mailtoandrew@FSMAIL.NET on fri 25 feb 05
Hello All,
Just in case it is not already known across ClayArt there currently is a
Bernard Leach exhibition at The Tate in St.Ives, Cornwall, UK. Further
information can be found at
http://www.tate.org.uk/stives/exhibitions/cometotheedge/
From my visit last week:
Gallery and displays are quite small
Entry is a bit pricey at 5 pounds, though senior citizens are free
View from the Rotunda out across the ocean is pretty spectacular
Pleasant cafe with good food and similarly impressive view
In addition to the 30 or so pots on view in The Tate a private gallery in
the village has a small number of Leach s pots for sale along with a few
by Hamada and Lucie Rie ... though you ll need a few thousand pounds for a
single pot!
Whilst not being deliberately contentious Im still at a loss to understand
the reverence in which Leach s pots are held, and why one particular
traditional, one style of Japanese ware, has come to be so dominant for
craft potters.
Kind regards,
Andrew
Eric Hansen on sat 26 feb 05
Lee, Andrew, list:
While it=92s important to acknowledge Leach as the Godfather of today=92s s=
tudio potters, it is also important to recognize that he was as grand a car=
nival hawker as there ever was. Supposedly have been raised only in the Far=
East, he arrives in England an instant expert on English pottery. Much of =
the condemnation of the state of the craft in England is full of misleading=
statements which might have helped to fatten his purse a bit. I can=92t bl=
ame him for that. One of my excursions into University of Kansas=92 Library=
led me to a book of kilns built in art schools and colleges in England in =
the 1880=92s and it is evident that a healthy arts and crafts movement was =
already afoot before Leach=92s arrival. He includes Catherine Pleydell-Bouv=
erie in his book which is generous. The Arts and Crafts Movement came out o=
f the circle of the Pre-Raphaelites, Wm. Morris in particular, a printer an=
d printmaker who created Art Noveau, Craftsman Style, & who had direct infl=
uence upon Leach. Also included in this group are photographer Julia Camero=
n, painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, model Jane Morris, authors Lewis Carrol,=
Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Thomas Carlyle among others. Now Carlyle, who ha=
d enormous influence, was a synthesis of transcendentalist and utititarian =
philosophies, a ready-made for the Hamada/Yanagi/Leach/Cardew mingei philo=
sophy. The Arts and Crafts Movement from the moment of its inception was de=
liberate. However, mingei elevates folk art above all other fine arts or wh=
at Leach calls =93merely Art for Art=92s sake=94. Now I have a deep respect=
for the notion of the humble country potter who=92s home is only a studio =
and who=92s kitchen is also the exhibition gallery. But somewhere in the hu=
mble potters home is hidden a stash of pots too sacred to use everyday, may=
be an Anasazi corrugated, or a pre-Columbian idol, or a four foot long scul=
pture like a celadon girder which looks like the glaze surface is a foot de=
ep, or the best Yixing teapot. Leach never condemns such work but he also n=
ever acknowledges the contradiction. I am totally blown away by a catalog I=
have on the ceramics, lacquer, calligraphy, and painting of Rosanjin Kitao=
ji, of whom Leach says, =93is not a potter=94 (presumably for using the sam=
e studio production techniques as Hamada). Rosanjins work is the ultimate i=
n strictly functional (he owned a restaurant and the 1923 earthquake destro=
yed his dihes, so he began to pot)so you have to wonder? Looking deeper, th=
e issue is one of =93not mingei=94 as Rosanjins work has an aristocratic fl=
are. Personally I find it inexcusable to allow Leach to decide which Japane=
se potters I can learn something from and which I can not. This is a form o=
f guru-ism which isn=92t even accepted in Japan, where there are always che=
cks and balences. I can only assume it is a control issue and a personality=
-cult and/or sales gimmick. I also believe that Japanese potters should be =
allowed to speak for themselves.
