pdp1@EARTHLINK.NET on wed 21 may 03
The mugs had what may be the Japanese word, borrowed
phoneticly from the English, for
'Coffee' I believe...stamped crudely into their bases...
They did not say 'Coffee' in the Japanese characters, but in
Roman Capitals...as spelled their borrowed version of the
word.
This may be part of the 'esthetic'...
( "KOEI" I think it was...)
I had glanceing thought these were from some hi-school kid
whose enthusiasm was not bridled by sense or the influence
of friends or instructors.
Hearing this is the work of some established artist or
artisan, is a different mood for me.
Before, the Mugs seemes naive maybe, or merely bad...
Now, they seem positively ugly...
Maybe this would be easier to see, if an American Potter
made some really bad 'rice' bowls, and imprinted the word
'SUKIAKEE' on them, ( and did so in the Japanese characters,
but of course to get them to be our phonetic FOR the
word...) and then placed very large price tags on
them...having these bowls thence explained as some elusive
western 'esthetic'...
And interesting umbrella!
Phil
las vegas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Rupp"
> Anyway, they don't look over fired to me. Koie Ryoji is a
leading Japanese
> potter who creates some spectacular work. I would agree
that the particular
> pieces you chose to link were not the VERY BEST of the
pieces available to
> look at, but they are still pretty damn good. I personally
feel that his
> work is quite good and I believe that many an American
potter should strive
> to emulate his work, as well as many other Japanese
potters. Their since of
> aesthetic is something I think our culture could learn
from if we could just
> find the ability to open our eyes and look.
> What is so great about pots that are thrown so precise
that one can not tell
> if the are mould made or not? What is so great about
materials that are so
> refined that every one of your mugs looks like it came
from Pottery Barn?
> I think many potters on Clayart would agree...Certainly
the best of the best
> potters in America today understand the Japanese aesthetic
and have made
> every effort to learn from them and incorporate their
style into their own
> work...Mel, MacKenzie,Ferguson, Reitz, Bringle, Takaezu,
to name a few...
>
> Chris
> Sunny Santa Barbara
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