Raymond Loewy Reliquary Urn. 1998.

I’m just fascinated by railways, trams and trains and so I decided to make an urn based on my thoughts about Raymond Loewy. Loewy was born in Paris in 1893 and trained as an engineer. He emigrated to the USA in 1919 becoming an artist and illustrator before establishing himself as designer, later becoming one of the world’s leading industrial designers. He worked on commissions for various American companies which included railway companies, most notably the Pennsylvania Railroad Company where he produced Art Deco streamlined body designs for their electric GG1 locomotive and for their S1 steam locomotive, both in the 1930’s. 

​For the urn I have used the streamlined Art Deco body of the S-1 steam locomotive, turned it vertically and altered it accordingly to make the steam locomotive body look more like a rocket, to reach heaven. The distressed and decayed exterior surface is a metaphor for the decayed body. To contrast with the exterior the internal casket, also based upon the streamlined Art Deco body of the S-1 steam locomotive, has a smooth lustrous finish.

​This reliquary urn was made in the third year of the BA (Hons) Ceramics Degree course, working directly from the research without recourse to designs.