On second thought, maybe I should emulate Leach. I could be a guru; and aft=
er all what place is better to showboat/grandstand on than a list-serv?=20
E R I C / O R E G O N=20=20
>Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 06:28:04 +0900
>From: Lee Love
>Subject: : Bernard Leach exhibition
>>mailtoandrew@FSMAIL.NET wrote:
>> Whilst not being deliberately contentious Im still at a loss to >>unders=
tand the reverence in which Leach s pots are held,
>
>
>
> Andrew. Leach and his books helped create what know as the >studio =
potter, that exists today. Most of us would not be making >functional pot=
tery if it were not for his, Yanagi's and Hamada's work. >They showed u=
s that secrets hinder progress. Leach's work is held in >high esteem beca=
use of what he did for the craft.
=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20
--=20
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Steve Irvine on sat 26 feb 05
>Whilst not being deliberately contentious Im still at a loss to understand
>the reverence in which Leach s pots are held, and why one particular
>traditional, one style of Japanese ware, has come to be so dominant for
>craft potters.
Andrew,
It's easy to look down on someone when standing on their shoulders. What Leach set out to do in
St. Ives so many years ago has had a profound influence on the daily lives of today's studio
potters. Get a copy of his book, A Potters Book. You'll find it a remarkable work in its scope and
content.
Steve Irvine
http://www.steveirvine.com
Edouard Bastarache Inc. on sun 27 feb 05
Well wabi sabi,
"While it's important to acknowledge Leach as the Godfather
of today's studio potters."
Maybe this is true for anglophones but not so for francophones.
Later,
"Ils sont fous ces quebecois"
"They are insane these quebekers"
"Están locos estos quebequeses"
Edouard Bastarache
Irreductible Quebecois
Indomitable Quebeker
Sorel-Tracy
Quebec
edouardb@sorel-tracy.qc.ca
www.sorel-tracy.qc.ca/~edouardb/Welcome.html
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/smart2000/index.htm
http://www.digitalfire.com/education/toxicity/
mailtoandrew@FSMAIL.NET on wed 2 mar 05
Hello Eric, Lee, Steve and anyone else,
I hope you ll excuse my rather rambling post in response to your various
comments ...
Steve paraphrased Newton with =93It's easy to look down on someone when
standing on their shoulders.=94 In my defence (!) I submit that I m not
looking down on anyone, and neither would I disagree with his comment that
Leach has influenced many craft potters. However I am confused to the
Bernard Leach s (BL) legacy; from books, exhibitions and discussions I
understand some take it to be:
1. Establishment of potting as craft or art
2. His opinion of aesthetics tastes and style
3. Convergence of Asian and European styles
4. The pots themselves
Expanding upon these individually:
1. Establishment of potting as craft or art
Just as it would be grotesquely over simplified to credit Elvis with the
invention of rock and roll surely it is so with BL and studio pottery.
Many predated him, with some examples being:
Bernard Palissy of Paris (1509-1590) has been described as the first
studio potter, with France also laying claim to some of the earliest
studio potters from a more modern era: Ernest Chaplet (1835-1909) and
Auguste Delaherche(1857 - 1940) whose pots were apparently
enthusiastically received at the Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia, USA
in 1876, and stimulated enthusiasm for the craft in the US.
And as Eric noted the Arts and Crafts movement lead by William Morris in
the UK should not be ignored. From the early 1860s William Morris
encouraged, not least by founding his own company, the manufacture by
traditional methods of glass, tapestry, furniture and ceramic. Morris
influence on potters, and many other artists, was immense, and his
rejection of industrial production in favour of craftsmanship can been
seen as the origin of those ideas espoused by Hamada, Leach and Yanagi
Other associated British potters include:
Martin Brothers of the Martinware Pottery (1873-1923)
Fishley family, from early 1800s until around 1920s; Michael Cardew was
taught by William Fishley Holland prior to his time with BL
William Moorcroft (1873 =961945)
William and Edward Taylor who founded Ruskin Pottery in 1898
Charles Vyse 1882 - 1971
And what of Doultons Lambeth Art Pottery dating back to the 1870s and
their very distinctive style. And in the US? Amongst many others there was
Rookwood founded in 1880
Certainly some of these were commercially successful enough to enlarge
beyond a studio but they did share a similar conception and underlying
principles. Also when does a studio potter become a factory owner? When
the pots are his only source of income? When he employs others?
