The Earth has Three Colors: A celebration of Moroccan ceramics
Interviewed by: Sarah Robyn
David Packer was born in England and has lived in the United States since 1983, including Miami and New York. He graduated from Florida State University, Tallahassee, with an MFA, in 1994. Highlights of his substantial exhibition record include Exit Art and the Garth Clark Gallery, both in New York City, as well as Navta Schultz Gallery, Chicago. He has participated in international shows in Morocco, France and Japan. As a curator, his work has been included three times in the Spring Break Art Fair. He has also been in residence at Yaddo, the Kohler Arts/Industry program, all in the United States, as well as AIR Vallauris in France. David maintains a studio in Long Island City, New York.
As an artist, what made you decide to apply for Fulbright not once but twice?
I have worked with ceramics my whole adult life, as an artist, as a teacher and as a writer. In 2010, applying for my first Fulbright, I wanted to find a country that would allow me to explore my passions for clay and discovered Morocco. Back then I knew what everyone knows, namely that Morocco, and actually Fez, is famous for the blue and white glazed vessels that have become true symbols of even Morocco the country.
As anyone knows who has had an award such as a Fulbright, an award that allows for an extended time in a country, what you plan and what happens once there can be two very different things. Happily for me, what I found was better that I imagined: Morocco has an extremely diverse ceramic culture, with many different types of production and intent. The reason for this is of course obvious: Morocco is at the crossroads of three different geographical spaces, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, as well as two different oceans, all of which have brought and bring an enormous diversity of different influences, religions, people, and culture to this country.
Between 2011 and my second Fulbright in 2019, I wrote an illustrated book about Moroccan ceramics, The Earth has Three Colors, taking this idea of diversity and making it a central thesis of the book. I had wanted to come back to Morocco on a Fulbright as such an award opens up access to more opportunities for research and connection than as an individual. It should be noted, as part of the book research that I had actually been back to Morocco between 2011 and 2019 four additional times, so to date I have visited the country six times, seven if you count a reckless trip at the age of 18!
What have you found different from your first grant and the second?
Every time that I visit Morocco, it becomes easier to connect with people. Morocco is a country that takes personal connection very seriously and my continued presence there makes it easier to share, learn and expand. A relevant aside concerns how rapidly the country is developing: my personal favorite is the new train stations, especially Casa Voyageurs, where in addition to a new space age section, they had the vision to leave the old, beautiful Art Deco buildings. And of course all these new stations are connected by a high-speed rail link that shames many first world countries.
I also like what has not changed in Morocco, the snowcapped High Atlas Mountains and the villages and oases of the desert.
What has been the biggest personal impact for you working in Morocco?
It has been an immense pleasure to meet and work with all the different people that are involved in Moroccan ceramics. I have worked with curators, gallerists, shop owners, factory workers, publishers, tour guides, drivers and even people where there is no common language: people at so many different levels. Getting things done on a daily basis can be challenging sometimes, but so many Moroccans have the biggest hearts and the warmest intentions. It seems as if they will never forget a face!
What is something you hope people take away from your work and new publication?
What I want people to appreciate and what I have learnt is that Morocco has such a deep and rich tradition of ceramic activity, an artisanal life that continues to be strong in the present moment. However, contemporary life often exerts negative pressure on traditional livelihoods and these things do not exist in a vacuum. Both Moroccans and visitors alike need to express their love and support, not with lip service and platitudes, but in concrete, fiscal ways. Once these skills and techniques are gone, they are gone.
What is something you have taken back with you after your Fulbright?
For me, it is a funny thing but my work in Morocco and my involvement with all the people that I know is ongoing, even though I have finished and published my book. I will probably not write another one, but there is always more to learn and more people to meet. It never fails but every time that I am leaving someone will say: have you met this one over here or seen that workshop over there? You know this shop has some amazing ceramics, on and on and on!
David Packer will have an online talk about his book on April 25th, Register via the page blow:
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