A Research Experience on Reception and Audience Attitudes toward Ceramic Art

Ceramic, began to be recognized as an art phenomenon at the beginning of the 20th century. Although having developed in a way similar to the development process of modern arts up to today, within the same span of time and with the same value, debates have continued about its recognition and being accepted as a true art form. This study, designed as an experimental research project, was conducted to counteract against biased approaches detrimental to the development of ceramic art and to acquire evidence on how to make ceramic art popular as an art function for individuals and social culture. Within the scope of the project, the interests in and knowledge of art in general and ceramic art in particular, as well as the aesthetic experiences of 168 audience members were inquired into via face-to-face questionnaires, which were administered at four solo ceramic exhibitions held in Istanbul and Ankara. Responses to the questionnaire – prepared based on art, ceramic art, reception theory, reception semiotics and art ontology perspectives – were important in terms of revealing the attitudes of audiences toward art and works of art and the problems between the work and audience response, the identification of which is valid for not only ceramic art but also other art branches. According to the results of the questionnaire that the audience members used to evaluate themselves, they had an interest in art in general and ceramic art in particular, but only a few of them actually had a reception experience.