A contemporary of BL who it seems is sometimes overlooked is William
Staite Murray (1881-1962) with his Yeoman Pottery dating from 1915.
2. His opinion of aesthetics tastes and style
In his post Steve recommended BLs =93A Potters Book=94, though I personally =
do
not share his enthusiasm, for it finding in parts arrogant and
patronising:
=93... the great majority have no criterion of aesthetic values which would
enable them to distinguish between the genuinely good and meretricious=94
And of designs BL does not like he viscously rubbishes and
belittles: =93....we meet everywhere with bad forms and banal, debased,
pretentious decoration.=94
And is it really fair to describe =93... cheaply designed and as dull and
miserable in colour as it is possible for tiles to be=94 Does this include
tiles made, and influenced, by De Morgan, Minton et al
Perhaps I m being naive but why should one individual dictate what is
tasteful or which style is correct?
Following my first post when I very briefly questioned the dominance of
Japanese influence Lee did respond to advise that the BL pot shown on the
web link was actually of Korean style. Whilst I did not intend this piece
as an illustration it does highlight that BL did respect ware from a
number of traditions. However in my experience many studio potters do
revere and aspire to a Japanese tradition above anything else, and sadly
this can be the detriment to other styles. Just three others, selected for
no particular reason, along with links to some pretty pictures are:
Staffordshire slipware: famous examples being Ozzy The Owl and pieces by
Thomas Toft
http://www2002.stoke.gov.uk/museums/pmag/ceramics/cergallerytour4.htm
http://nautarch.tamu.edu/portroyal/slipware/slip-history.html
Arabic
http://www.islamicarchitecture.org/ia/art/ipottery.html
Ancient Greek
http://potweb.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/PotProsp-Greek.html
http://www.museum.upenn.edu/Greek_World/pottery_big-07.html
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Pottery.htm
Both BL and Michael Cardew made slipware, but it is uncommon these days.
And where is the craft production of ware influenced by say, Arabic and
Greek styles ... very, very rare ... why?
Although each potter, of course, should be free to seek inspiration from
anywhere or any style which has a resonance for him/her I ve long been
puzzled why so many endeavour towards specific conventions. No criticism
is intended but why do potters born and raised in one country reject their
own heritage by aspiring to produce in a style native to somewhere else?
Please do not interpret this in anyway as being prejudiced but if nothing
else the palette of influences is diminished and local styles are replaced
by imitations from another culture.
And why does ware made now have to be referenced back to older styles?
Referring to English studio potters Michael Cardew notes in his
introduction to =93A Potters Book=94, that =93... they emulate the early Chi=
nese
potters, and they are quite right to do so.=94 My immediate reaction to
first reading this was =93Why?=94, and I still do not know the answer.
3. Convergence of Asian and European styles
Encouragement to consider other cultures can only be positive as it should
hopefully promote tolerance and understanding. But BL was not the first,
though I m not suggesting he claimed primacy, to look to the East.
Arab traders and the travels of Marco Polo led to interest in the East. In
the nineteenth century perhaps The Japanese Pavilion at the 1867 World
Exhibition in Paris had the greatest single influence on European artists,
with Manet a notable case. And of course the drive to match imported
Chinese porcelain led to the development in Europe, amongst others, of
porcelain, delftware and bone china
This exchange was not one way. Hokusai (1760-1849), perhaps most famous
for his Views of Mt. Fuji series, was influenced by landscapes produced by
Dutch and French artists.
4. The pots themselves
To put it rather crudely ... Are BLs pots of any good?
I was interested in the reaction to BLs pots of two people who accompanied
me the St Ives exhibition:
One having no strong interest in pottery, or any field of art,
commented: =93not very good are they.=94 She thought them nothing remarkable=
even compared to the products of a school pottery class.
