MISSOULA, MONT.- The Missoula Art Museum presents a wild array of ceramic artworks in Make it Funky: Bay Area Influence on Missoula Ceramics. The exhibition looks at the spread of influence from Bay Area Funk (and Nut) ceramics to Montana—and then beyond, as students of Rudy Autio and the University of Montana ceramics department migrated across the country. Make it Funky opened June 27, 2023.

Make it Funky features ceramic sculptures from the MAM Collection and loans from individuals and institutions including the Archie Bray Foundation. Artworks reveal influences and legacies of local artists, including Rudy Autio, Tom Rippon, Jay Rummel, and more.

The name ‘Funk’ carried the dual meanings of a strong and musty smell—like the raw, earthiness of cannabis, patchouli, or sweat—and danceable soul-inspired music with a strong beat, both associations related to the counterculture. The once-radical Funk investment in nonfunctional ceramic forms resulted in highly personalized expressions that remain singular even after the passage of time and the exhibition raises questions about changing forms of reaction, resistance, and protest.

Make It Funky: Bay Area Influence on Missoula Ceramics is on view at the Missoula Art Museum through Dec. 16, 2023. MAM thanks Holiday Inn Missoula Downtown and Allez! for their support as Exhibition Patron and Exhibition Advocate respectively.

Missoula Art Museum: Founded in 1975 and accredited by the American Alliance of Museums since 1987, MAM is emerging as the leading contemporary art museum in the Intermountain West. MAM is situated on the traditional, ancestral territories of the Séliš (Salish or “Flathead”) and Ql̓ispé (upper Kalispel or Pend d’Oreille) peoples in Missoula, Montana, USA. MAM is committed to respecting the indigenous stewards of the land it occupies. Their rich cultures are fundamental to artistic life in Montana and to the work of MAM.

Missoula Art Museum
Make it Funky: Bay Area Influence on Missoula Ceramics
June 27th, 2023 - December 16th, 2023