied.

So then, I think with graduate students, they show up, they're suddenly very familiar with, their teachers might be on display here.

My teacher, Eddie Dominguez, is right when we walk in the door.

- We have a piece, it's by Eddie Dominguez, which is a dinnerware set.

- So their teachers may be on display here, certainly many of the artists they're familiar with.

And so they're starting to really place themselves in the contemporary landscape of ceramics.

And I think that that, you know, it's right across the street.

- [Narrator] It so happens that when we were shooting at the museum, they were presenting a contemporary exhibit called Bill and Jack and Other Friends, which was well received by critics.

So we asked Wayne Higby if he would give us a full guided tour of the exhibit, which honored the late Jack Earl, who was a significant figure in American contemporary ceramic art.

- Jack Earl is a major, major figure in 20th century ceramics, and passed away this past year.

- [Narrator] Born in 1934 at Ohio, Jack Earl transformed traditional porcelain figurines into modern narrative pieces representing the American vernacular of the Ohio Midwest.

He often featured dogs and a fictional character named Bill.

Earl's pieces are known for romantic idealism, irony and humor, often with juxtapositioning and incongruent images to provoke curiosity.

This exhibit at the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum was praised for its thoughtful curation and the way it honored Jack Earl's legacy capturing the unique storytelling in his sculptures.

- So other friends, who are the other friends of Bill and Jack?

The other friends are artists whose work is in the permanent collection of the museum and artists who are part of, by and large, what we call the Master of Fine Arts Collection.

So these would've been artists who graduated from Alfred with their Master of Fine Arts degrees.

And since the forties, we've been collecting one piece by every graduate student in that, you know, school, which is across the street.

The whole ceramic division is very historically important, begun in 1900.

- [Narrator] Okay, to a degree, it was unfair for us to ask Wayne for a full guided tour of the Bill and Jack and Other Friends exhibit, and to think we could jam it all into a half hour show.

Well, we can't.

There are so many layers to this place.

The art and the artists, the education factors, the history, the building and community hub, and of course, the innovation and publications.

We've only given you a glimpse of why the Ceramic Art Museum of Alfred University has become a prominent institution in the world of ceramic art.

- This first piece through the window is a piece of Jack Earl's, and you'll see Bill standing there in this little house overlooking, you know, his front yard.

But then the backside reveals what the interior of the house looks like.

The other pieces that we pass by are also pieces from the MFA collection.

So this is piece by Arnold Zimmerman, who was here as an MFA student, became quite a well known ceramic artist in America.

Piece behind you is a Gerit Grimm.

She was also a MFA student here.

So you see, the Jack Earl piece are punctuated by pieces from that collection that also have, obviously, a story behind them, you know, they tell a story.

So now, let's look at the back of this house.

So you can see, we saw the front, we saw Bill looking over the railing.

There's a piece of corn on the roof, I think.

But you know, one of my favorite things is the furniture is here in front of the door.

Now lots of people do that.

(chuckling) I don't think it's particular to the Midwest, but it tells this sort of narrative.

And then Jack Earl was very interested in writing on his pieces.

So the title of the piece is actually this story, the title of the piece is this whole story.

And he just tells an obvious kind of story.

It's time for the kids to get home from church.

You know, the corn is good this year.

I think Rex and his wife will visit us soon.

That's the story of the piece, right?

It's just captures that kind of thing.

- [Narrator] As you saw with this house with Bill on the porch, Jack Earl's creations were not the standard European mycin style porcelain figurines of aristocratic imagery.

Instead, his own minutely detailed pieces depicted things, scenes and people drawn first from the whimsical realms of his own imagination, and then, from the more mundane Midwestern world around him.

And as Wayne describes, as part of his guided tour, Earl invited viewers of his works to also imagine whatever story they envisioned - Behind you, you see another piece, which he often did this in his work, where he would tell one thing on one side and another thing on the other side, and then it's up to the viewer to sort of figure out how do those two sides connect?

What's the story?

So we see this boy who obviously has skinned his knee.

He's been out playing around, you know, just doing what boys do.

He's outside.

And then here, along the side of the piece, you'll see a pirate ship, a big pirate ship drawn into the side.

And then you get to the backside, there's just a completely different image.

And this side has a hand pointing.

And my thought, of course, is that the little boy's been called to lunch or dinner.

"Hey, come on in, you gotta come in now.

Hey, where are you?"

That's probably just something I would make up, but you get to make up whatever you want.

And these pieces all kind of do that.

They tell these stories and often have different things happening on each side, and then you have to weave that together.

And I've talked to a lot of people showing them the work and I just stand here and like to listen because everyone has a story to tell how they look at it and how they think about it.

It's wonderful.

- [Narrator] Next on Wayne's tour, another piece involving Bill and dogs and a story inscription, but it's probably not what you think.

- This is another particularly interesting piece because if you look at the image, this is Bill again, this is a Jack Earl piece, and Bill has just passed another person on his walk to this cafe to have a cup of coffee.

And it's called Two Dog Men.

Shep and Pal were having coffee over at Kentsville.

Shep says to Pal, "Pal, you wouldn't believe what I saw downtown when I came here."

So this is the dog looking at the person, the person looking at the dog person.

It's, you know, it's a lovely sense of wit and humor that plays out in his work quite a bit.

- [Narrator] As we walk through the exhibit looking at these pieces, it may have come to your mind, "I thought ceramics was pottery, like dishes or plates or bowls."

Well, just wait until you see the Bogart sculpture.

It's anything but ordinary.

- So you've noticed that we walked through to the second half of the exhibition and the two figures here, all you've seen so far is the backs because they're facing the other section of the exhibition.

So that was all set up choreographically.

So to have this kind of movement through the space and then to turn and see, well, what's that?

This is another piece by Jack Earl.

And Jack Earl made a series of portraits of movie stars and one of his favorites was Humphrey Bogart.

So this is Jack Earl's version of Humphrey Bogart.

I like Humphrey in particular, not only because of his cinematic history and the great movies, but because he wears a hat.

And I have had many pictures now taken of me with Humphrey and his hat, because that's kind of a brand for myself.

- [Narrator] The Alfred Ceramic Art Museum at Alfred University thrives because it seamlessly blends academics and world class art, creating a space where research, education, and creativity intersect producing an inspiring and enriching experience.

- It is the school, it's the history, it's the heart, it represents the people who have been here, the landmark growth that's happened here.

It represents the faculty, it's the university's history.

It's the division of ceramics history.

- [Narrator] Join us again next time as we uncover another hidden gem, another upstate attraction (soft music) - [Announcer] Production funding for Upstate Attractions is provided by: Franklin County Development, Allegany County, Oswego County Tourism, and the Watkins Glen Chamber of Commerce.

With daily flights to Boston Logan International Airport, Massena New York offers access to locations such as the Adirondack Mountains, the St.

Lawrence River and destinations in Canada, like Ottawa and Montreal.

Online at fishmassenany.com.

(gentle music) (soft music)