Nuala Creed in her studio. Still from The Internet Archivists (2016).
“I love the poetics of this project. Clay has helped to inform and archive human history for thousands of years. As I archive these Internet archivists in clay, I am sculpting the workers who endeavor to archive the knowledge of our time for future generations.
The Ceramic Archivists is a large body of work that has been created on an intimate scale over time. Each piece is unique, and is hand-sculpted using coiling, pinching and slab techniques commonly used in ceramics. To personalize the sculptures I usually have the figures holding an object that reflects their hobbies or interests.
Ceramic Archivists are seen holding a variety of objects - these include a computer, cell phone, a model airplane, ice skates, a mandolin, and a 3D art book. Figures are seen knitting, sewing, holding cooked foods, coffee cups, paint brushes and palettes, skulls, and more. As I make these portraits, I feel as though I am getting to know the people on an intimate level. They become friends. I spend a few weeks working on each sculpture closely looking at their faces and body gestures.
Included in this collection are luminaries of the high tech world such as Aaron Swartz, Brewster Kahle, John Perry Barlow, and Ted Nelson, among others. Each piece is like a snapshot of the person, and indeed this body of work is like a snapshot of life in San Francisco today. ”
— Nuala Creed
“Harnessing the medium of clay, with its millennia of human history, to the era of post-print high-technology, Nuala Creed has imbued these portraits of 100 contemporary workers with individuality and created a telling snapshot of our times, along with an excellent view of the dedicated skill of the artist. The Ceramic Archivists stand ready to tell their stories to future generations.”
— Susannah Israel, Ceramics: Art and Perception
On the Project
Tom Foremski.
"
CultureWatch: Internet Archive Celebrates Nuala Creed's 100 Ceramic 'Archivists'." Silicon Valley Watcher, June 10, 2014.
Chris Higgins. "Into the Labyrinth"
The Magazine, #34, January 16, 2014.
Susannah Israel.
"
Nuala Creed: Ceramic Archivist". (PDF)
Ceramics: Art and Perception, #92,
Mansfield Ceramics Pty Ltd, 2013, pp. 76-77.
Carolyn Peter.
"
Archiving the Archivists: A Ceramic Commission by Nuala Creed".
(PDF).
Ceramics Ireland.
Claire Richard.
"
Steve Jobs, Wikipedia, Snowden: des statues en hommage a Internet.
"
L'Obs avec Rue89, November 5, 2014.
Nan Smith.
500 Figures in Clay, volume 2, Lark Books, February 04, 2014, p. 414.
Venkat Srinivasan.
"
The Internet Archive — Bricks and Mortar Version."
Scientific American, Guest Blog, April 13, 2016.
Wikimedia.
Images of Archivists featured in Wikimedia.
