Julia Krueger was born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan.  She studied art history and Canadian art history at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario.  She received her BA with highest honours and her Master’s thesis: “Prairie Pots and Beyond: An Examination of Saskatchewan Ceramics from the 1960s to Present” was accepted in 2006 with distinction.  In 2010, Julia completed a BFA in ceramics at Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, Alberta, where she collaborated on many projects with her sister, Yolande Krueger.

Research

I am passionate about contemporary Canadian craft, especially Western Canadian ceramics and glass.  My past research endeavours have led me to examine noted ceramists such as Folmer Hansen, Jeannie Mah and Jack Sures, as well as early glass activities through the work of Norman Faulkner, Bob Held, François Houdé and Jim Norton.
I have commenced PhD studies in order to examine how kitsch and eroticism are used in Canadian craft as transgressive tools to critique society and stir up the status-quo. Canadian craft is a rich area which produces debates around censorship, taste, class and stereotyping.  My research plan consists of amassing and analysing a critical mass of Canadian crafts people who use kitsch and/or eroticism in their work.  It is difficult to discuss eroticism and kitsch without setting up a binary of the pornographic versus the erotic and good taste versus bad taste.  However, binaries are problematic because they lead to oversimplification.  Instead, the notions of the erotic and kitsch will be used to complicate binaries, and it will be argued that both rely heavily on varying degrees of humour.  Although overt kitschy and erotic references can be dismissed as too soft and light hearted, humour and familiarity allows complex politics to be more accessible, making the crafted objects subversive.

Publications

Krueger, Julia. “Where the Wild Things and Moulds Meet: A Conversation with Mynthia McDaniel and Subsequent Musings.” Blend 10th Edition: ACAD Undergraduate Journal (2010): 12-14.
Krueger, Julia and Yolande Krueger. “The Fumed Vessels of Jim Norton.” Contemporary Canadian Glass 6/4 (Winter 2008): 24-25, 27-28.
Krueger, Julia. “Passing the Torch: Four Canadian Studio Glass Educators.” Crafting New Traditions: Canadian Innovators and Influence. Eds. Melanie Egan, Alan C. Elder and Jean Johnson. Gatineau, Quebec: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 2008. 35-46.
Krueger, Julia and Yolande Krueger. “François Houdé: Breaking the Boundaries.” Contemporary Canadian Glass 5/4 (Winter 2007): 12-19, 27.
Krueger, Julia and Yolande Krueger. “A Brief History of Glass Education in Canada.” Contemporary Canadian Glass 5/3 (Winter 2006): 24-27, 31.
Krueger, Julia.  “A Feminist Lens on Six Female Ceramists in Regina.” Regina Clay: Worlds in the Making. MacKenzie Art Gallery. Ed. Timothy Long.  Regina: MacKenzie Art Gallery, 2005. 51-57.
Krueger, Julia. “Jack Sures.” The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan: A Living Legacy. Canadian Plains Research Center. 2005.

Conferences

“Let’s Go Fishing...A Trip to the Hansen-Ross Pottery: Tourist Ware or Something Else?,” 2010 UAAC Conference, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, October 16, 2010.

“Passing the Torch: Early Canadian Studio Glass,” Crafting New Traditions: Canadian Innovators and Influence, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Ontario, February 23, 2008.

“A Feminist Lens on Six Female Ceramists in Regina,” Clay and the Academy: Perspectives on the Ceramics at the University of Regina, MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan, January 24, 2006.

Teaching

VAH 2291G - Gettin’ Your Hands Dirty: Canadian Craft and its Histories

Image Information

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Corresponding Info: Co-Organizer/Curator, Affinity: Alberta Ceramics, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Alberta, June 4-16, 2007.

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Corresponding Info: Hansen-Ross Pottery, various dates. Photo Credit: Joe Kelly.

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Corresponding Info: Dead Desmond, 2010 by Julia and Yolande Krueger

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Corresponding Info: Poodle Panty Pot, 2010 by Julia and Yolande Krueger
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Corresponding Info: Ode to Billy Mayes, 2010 by Julia and Yolande Krueger