The other was someone who studied art history at University. They
optioned that the reason why the art world was generally dismissive of
ceramics was partly due to so many twentieth century potters who
dogmatically tried to produce in BLs Far Eastern influenced style with
little or no innovation. A view Michael Cardew commented on, but did not
address, in his introduction to =93A Potters Book=94. This reminded me that
when the transvestite potter Grayson Perry was announced as the winner of
the 2003 Turner Prize he observed: =93I think the art world had more trouble=
coming to terms with me being a potter than my choice of frocks.=94 Whilst
his own opinion I think it is valid to say that in many of Western
countries pottery is not considered to have the artistic merit of what are
grouped as the fine arts; maybe it s different in other countries and
cultures.
Are his pots functional? In =93A Potters Book=94 he was ready to criticise t=
he
look of mass produced pots: =94... is that at a conservative estimate about
nine tenths of the industrial pottery produced in England no less than in
other countries is hopelessly bad in form and decoration.=94 But what would
the judgement be if his pots were viewed by the criterion for which these
factory wares were made? Such as are they fit for purpose: Paul Rice and
Christopher Gowing described BLs reaction to a customer=92s complaint that a=
teapot of his dribbled as being contemptuous and aghast that the pot was
actually used to make tea rather than simply be revered.
None of the PL pots I ve seen would have a particular long service life if
used in catering establishments. But is it fair to judged his wares by the
standards set by an industry making strong, durable, uniform products?
Arguable not but conversely BL seemed happy to suggest that his doctrine
was universal.
Were his pots available? Studio made pots can be expensive, indeed quiet a
number of BL St. Ives pots were made for wealthy patrons. Could most
families, even now, afford to furnish the home solely with craft made
cooking, serving and storage vessels as well as tile the bathroom? The
rejection of industry may have a romantic appeal but is it practical or
desirable? BL sent his son to study Ceramics at the industry based
Technical College in Stoke on Trent and to work in the local factories
Some of BL pots I ve seen have crawls and pinholes on the glaze. Are these
faults, design features or unpredictable but welcomed irregularities.
Obviously I don t know but what do we make of the legacy when some makers
produce very obviously faulted ware and excuse it by =93Well Bernard
Leach ...=94
And for someone who apparently so prized the individual maker I was
surprised to learn that BL often had others throw pots for him which he
subsequently marked, and sold, as his own.
Finally ... I have been recommended Edmund de Waal s book on BL, it being
described as non-devotional and relatively balanced appraisal. I ve not
had obtained a copy yet, has anyone read it?
Kind regards, and hope you all continue to be passionate about pots.
Andrew
Steve Slatin on wed 2 mar 05
Andrew --
You've raised many interesting points, but some of
your points tend to express why it is that Leach is
still timely today.
Let me make an analogy. Comics as an art form didn't
really exist early on -- whether strips like the
Yellow Kid or Superman and the other early 'book'
comics, it wasn't seen as an art. Early on there was
some art, but largely by accident. Then it was
commercialized, and by the '60s it was quite
standardized (exactly how different was Green Lantern
from Batman?) and largely devoid of outstanding
examples.
Now, consider the influence of R. Crumb. He
revitalized comics as a medium, drawing on some
extremely old influences -- going back, in fact, to
images reminiscent of the earliest of comics, and made
some comics (largely his own) a kind of high art, with
original work worth fortunes.
Did he draw comics significantly better than everyone
else? No, Spain had the mood better, Gilbert Shelton
was more entertaining, Vaughn Bode captured the moral
high ground and mixed it with low-brow humor, J. Lynch
(Purple Cat) had some of the best drawings, etc. And
the artist who did the "Mothers Oats" comics had the
most comprehensive world view (one entire book is
dedicated to the question "What is thought?).
And Gilbert Shelton was drawing what were certainly
"Underground Comics" (think of Wonder Warthog, which I
first saw in High School in "Drag Toons" magazine)
long before R. Crumb published anything. So why is R.
Crumb the one we remember?
Well, striking the public mood is important. Bringing
the old styles to the public's attention, that's
important. Capturing the zeitgeist is a big piece of
it. Building on the work of others, and shamelessly
cribbing from dated styles to remind people that
different has, really, existed, that's big. And being
a bit of a self-publicist always helps.
