The View Point Changes Everything

In a previous post (31 August last) about the white clay cylinders series, I talked about about the shift from 'my initial focus on the clay coil itself, on texture, on the outer shape the coil was forming, the size of the cylinder and its presence when grouped with the others', 'light and shade, placing in formation/groupings' to a consciousness of the inner space.
My latest firing produced another six beautiful cylinders, making a grouping of 13 in all. A sufficient number to start exploring the placing or grouping element of the series. 
First I've played around with changing the view point:
viewed at
1) normal eye level and lower down, just below normal eye level, the grouping is about
     a) outer shape

     b) texture

     c) light and shade

2) above normal eye level, the grouping becomes about
     a) inside space; the higher above eye level the more just about the inner space

I've also started to play around with changing the formation itself, the way the cylinders are arranged: 
1) in a random size-based arrangement, the grouping is about placement and negative space, i.e. the space in between the cylinders

2) in ascending/descending size-based order, the grouping becomes about height:

Further exploration to follow ... (what happens when they are placed in a circle or spiral formation; or in a linear formation => becomes about time [as per a previous post?, etc.)

I find great enjoyment, delight, in the power of repetition, in other words using the same basic element - here a white clay cylinder - and repeating it, you achieve something very different by the mere act of repetition/multiplication, something hugely powerful; and the more extensive the repetition, the more powerful the impact.
This is something the Japanese aesthetic understands and uses extremely well.

Another aspect of interest to me in this series is that these cylinders can be either decorative ceramics or ceramic sculpture/art. I want to explore the point at which a formation switches from being purely decorative to it being Art. By which I mean that if you place two or three cylinders together on a window-sill for instance, it can be a decorative object or feature in the home (decorative ceramics as opposed to functional/utilitarian ceramics, since these are certainly in no way 'vases' as they, purposely, are left open at the bottom). What are the changes that need to be made to make it an art installation? One single cylinder becomes art if/because the focus becomes directed towards the texture and light and shade, and similarly a grouping of a dozen. Further thoughts and discoveries to follow ...