Artist Lecture: Remembering TB-9: Steve Kaltenbach, Peter Vandenberge & Jerry Walburg in Conversation

Robert Arneson started what is known as the "Ceramic Funk Movement", it is Neo-Dada Pop Art, or Funk Art.  He started this ceramic revolution that took place at TB-9.  It is Neo-Avant-Garde.  TB-9 is the first historically significant art studio by a university.  The men I met at this lecture all were students of this same man known as "Bob".  

The first student of his that I had the pleasure of hearing speak and meeting, is named Gerald Walburg.  He does mostly metal sculpture and did a lot of the metal sculpture on Sacramento State University's campus, and also did some Downtown Sacramento sculpture and even the tilted arch at the entrance to Downtown.  He is the reason we have the Art Sculpture Lab on campus, because he transformed it from a storage space into a studio for all in 1969.

The second student that spoke is named Stephen Kaltenbach.  He did a lot of university work as well, and even created the MOMA's Time Capsule, along with his series of time capsules.  He creates a lot of conceptual pieces, and even created my favorite painting of all time, since I was young.  It is called "Portrait of My Father", and is held at the Crocker Museum.  He even created the sculpture in the fountains in Downtown Sacramento.

The third speaker I met is named Peter Vandenberge.  He created sculpture out of clay mostly, but then decided he wanted to try other mediums.  Bob encouraged this, but told him to go back to clay in the end because he had many strongsuits there.  His sculptures are very important and the longated figures he creates resemble the well-known "heads" from Easter Island.  His work has made it into several exhibitions pretty much everywhere well-known in California such as the MOMA, Crocker, Smithsonian Institute, just to name a few.  

Listening To Liszt, Ceramic 2007, 28 1/2" x 20"x14"

Professor Bob would make them all create work and break it, just to put it back together again, so that the students were making for the sake of making.  He would not want them to get too attached to their precious pieces.  He taught them to defend and stand behind their work.  To quote Steven Kaltenbach's recollection of Bob, "Moving strongly in a direction means you're moving away from another".  I learned very many important lessons from these artists.  They told me, "Use who and what you know, what's valuable to you."  They told me that creating art is self-driven, self-discipline.  One of my favorite quotes from this lecture came from Jerry Walburg, and it is "The things you know can really damage your imagination".

Stephen agrees with this statement, and I know this because after the lecture ended, I approached him and spoke with him for a few minutes.  I told him that in 2008 I went to the Crocker Art Museum with my class for a lower division requirement.  I was a Business Administration Major with an emphasis in Criminal justice.  I stood in front of a wall that had a huge picture on it of a man's face.  I thought it was a photograph.  Then I got closer to this colossal picture, to realize there are a million little shapes in different colors that were almost invisible from my previous distance.  I then realized that each individual hair of the glowing white beard were so well defined.  I then noticed that there was a breath or a light behind this man's lips, almost in his throat, that was coming out of his mouth.  I realized that this was his dying breath, and that this man was the photographer's father.  Then my final realization was that this is a PAINTING.  Ever since that moment, I have wanted to be a painter.  

Standing in front of this man realizing that he is the artist, was like meeting my hero.  He was touched by my story, and the fact that he inspired me to be an Art Studio Major like I am now.  I asked him, "If there is one lesson you learned from Bob that was the most valuable, that I should know moving forward as an artist, what would it be?"  and he said, "Don't let your skills limit your imagination.  Part of that could be easily you deciding to switch mediums... I think most of the work you do should be experimental."  Well, Stephen Kaltenbach, you just rescued me from any ruts I may have fallen into in the future!

Left to Right: Elaine O'brien, Peter Vandenberge, Stephen Kaltenbach, Gerald Walberg

These men are all exactly who I want to be when I graduate, so I cannot emphasize what a pleasure it was to have met them.  I know I have the drive that many people do not possess, and know that I will work hard enough and make art my life, in order to pursue a career in art like they have.