Ecology Krater II (Out Biking with Aunt Samantha)

Michael Frimkess combines the Greek krater with contemporary subject matter in Ecology Krater II (Out Biking with Aunt Samantha). In the 1960s, Frimkess created a fictitious character, Uncle Sam, who was a Mormon with three wives and two sisters, one of whom was “Aunt Samantha.” Encircling the body of the krater are two bicycles built for four, carrying riders of different ages. On the neck of the pot are images of endangered animals. Frimkess calls his pottery “ethnic melting pots,” making a pun on the diverse neighborhood in East Los Angeles, where he grew up.