Maria Porges
Maria Porges is a Bay Area born artist who has lived and worked in the Bay since the late 80's. Her work manifests in a variety of media through process oriented exploration of personal themes, and often with a focus on the relationship between image and text. She has a thorough writing practice including thoughtful art critiques, poetry, and fiction. She is also a professor of art at California College of the Arts. If you would like to see more of her work, click here.
2016
2009 Graphite on paper, 10 x 10 inches
1993 Glass, text, wood: 27 x 20 x 7 inches.
2016
My interview with Maria started with me arriving approximately 20 minutes early and waiting in my car around the corner until I was more appropriately early. I left my, at this point, stuffy car and sweatily walked to her Oakland house where I was greeted by her tending to her succulents on the front staircase of her home. I shook her hand, reminding myself to squeeze hard so that I was remembered, and entered through her home and into her studio in the backyard.
I rambled about this being my first interview, like, ever, and she showed me some of her most recent work-- Frankenstein-ed ceramic vessels that she hand built. She explained that they're a result of researching multicultural ceramic histories in preparation for an Art History course she taught, in combination with her extensive and niche knowledge of old English pottery. She wasn't sure how exactly she's going to glaze them, but she'd bought a bunch of glazes she's going to try out. I learned that she was taught by a Japanese potter during a stay in Japan in her 20's and that she had a tile business for a while. For some reason this brought comfort to me, knowing that we have the same inkling to squeeze and shape earth.
I asked her my silly little 10 questions, and through it all Maria answered with honesty, not-taking-herself-too-seriously-but-somehow-just-seriously-enough, and of course her trademarked dry wit.
Maria is kind of an outlier with the 3 women in this group being that she's only 68. Despite this, I'm so grateful to have been able to include her. Her honesty and openness during our interview was the best way to begin conducting my research. Her curiosity and analysis of the world takes shape in many forms that continue to inspire thought, including my own. Thanks Maria for the chance to interview!