Seeing what is great in others, though, and bringing
the public's attention to them is particularly vital.
It's something any good artist/craftsman will do if
working in a medium that's not entirely new.
Capturing the aesthetic is hard to define, but easy to
see. That's what makes a Lamborghini a great car.
(And pottery is as old as human civilization, so
there're plenty of great aesthetic examples.)
Leach popularized himself (and he was a great
decorator of pots) and also other living potters, he
found striking historical pieces and learned to adapt
(not duplicate) them and tied craft pottery in his day
in England to the traditions of Japan and, through
that, China and Korea.
He also figured out how to make a living as a craft
potter (let only he who has worked a thousand craft
fairs in the rain and the sweltering heat sneer at
Leach's pricing structure) and revitalized the craft.
If that's not enough in the way of reasons for
referring often to Leach, let's take it off-list. I
could go on, but we're wasting bandwidth.
Best wishes -- Steve Slatin
--- mailtoandrew@FSMAIL.NET wrote:
> Hello Eric, Lee, Steve and anyone else,
>
> I hope you ll excuse my rather rambling post in
> response to your various
> comments ...
=====
Steve Slatin -- Don't Ever Antagonize The Horn
__________________________________
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Maurice Weitman on thu 3 mar 05
t 3:32 PM -0800 on 3/2/05, Steve Slatin wrote:
>If that's not enough in the way of reasons for
>referring often to Leach, let's take it off-list. I
>could go on, but we're wasting bandwidth.
Wasting bandwidth, Steve???
I beg to differ. Compared to many messages on clayart, I find this
thread and your post to be stellar; informative, interesting, and
exactly on topic for potters. "Our" historical references are most
important for any but the most casual potter.
Besides, as a Crumbophile, I very much appreciate your analogy for
its relevance and effectiveness.
It's no accident that "artists" of all persuasion who possess (or
muster) a sense of self-promotion are those whose work rises above
the rest and endures, often more than the work alone would justify.
As one who came to appreciate Leach's contribution to studio pottery
only after he was gone, I've not only enjoyed learning more about him
and his peers (in stature if not time), but also appreciate those
still alive and kickin' today even more.
Thanks, Steve, for your most interesting W.O.B.
Regards,
Maurice
Eric Hansen on thu 3 mar 05
Andrew, Lee, Steve, et al: I'm posting from and .edu ISP and I don't happen=
to think that a critical discussion of whether Leach is or is not the Supe=
rman of Ceramics to be a waste of bandwidth. I appreciate the discussion we=
've had thus far. My research project in '95 took me to Stoke-on-Trent, not=
St.Ives, I'll have to confess. But I also saw to the Victoria and Albert a=
nd I'm willing to bet that much of Leach's criticisms were directed at the =
curators of the Vic. He also culled the museum for some of his ideas. The P=
otteries Museum in Stoke is far more well-rounded and include important pot=
ters both before and after Leach. The reality is that Leach's reputation in=
England is like Hamada's reputation in Japan; not considered the favorite,=
and not considered the most important (see Yellin's site).
Although I appreciate the point in relating the history of comics a la R.Cr=
umb, all I can say is that the Hamada/Leach/Yanagi elevation of Mingei (e.g=
. folk art) as the only possible solution to development in the ceramic art=
s is like saying that Country and Western is the only true American music.=
=20
It is one approach to functional ware, not the only one. But, to confuse ma=
tters, that doesn't mean I don't believe in it, and in fact I do model my p=
oint of view to some extent after These Messengers of Mingei. I just think =
that the history of ceramics in America in particular to be full of myths w=
hich don't hold up under criticsm and are in part reflective of our weakene=
d and weakening stance in regard to the Fine Arts in general.
E R I C @ O R E G O N
>If that's not enough in the way of reasons for
>referring often to Leach, let's take it off-list. I
>could go on, but we're wasting bandwidth.
>Best wishes -- Steve Slatin
>--- mailtoandrew@FSMAIL.NET wrote:
> Hello Eric, Lee, Steve and anyone else,
>
> I hope you ll excuse my rather rambling post in
> response to your various
> comments ...
