George Ohr: Sophisticate and Rube

by Ellen J. Lippert

Overview

A contextual investigation of the "Mad Potter of Biloxi," showing him to be far more thoughtful and artful than he was eccentric

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617039010
Publisher:	University Press of Mississippi
Publication date:	11/08/2013
Pages:	206
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Ellen J. Lippert was a tenured professor of art history and Western humanities for over seventeen years. She now uses her writing and research talents to guide millions of people across digital platforms. Her fascination with George Ohr began over twenty years ago in a small, dusty pottery studio in rural Pennsylvania, when she encountered his bent and contorted forms for the first time. Since then, she has created a body of scholarship that grounds Ohr in his late nineteenth-century context and considers him and his wares as products of that unique moment in American history. Her most recent publications have focused on his lesser-studied "brothel" tokens as objects of cultural currency instead of mere trinkets or gags. Ohr continues to captivate her interest and remains the subject of future research projects.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 3

Part I Ohr the Man

Chapter 1 Queer Genius and Freakish Fool Ohr in His Own Time 11

Chapter 2 Make a Spectacle of Yourself Ohr at World's Fairs and Expositions 22

Chapter 3 Twixt Genius and Humbug Ohr, Mass Media, and Self-Promotion 33

Chapter 4 "Smart Aleck, Damphool Potter" Ohr as a Southern Character 46

Chapter 5 Real Head-Heart-Hand-and-Soul Art Ohr, Socialism, and Individual Purpose 58

Chapter 6 Beauty of the Grotesque The Malformed, Marginalized, and Mudbabies 72

Part II Ohr the Potter

Chapter 7 George Ohr, Art Potter 87

Chapter 8 Ruffling, Crumpling, and Twisting Ohr's Visual Vocabulary 101

Chapter 9 Strategy and Meaning in Ohr's Pots 114

Conclusion 128

Notes 135

Bibliography 147

Index 156