Photo: Unidentified; Robert Arneson, Earth Book No. 1 (Secret Ceramic Glazes); David Gilhooly, Frog Fry; Richard Notkin, Lamp Base (Finger).

Make It Funky: Bay Area Influence On Missoula Ceramics

June 27 2023 - December 21 2023

Make it Funky looks at the influence of the San Francisco Bay area Funk movement on Missoula ceramists, many of whom attended the University of Montana. The Funk movement started in the late 1950s/early 1960s in the San Francisco Bay area at the University of California-Davis among studio art faculty such as Robert Arneson, Roy de Forest, and William T. Wiley, and students like Richard Shaw and David Gilhooly, and other artists like California College of the Arts professor Viola Frey and Marilyn Levine. 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.

Related Events

Thursday, August 3 from 5 to 7 PM - Make It Funky Cocktail Hour

Friday, August 4 from 5 to 8 PM - First Friday Opening Celebration

Saturday, September 9 from 11:30 AM to 12 PM - Saturday Free Family Workshop

Thursday, September 14 from 5 to 7 PM - Clay Community Night

Thursday, December 7 from 5 to 7 PM - Festive Funk: Member Holiday Party

Related Press

ArtDaily- Missoula ceramic sculptures in the Funk style of the 1960s and 1970s now open - July 5, 2023


The Missoula Art Museum is grateful for the support of Allez! and Holiday Inn Missoula Downtown,  sponsors of Make It Funky: Bay Area Influence On Missoula Ceramics!