Thursday, September 19, 2024

Sascha Brastoff: California King
Everson Museum of Art

Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

There are many wild and colorful characters in the history of American ceramics, but most pale in comparison to Sascha Brastoff. We most remember Brastoff as a prolific designer of midcentury dinnerware, but he also served in the US Army during World War II, where he created props and costumes for Special Services events to entertain troops. Brastoff also performed as his drag alter-ego, G.I. Carmen Miranda, and was cast in a Broadway production, Winged Victory (later adapted into the 1944 movie of the same name).

When the war ended, Brastoff moved to Los Angeles to design costumes for film stars, including the real Carmen Miranda. Brastoff then built a dinnerware empire (bankrolled by a Rockefeller) after taking a top prize in the Syracuse Museum of Fine Art's 1948 Ceramic National exhibition. Throughout his career, Brastoff rubbed elbows with celebrities and was at the heart of L.A.'s Queer underground. Besides his work in ceramics, Brastoff also mastered jewelry, metalwork, enamels, and created erotic works for many private clients.