Palpable Vision The Work of Contemporary Ceramics Artist Linda Swanson

If art is the translation of ideas into some kind of formal expression that reflects our culture, then what moves it from being a simple statement, to becoming a dialogue between the viewer and the work? Certainly, its abilities to ignite the imagination, arouse curiosity, engage the body and demand participation from its spectator, arewhat give it such power. This dynamic art goes beyond what is visible. It transcends the “retinal experience”1 by inciting bodily responses, including memory and gut feelings. Our “perception [of the artwork], then, is not merely passive before sensory stimulation, but as [phenomenologist] Merleau-Ponty suggests, a ‘creative receptivity’.”2