Is it art? Is it architecture? Is it a giant billboard? It's all three! And it has been a Fresno landmark for over 50 years. The colorful artwork of the Duncan Ceramics Building today on KVPR's Central Valley Roots.
Erma Duncan and her family founded their business in Fresno in 1946 specializing in ceramic glazes. They quickly gained a good reputation in the hobbyist community and moved to a facility near the Fresno Air Terminal at Clovis Avenue and East Shields Avenue. Then in 1969 they gave their Duncan Enterprises headquarters a massive makeover.
They hired Fresno sculptor Stan Bitters to transform the building into a 600 foot-long display of their signature colorful glazes. Giant medallions, sunbursts, and abstract forms make up the three-dimensional ceramic sculptures. They bring a distinct flower power esthetic that is very much from the Woodstock-era but also draw on folk art traditions from a variety of cultures as well as modern art. Bitters’ work is internationally acclaimed and has graced everything from the Fulton Mall’s fountains to the Saroyan Theater’s bronze doors, to the homes of Hollywood stars.
While the company is now known today as iLoveToCreate, the Duncan Ceramics building remains a colorful local icon for generations of Fresno-area residents.