--=20
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Steve Slatin on thu 3 mar 05
Eric --
Whatever others wish to post is fine with me -- I'm
not a moderator here (Mel and Joyce have that
thankless job). I was just suggesting Andrew & I take
it off-list rather than filling up page after page
with my rambling (which I felt had already veered off
Clayart course).
Sad to say, what I was *really* worried about that day
was my reply to Kelly's posting, so I sent it
off-list. She took my low humor fine, and others
provided the incendiary material here.
Apologies and best wishes to all -- Steve S
--- Eric Hansen wrote:
> Andrew, Lee, Steve, et al: I'm posting from and .edu
> ISP and I don't happen to think that a critical
Steve Slatin -- Don't Ever Antagonize The Horn
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mailtoandrew@FSMAIL.NET on sun 13 mar 05
Hi Edouard, Eric, Lee, Maurice, Steve, everyone,
My apologies for responding to you re posts somewhat late, however due trave=
lling for work I ve only just been able to access the web. Anyway as the thr=
ead has gone a little quiet I won t ramble too much, thank goodness :-)
Although not meaning to pick points with someone else s post I would like to=
comment on Lee s reference to my original post which was =93=85. Andrew s q=
uestioning of Japanese influence on world ceramics=94 Whilst accepting this =
is paraphrased the wording is drastically different to my meaning when I not=
ed: =93 =85 so dominant for craft potters=94 Although clearly important for =
ClayArt readers craft pottery is a tiny, tiny part of world ceramics, and wh=
ilst the extent of the influence of a certain Japanese tradition on craft po=
tters is open to debate it is much, much less to the wider ceramic word.
Anyway I promised not to ramble so I would just like to summarise why I subm=
itted by first post after visiting the Leach exhibition:
1. Pottery has exited for millennia, across continents and cultures. From th=
e vast variety of styles and traditions why should one be given such permane=
nce?
2. Concentration on a one tradition can lead to a certain homogeneity, the l=
oss of some native traditions and the limitation of fresh ideas
3. No one aesthetic, or one group s opinion, is correct
4. Craft / studio pottery existed prior to Leach
Finally I would be interested if Edouard could expand upon is comment =93May=
be this is true for anglophones but not so for francophones=94
As I m off travelling again until April I m unlikely to be able to access Cl=
ayArt for a while, however on my return I m more than happy to continue you =
the debate, taking note of Steve s comment about bandwidth, off list may be =
preferable.
Happy potting to you all,
Andrew
May Luk on mon 14 mar 05
Hello Andrew and friends;
Please continue to 'ramble' :-) I really appreciate this thread, with the u=
p
coming Arts & Crafts exhibition in V&A, this conversation helps to put some
ideas in perspective.
Regards
May
London, UK
P.S. I have all the Leach books for the last 3 months, plus others book I
have to dive into, as I have to make a presentation for college at GSA, I
have also De Waal's Leach book as well but I haven't read yet, and I just
paid =A313 library fine for them. Azzzz.
Edouard Bastarache Inc. on mon 14 mar 05
Hello André,
"Finally I would be interested if Edouard could expand upon is comment
"Maybe
this is true for anglophones but not so for francophones"
It is just that I have been reading thousands of posts of Clayart since 1996
and often
times I believed I live on a different planet when it comes to influence on
ceramics.
Charles de Gaulle used to call those who live in the USA and in the
Commonwealth
"anglo-saxons", except us in Quebec.
The word we use in Quebec is "anglophone", while "francophone" means those
who
speak French here, I do not know about the other provinces.
In 1910, the Pope send a british bishop to Quebec to try to convince us to
become
anglophone and stop this animosity between the founding peoples of Canada
but,
we must admit that we were here fist with the Indians with whom we got along
fine.
The bishop was sent back by Henri Bourassa, the founder of the Montreal
newaspaper,
Le Devoir. In those days, we rarely disobeyed the Pope.
Now you know why Quebec is french.
So, having been separated for centuries from our motherland, France, we have
developed an original culture in "vase clos", different from other
countries'.
