Elaine Katzer

California Design ’76, Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, March 7-May 2, 1976

California Design Eleven, Pasadena, CA, 1971, p. 117 (for similar sculptures from the Tribesman series)

Overall very good condition. With minimal wear and surface dirt overall as expected for an outdoor piece. The connecting surfaces between sections show evidence of adhesive that does not show when the piece is assembled. The colored glaze is for the most part intact, with some surface wear. The black glaze is exceptionally rich. The dark brown base segment shows signs of water penetration on the inside that does not affect the outside surface appearance. The caramel-colored segment, the dark brown segment with black rings, and the top segment appear to have been reinforced or repaired, with evidence of cracking, glue and added clay on the inside. Again, the outside surfaces show little or no sign of repair. The white segment with two rings has two very small chips to the white glazed surface on the bottom edge of one of the rings. Overall, a fine example of Katzer's monumental ceramic craftsmanship.
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This hollow stacking unit was part of Elaine Katzer’s "Tribesman" series of totems. Designed as a sculptural fountain, the piece originally enclosed a water pump. Katzer emerged from the 1960s California counterculture “back to earth” movement in which ceramicists left the domestic realm behind in favor of large environmental and conceptual works. Her monumental pieces were included in California Design Eleven (1971) and California Design ’76 (1976) at the Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles.