Jo Lauria

Many people contributed their knowledge and expertise to Color and
Fire: Defining Moments in Studio Ceramics, 1950-2000. Although it
is the responsibility of the curator to develop the scope and specific
content of an exhibition and its accompanying catalogue, the ultimate
success of the project depends on the cooperative efforts and intel-
lectual energies of all the museum staff and other colleagues who
assist in realizing it from inception to completion.

In the beginning, this project benefited from the scholarship of
Martha Drexler Lynn, former associate curator of decorative arts and
author of LACMA's first catalogue on contemporary ceramics, Clay
Today: Contemporary Ceramists and Their Work ( 1990). Lynn laid the
foundation on which I have built as I endeavored to relate another
chapter of the story of postwar ceramics. I also owe a debt of grati-
tude to Leslie Bowman, former head of the Department of Decorative
Arts, for providing insight as I began to conceptualize the exhibition.
This project would not have gone forward without Bowman's support.

Others in the Department of Decorative Arts to whom I am
grateful are Martin Chapman, acting head, for taking up the reins and
overseeing this project in its final stages, and Maile Pingel, curatorial
administrator, who with grace and cheer has been unfailingly helpful in tracking the myriad
details of exhibition organization. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of J. Collin
Gleason, curatorial summer intern, who helped compile the bibliography, and Rebecca
Niederlander, research assistant par excellence, who responded with unwavering courtesy
and resourcefulness. Our department volunteers, Marilyn Gross and Cornelia Bailey,
deserve warmest thanks for their tireless efforts and painstaking attention to detail.

Graham Beal, former director of LACMA, and Andrea L. Rich, president and director,
supported this project from the start and provided the resources for its development.
A hearty thanks also goes to our exhibition programs staff, under the leadership of its
assistant director, Irene Martin.Thanks especially to Christine Lazzaretto, exhibition pro-
grams coordinator, whose generosity and expert organization of the national tour are
much appreciated. I am also thankful to Jane Burrell, head of the Education Department,
for her support and wise counsel in guiding the exhibition video, which has been deftly
directed and produced by Elvin Whitesides and Megan Melby of the Audiovisual
Department. I applaud you all for these efforts.

I would also like to recognize the museum staff involved in the
design and installation of the exhibition. Bernard Kester, exhibition
designer, brilliantly met the challenge of creating an exceptional
visual environment for this large and diverse collection of art.
Further, the exhibition could not have been accomplished without
the professionalism and patience of the staff of the Registrar's
Office, particularly JenniferYates, or without the expert planning
and resources of the Operations Department, headed by Art Owens

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