Lyla Kaplan

Artist Statement:

I grew up hearing my Zeidi’s (grandfather’s) stories of escaping the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, then being imprisoned in a Siberian gulag (labor camp). His family and all of the villagers were taken to the Treblinka extermination camp before the Polish Resistance had time to take root. I did not hear stories of compassion, but I felt his courage and hope. Decades later, when I moved to Downingtown, I found a different story in the book Potters and Potteries of Chester County. Learning about the local “Quaker-abolitionist-potters” and the John Vickers abolitionist flower pot showed me that pottery can make courage visible. I felt more connected to the earth beneath my feet, and I endeavored to learn more about our American history.

The humble, empty pot accomplishes so much: it holds the promise of nourishment, friendship, and memories. It connects us through space and time. A pot can ask us how compassion might shape our actions, and how our actions impact others, just as clouds endlessly transform in the sky.

People seeking freedom traveling north from John Vickers’ underground railroad station reportedly carried a coded note reading simply, “Thy friend pot.” My “Thy friend pot” installation is a collection of love notes, simple, functional plates representing the courageous, anonymous men and women, Black and white, who risked everything radically, in cooperation. Expanding on our interconnectedness, my “light of the universe” bowl reimagines ancient Mesopotamian bowls that were written in spiraling script, which scholars call “incantation” or “magic” bowls. When we see ourselves in others and others in ourselves, the boundaries between us blur. Perhaps these pots can serve as reminders of our capacity for compassion.

Learn more on Lyla’s website