And oriental influencs have not been so prevalent.
Of course, I know who Hamada, Yanagi, Leach, Cardew, etc, even Lee Lov. are,
but their influence has not been so important here.
Our younger colleagues have travelled abroad mainly in France and naturally
a few
have studied in Japan.
Later,
"Ils sont fous ces quebecois"
"They are insane these quebekers"
"Están locos estos quebequeses"
Edouard Bastarache
Irreductible Quebecois
Indomitable Quebeker
Sorel-Tracy
Quebec
edouardb@sorel-tracy.qc.ca
www.sorel-tracy.qc.ca/~edouardb/Welcome.html
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/smart2000/index.htm
http://www.digitalfire.com/education/toxicity/
Lee Love on tue 15 mar 05
mailtoandrew@FSMAIL.NET wrote:
>1. Pottery has exited for millennia, across continents and cultures. From the vast variety of styles and traditions why should one be given such permanence?
>
>
Andrew, When you want to work in a classical medium, (high fire
functional ceramics in this instance), with certain materials and with
certain processes, if you are actually a craftsman and want to achieve a
high level of ability, you seek out the most advanced traditions in that
area to study.
I have never, for instance, heard anybody spite the Germans when people
are drawn to classical music study Bach, Mozart or Beethoven. Does it
make sense to go to Finland to study the BLues? Maybe blue toes. ;-)
The preeminence is due to the herculean work Leach and his friends did.
Hamada and Yanagi single-handedly save folk pottery in Okinawa. I wrote
this on another list:
The thing that made me appreciate Yanagi, and made me feel he
was worthy of my undying gratitude, was when I heard Shimaoka
Sensei explain to Warren MacKenzie, while I followed them both through
Hamada's Sankokan, that the Okinawan burial urns we were standing
before were the results of Yanagi and Hamada rescuing them from
bulldozers, where a new airforce base was being built after the war.
If it weren't for this work, that these two men singlehandedly protected,
we would have almost no representatives of the historic work intact.
Not only did Yanagi help preserve Okinawan work, he also helped
protect Korean and Ainu work too. A
lot of which we might not have examples of otherwise.
I put up a photo of one of this Okinawan Spirit houses. Please go see
here:
http://claycraft.blogspot.com/
>2. Concentration on a one tradition can lead to a certain homogeneity, the loss of some native traditions and the limitation of fresh ideas
>
>
If you examined, really examined with an open mind, the folks inspired
by Leach and Hamada, you would see a great variety of work. Of course,
not everybody has the knowledge to tell the difference between works,
but that is the shortcoming of the observer and not of the work they are
examining.
We had dinner with friends last night. I gave them a MacKenzie yunomi a
couple years ago, to thank them for all the help they have given us,
settling in Japan. To my great pleasure, my friends new yunomi are
influenced by the yunomi I gave him.
To an uneducated person, MacKenzie's yunomi seems "Japanese." Nobody in
Japan would make that mistake. Now, my friend's influenced work is a
little bit more "Japanese." Why? Because his customers are Japanese.
>3. No one aesthetic, or one group s opinion, is correct
>
>
Mingei, Hamada, Leach or Yanagi did not teach "one true aesthetic, one
true group or opinion. But they did educate us about standards that we
can use to examine every tradition, group or opinion. Primarily, the
original focus was to protect local culture, in the face of the crushing
commercial/materialistic/amorphous culture consuming the globe.
What they promoted was a cosmopolitan perspective on local culture.
>4. Craft / studio pottery existed prior to Leach
>Finally I would be interested if Edouard could expand upon is comment “Maybe this is true for anglophones but not so for francophones”
>
>
Much of Leach's work focused on work that was made prior to his
existence, actually. In modern times, we don't have enough respect for
the past..
--
in Mashiko, Japan http://mashiko.org
http://potters.blogspot.com/ WEB LOG
http://claycraft.blogspot.com/ Photos!
