mel jacobson on mon 25 apr 11
to begin, i am not an expert on leach history.
i have read all of his books, and as i have said
in the past...i spent 3 hours alone with him
in st. ives, talking about craft ethics. it was a
a magical time.
he was a very kind, gentle...but, upper crust Victorian
British man. that mentality would be very difficult
for a modern American potter to understand.
(like wearing a tie and coat every day of your life,
and wool at that...even in the summer.)
he grew up in the `pinko` time for intellectuals in
England. many turned to soviet socialist thinking.
they were going to save man, for man. (as often happens
that soviet model did not work out very well.)
i think i can safely say that his ethics in craft
ideas were about historical function, simple beauty,
and the honesty of making things for other humans
with your hands. he was almost a `waldon` sort of
man. and many of you know, he never made any
money doing it...and had rich sponsors, but that did
not matter to him. `he was doing what was right
and beautiful.` you must understand the times.
it sure had nothing to do with modern times.
just take for example: look at the new cm. it would
have made bernard crawl in a cupboard and suck his
thumb. fussy, over worked, precious...hours and hours
of time. copies of other potters...think dan anderson,
and oil cans. that sense of ethics had nothing to
do with leach. it is now 180 degrees removed.
it does not make things modern/and today bad. it makes
them different. if you want to be in the magazines and books,
do what others are doing. it is the way it works. always
been that way. the editors pick from what is sent to them.
and, what is sent is very precious, often cute and way
over the top with decoration and color.. but, that
is what is being done. not my style, but it is what is
being taught, and what is being `stylish`. does it sell to
the masses...i bet not. or, even..does it sell???? who knows.
we never see the cash books. just the talk. and, as i have
said before...if one pot takes you 40 hours to make, you
have to charge in the upper hundreds to break even.
it sure would be a difficult sell in this economy. but, who
knows? and those that live on grants and other people's money
or a government salary
often do not care if it sells or not. just get us in the magazines.
many do not support themselves or their families with their
art or craft. the society pays their way.
but, from my perspective, leach gave us all a new direction.
he started a massive movement. and everyone of us
owes him the respect he deserves....he started the modern
craft movement in clay.
we know that there were centers of fine clay in new york,
california and the deep south before ww2. but, in many
ways it was hamada/leach that brought them all together
to start the `college movement` nation wide.
and a great many vets coming back from war got into
those craft classes in college and it became a new life
for them. the gi bill in many ways made the craft and
art college movement grow. the next huge advance was
the plastic bag and bucket...few know how big a jump
that was. it made selling ready made clay possible. think about it!
take away all your plastic storage facilities...and make
your pottery. difficult.*
warren mackenzie still lives the leach ethics movement.
he too is respected and honored. he may be one of the last
americans who still believes. he too must shudder at the
pots he sees. hard times for aging potters.
we all have to make the work that fits our minds and hearts.
it is what gets us into the studio each day.
if you look at the history of ceramics over millions of years,
there is no correct way. ethics is a concept that lives in
your mind. you must decide. we make our own path, then
live it. that is the greatest reason we love art and craft...we
are in charge of our own destiny....like being a banker, you
may work for the society at large, or be a crook...the individual
decides. you must live with your decisions.,
mel
*sidebar: i have the first catalog from minnesota clay.
two ditto pages. clay was made in a big doe mixer
behind nick brantz` home in south minneapolis. (charlie
parker from st. pete clay was the high school kid running
the mixer.) then into
a plastic bag...the mackenzie clay body formula. that was it.
we got our oxides from jack wolf in new york city.
i bought whiting from `minnesota paint company` for a
dollar a bag. a group of us got a truck load of `castle rock
red clay` from colorado. castle rock is now a she/she
community of wealthy people. no more clay.
but, remember, everything we learned, made for ourselves
and did, taught us a great deal about making craft. if we
are are bit cynical as we age...well, so be it. can you spell
`spoon fed`.??
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
new book: http://www.21stcenturykilns.com
alternate: melpots7575@gmail.com
Lee on mon 25 apr 11
On Mon, Apr 25, 2011 at 8:19 AM, mel jacobson wrote:
d wool at that...even in the summer.)
>
> he grew up in the `pinko` time for intellectuals in
> England. =3DA0many turned to soviet socialist thinking.
The thought is pre-Soviet (1922-1991) Both Okakura Tenshin (he wrote
the book of tea) and William Morris were influential in the
development of Yanagi/Leach's philosophy. Both were in reaction to
Global-Industrialism, but has very little to do with Stalin and/or
Commies.
For example, Morris would be a critic of the
caplitalist/socialist system we currently find in China, for the same
reason he was a critic of the system in Europe of his time.
You can read about Morris's political thought here:
http://www.morrissociety.org/socialist.html
Okakura:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/tea.htm
http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/ioe/index.htm
--
=3DA0Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/
=3DA0"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D9=
7that is, =3D
"The
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue
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