mel jacobson on sat 30 nov 02
without question, lee has hit the nail on the head.
i have had the honorable privilege to have had time
with both hamada and leach.
they both looked me straight in the eye and said `after your
japanese experience, make sure you stay an american/norwegian.
don't try to be japanese with your work.`
mr. uchida was even more emphatic.
`melsan, always look to your self. you can never
trade places. be a minnesota potter.`
i have tried with all my heart to remain true to my roots.
it is critical.
i have seen many potters that have spent time in japan, wander
around with japanese clothes, make japanese marks, fake
japanese pots. it makes me shudder with embarrassment.
mis information about anyone, or any movement can cause
great problems.
hamada and leach are long gone. we have replaced them
with many new ideas and icons, but the big lesson we learned from them,
was to make pots. lots of pots. just make sure they come from you...
not someone else.
mel
From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: my.pclink.com/~melpots
or try: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
vince pitelka on sun 1 dec 02
> A fellow student, looking at her work said to her in
> Japanese: "Our traditional culture will not be handed down by Japanese
> children. Jean will pass it on."
> Jean accepted this as a great compliment. I don't believe that
we
> should restrict our inspiration. It is always important to find the
best work
> in your field and then study it. What is important, as Hamada said, is
that
> you completely digest a tradition, make it your own, and then produce
something original, something you can call your own. Being Genuine is the
key.
Lee -
You words are eloquent, and as another interpretation, I will repeat a quote
I have posted several times before on Clayart. In the words of jazzman
Clark Terry: "Imitate, assimilate, innovate." We study the works of the
masters we admire, we assimilate the technique and tradition, and then we
innovate, creating original work which blends what we have learned with our
own personal and cultural baggage. It doesn't really matter what ethnic or
cultural tradition inspires us, as long as the inspiration and commitment
are genuine.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
claybair on sun 1 dec 02
Mel,
You have described what made me so uncomfortable and annoyed at a show I did
several years ago in Seattle.
A booth was set up in a Japanese fashion with very Japanese looking pots &
very high prices. His booth was frequented by Americans and Japanese.
Imagine my surprise when he showed up & was white Anglo American. Now just
across from him was an Asian potter making beautiful American-Asian styled
pots that were distinctly her own style and designs.
So now we have Americans making pots that look like other cultures/countries
work & other cultures making pottery that has American (whatever the hell
that is) styles. Go to any store and look at what is designed to attract
Americans & see if it's made in the USA. So we get hit for using other
cultures for inspiration but the opposite is not equally condemned. I don't
get it! Seems we have a dichotomy here.
My conclusion .... I will take inspiration from what I like as long as I do
it well and do not represent it as anything but my own.
Gayle Bair
Bainbridge Island, WA
http://claybair.com
-----Original Message-----
From: meljacobson
without question, lee has hit the nail on the head.
i have had the honorable privilege to have had time
with both hamada and leach.
they both looked me straight in the eye and said `after your
japanese experience, make sure you stay an american/norwegian.
don't try to be japanese with your work.`
mr. uchida was even more emphatic.
`melsan, always look to your self. you can never
trade places. be a minnesota potter.`
i have tried with all my heart to remain true to my roots.
it is critical.
i have seen many potters that have spent time in japan, wander
around with japanese clothes, make japanese marks, fake
japanese pots. it makes me shudder with embarrassment.
mis information about anyone, or any movement can cause
great problems.
hamada and leach are long gone. we have replaced them
with many new ideas and icons, but the big lesson we learned from them,
was to make pots. lots of pots. just make sure they come from you...
not someone else.
mel
From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: my.pclink.com/~melpots
or try: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
ksccmail@wam.umd.edu on mon 2 dec 02
You wrote:
In the words of jazzman
Clark Terry: "Imitate, assimilate, innovate=2E" We study the works of th=
e
masters we admire, we assimilate the technique and tradition, and then we
innovate, creating original work which blends what we have learned with ou=
r
own personal and cultural baggage=2E It doesn't really matter what ethnic=
or
cultural tradition inspires us, as long as the inspiration and commitment
are genuine=2E
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Yes, jazz is a perfect analogy and it made me think of John Coltrane's
version of Favorite Things, among others=2E Potter, poetry, jazz=2E All
"imitate, assimilate, innovate=2E"
Thanks,
Carol
--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://mail2web=2Ecom/ =2E
Wes Rolley on mon 2 dec 02
--=======32D62D4B=======
Content-Type: text/plain; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-E0B6A6C; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
At 10:00 PM 12/1/02 -0600, you wrote:
For those who get stuck in the "imitate" phase, I would add the comments of
another Japanese "artist": potter, calligrapher, restaurateur, editor
(Leach did not consider him a potter, though.)
"Why should we not be able to do what others have done before us? The
answer must be that art is created not by human wisdom or intellect, but by
human character as it is shaped by the times." Kitaoji Rosanjin.
Wesley C. Rolley
17211 Quail Court
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
wesley@rolley.com
(408)778-3024
"Why should we not be able to do what others have done before us? The
answer must be that art is created not by human wisdom or intellect, but by
human character as it is shaped by the times." Kitaoji Rosanjin.
--=======32D62D4B=======--
Lee Love on mon 2 dec 02
----- Original Message -----
From: "claybair"
> Mel,
>
> You have described what made me so uncomfortable and annoyed at a show I did
> several years ago in Seattle.
If we are confident in what we are doing, if we are doing what is genuine to
ourselves, we aren't concerned with what others are doing nor their reaction to
our work. This is what all the old Taoist and Zen sages tell us.
Culture is NOT determined by race (I'm trying to imagine what kinds of
pots are appropriate for an Asian-american to make?)
My wife Jean is studying Japanese woodblock printing with a Japanese
master here in Mashiko. She is of Celtic background: red hair, fair skin and
blue eyes. Jean is interested in traditional Japanese images. She is the
youngest person studying with her teacher (young people aren't interested in
studying this.) A fellow student, looking at her work said to her in
Japanese: "Our traditional culture will not be handed down by Japanese
children. Jean will pass it on."
Jean accepted this as a great compliment. I don't believe that we
should restrict our inspiration. It is always important to find the best work
in your field and then study it. What is important, as Hamada said, is that
you completely digest a tradition, make it your own, and then produce something
original, something you can call your own. Being Genuine is the key.
--
Lee In Mashiko, Japan Ikiru@hachiko.com
"We can only wait here, where we are in the world, obedient to its processes,
patient in its taking away, faithful to its returns. And as much as we may
know, and all that we deserve of earthly paradise will come to us."
Wendell Berry , Full Quote: http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~ikiru/berry.html
| |
|