Lee Love on tue 15 mar 05
On 2005/03/14 19:21:54, clayart@lsv.ceramics.org wrote:
> P.S. I have all the Leach books for the last 3 months, plus others
book I
> have to dive into, as I have to make a presentation for college at
GSA, I
> have also De Waal's Leach book as well but I haven't read yet, and I
just
> paid
The new biography by Emmanuel Cooper is good, even if it is a little
"tabloid" about Leach's private life. The historical information is
very interesting. Something that I found very interesting, is that
Bernard and Janet originally planned on settling down in Kyoto. But
Yanagi refused to help them. Yanagi said that Leach only knew Japan
(in my own words) as The Sage from the West, but that his reception
would be different if he lived in Japan.
Makes you wonder how things might be different if he never
taught most of the people listed here:
http://www.cornishceramics.com/pleach.htm
Maybe there would have been more Japanese names.... ;^)
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan http://mashiko.org
http://potters.blogspot.com/ WEB LOG
http://claycraft.blogspot.com/ Photos!
Lee Love on wed 16 mar 05
mailtoandrew@FSMAIL.NET wrote:
>Whilst not being deliberately contentious Im still at a loss to understand
>the reverence in which Leach s pots are held
>
>
Looking at the list below of the people who have passed through
St. Ives, makes one wonder why Leach isn't more influential and not
viewed with more reverence and esteem in our time.
　　　　
　　　　　　　　　　　 We forget... and worse, we fail to remind those
who are coming after us. ..
(see even more information here:
http://www.cornishceramics.com/pleach.htm )
Patricia Ashmore
Anne Marie Backer-Mohr
Richard Batterham
Cecil Baugh
John Bedding
Muriel Bell
Joe Benny
John Bew
Robert Blatherwick
Valerie Bond
Ian Box
Nora Braden
Amanda Brier
Alan Brough
Tony Burgess
Michael Cardew
Michael Cartwright
Len Castle
Valentinos Charalambous
John Coney
Laurie Cooks
Trevor Corser
Pierre Culot
Harry Davis
Eleanor De Silva
Beryl Debney
Dinah Dunn
Horatio Dunn
Chantal Dunoyer
Derek Emms
Charlotte Epton
Gutte Eriksen
Walter George Firth
Robert Fishman
Bernard Forrester
Sylvia Fox-Strangeways
Grattan Freyer
Judy Gardner
Mary Gibson-Horrocks
Michael Gill
Atsuya Hamada
Shinsaku Hamada
Shoji Hamada
Tomoo Hamada
Hanssen Pigott
Sylvia Hardaker
Peter Hardy
Anne-Marie Harrison
Nic Harrison
Elizabeth Heinz
Michael Henry
Patrick Heron
Shigeyoshi Ichino
Clary Illian
Richard Jenkins
Jorgen Jorgensen
Dorothy Kemp
Dick Kendall
Robert King
Anne Kjaersgaard
William Klock
Helena Klug
Susan Kraft
Paul Lajoire
Jeffrey D Larkin
Bernard Leach
David Leach
John Leach
Margaret Leach
Janet Leach
Michael Leach
Glenn Lewis
Ruth Lyle
Alix Mackenzie
Warren Mackenzie
Scott Marshall
Susan Marshall
William Marshall
Tsuronosuke Matsubayashi
Barbara Millard
Donald Mills
Kenneth Murray
Aileen Newton
Jeff Oestreich
Nirmala Patwardhan
Kim Perry
Helen Pincombe
Katharine Playdell-Bouverie
Wayne Pinder
Kenneth Quick
John Reeve
Lucy Rie
Kristen Roth
Mansimran Singh
May Scott (Davis)
Mirek Smisek
Bunty Smith
Susan Smith
Peter Snagg
Tim Stampton
David Stannard
Ian Steel
Peter Stichbury
Byron Temple
Brenda Tinklin
Michael Truscott
Zelia Vandenberg
Jason Wason
Joanna Wason
Robin Welch
George Whitacker
Peter Wood
Susan Wood
William Worral
Jack Worseldine
Douglas Zadek
Zadre
--
in Mashiko, Japan http://mashiko.org
http://potters.blogspot.com/ WEB LOG
http://claycraft.blogspot.com/ Photos!
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