Ka COLUMBIA Justin Novak: Bunny Series By Kathryn O'Regan 1 dropped into the Ceramics Department at Emily Carr University the other day to meet with Justin Novak, who joined the faculty in 2007. I was curious about Justin’s recent body of work which is entitled the Bunny Series and asked him to give me some details about his intent behind this project: ‘This project draws inspiration from the explosive market in vinyl toy collectibles, a global phenomenon which has grown exponentially in the past ten years. It is only natural that this genre of object be translated into ceramic materials, as this vinyl toy culture in many ways draws its lineage from porcelain miniatures of old. The culture surrounding contemporary vinyl figures echoes the manner in which porcelain figurines were fetishized and collected in centuries past, and this body of work seeks to highlight this historical thread. Bunny embodies a response to living in a condition of high alert, in a world increasingly mediated by a state security apparatus. He manifests a deep pathology. This hyper-vigilant bunny self-identifies thoroughly as prey. He’s so paranoid that he’s armed himself, and he’s so nervous that he'll shoot at anything that moves. Needless to say, he’s become a danger to others; an unwitting predator. 21st Century Bunny is a reflection upon the Dick Cheney era, but this fable also serves as a broader allegory. Like so many children’s stories, it is a cautionary tale. The goal of the project is to highlight the pathological nature of violent behavior, regardless of how it might be justified or sanctioned by religious or political institutions. ‘The shift in material from vinyl to porcelain brings an uncommon resonance to this body of work. The hygienic and historical associations of porcelain heighten our timeless predilection toward fetishizing of domestic allegorical figures. ‘The goal is to adopt the aesthetics and dynamics of commodity culture and mass-production, but to do so in the context of a contemporary art practice based upon inquiry. 21st century bunny Like any other bunny, 21st Century Bunny is vigilant. At all times. Anybody could be a predator. Even other bunnies. Bunny has his garden. He knows his territory, but it does not comfort him. The smell the danger is always in the air. From the day he was born, he felt like prey. A sick feeling... A feeling that’s always there. Even on a good day. Tired of living in fear, 21st Century Bunny has armed himself. He’ become a danger to others now. But all hes ever wanted is to protect his way of life. Potters Guild of BC Newsletter : December 2008 Bunny with Baby, by Justin Novak. More on Justin Novak... Justin was raised in Puerto Rico, Croatia, and Italy. After pur- suing a ten-year career as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer in New York City, he began a second career as a ceramics artist and educator. He holds a Master of Fine Arts, Ceramics (1996) from State University of New York at New Paltz. Prior to accepting the position of Associate Professor of Visual Arts at Emily Carr, he taught for seven years at the University of Oregon in Eugene. He has lectured widely at universities across North America, at the Kunstindustrimuseet (Museum of Decorative Arts and Design) and the Royal Academy of Art in Copenhagen and Brighton University in the U.K. His solo exhibitions have been shown in New York, Philadelphia, Seattle and Denmark and he has participated in group shows in Taiwan, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Justin has been featured. in publications in the U.K., Australia, Denmark, Germany, China and Korea. He also co-authored with Esther Hagenlocher the paper “Architecture as Cultural Labour,” delivered last March at the annual ACSA architectural conference in Houston, Texas. One of the second year courses he conducts at Emily Carr offers students the initial opportunity to develop a command of form and craftsmanship in clay. In the following weeks, the focus is on translating these skills into utilitarian or sculptural objects that explore ‘absurdity (as in the capacity to resonate on a collective unconscious level, and to question the logical constructs of the conscious mind). In the latter stage of the term, the students are introduced to the wheel and mold-making fundamentals of a form, which is then slip cast as a series of six or more multiples.