lili krakowski on thu 5 feb 04
If tradition is the river, then fame, fad, fashion are the ducks that =
swim on it.
Leach was a fabulous self promoter, and he took Hamada along in his =
train. Leach was lucky to have sponsors like the Elmhirsts, and to =
belong to just the right caste in a very very class-conscious society. =
His book hit the stores and the schools (here, anyway) at just then =
right time when not only were the Brits our best friends (as they still =
are) but moved to the same cultural music. At the time there was no =
book like it.
It was a strange time because here (and I know this from having been =
there!) veterans of WWII, people who has suffered immensely at the hands =
of the Japanese were studying and imitating Japanese pottery. I still =
do not know what to make of it all. And I have thought on it for over =
50 years.=20
Because--oh yes--the $ was riding high and the GI Bill did a lot for one =
in Japan as well as in England many on the GI bill went to study in =
Japan, and GB, and on their own plunged into that tradition.
Meanwhile the US tradition and the British were supplemented by Hitler =
refugees-- not only the Abers, who were not in clay, but the Natzlers, =
Marguerite--and later Frans-- Wildenhain, and in GB, Lucie Rie and Hans =
Coper--not to mention Ruth Duckworth.
They were however quiet folk, and unlike Leach not in the right social =
milieu. =20
NONE OF THIS MINI-RANT IS ADDRESSED TO HOW I FEEL ABOUT THEIR WORK. =
This is a social observation that has to do only with fame, fortune and =
tradition. =20
But the traditions that were in place, the British, American. =
Scandinavian, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese inter al went on, =
with all these ducks riding on them. And so many Americans--Voulkos, =
Soldner-- have been the ducklings--
I think the tradition of the Arts & Crafts Movement and its Continental =
and US equivalents have become dilluted. The specific values that a =
craftsman was an intellectual who lived the simplest life style so that =
he could look real workmen in the eye, and have a beer with them at =
night, is gone. More "blue collar" folk today can afford a Jacuzzi than =
potters can!
I think the tradition of the Leach and Hamada time has gone. In part =
because the economy has changed, the environmental problems have =
changed. The technology has changed. I think the Rie and Coper and =
WIldenhain and Natzler tradition continue but they too have changed.
It has been pointed out, though I don't remember by whom, that we all =
are dropped at birth into the river of history. Same with tradition. =
It lives on IN US and so Mel's fortunate students get the influences he =
was shaped by as lived and expressed by Mel.
That is why the Talmud so often says: Rabbi So-and-So says in the name =
of his Master, Rabbi X--- because we all should acknowledge the Masters =
whose voice continues through us. =20
I think the clay river flows on. I have no idea where its course will =
take it. I wish all the ducks and ducklings well.
Quack, quack, quack. Lili
Be of good courage
Lee Love on fri 6 feb 04
lili krakowski wrote:
>If tradition is the river, then fame, fad, fashion are the ducks that swim on it.
>
>
Sometimes, but don't paint too broad a brush. For instance, the
great majority of craftmen here in Japan have no fame, aren't any more
attached to fad than the next fellow, and don't necessarily keep up with
fashion. In Mashiko (with 400 to 500 kilns and 900+ working potters),
if you are a potter, people figure you are poor. When my friend took
us to the city recycle center store he introduced us, "These friends of
mine are poor potters. Please take pity on them and help them furnish
their home. And Furakawa Sensei did just that (the manager of the
recycle center is a retired Pentax Engineer.) Jean's Japanese
students are surprised when she explains that almost everything in our
house comes from the recycle center.
While Hamada may have accumulated some wealth, as evidence in the
museum he has left behind, much of Leach's life was that of a poor
student and struggling artist. I wish he was as well off as Hamada,
enabling St. Ive's to be left in a similar state as the Hamada pottery.
>Leach was a fabulous self promoter, and he took Hamada along in his train. Leach was lucky to have sponsors like the Elmhirsts, and to belong to just the right caste in a very very class-conscious society. His book hit the stores and the schools (here, anyway) at just then right time when not only were the Brits our best friends (as they still are) but moved to the same cultural music. At the time there was no book like it.
>
>
They promoted a world view that they hoped might be an
antidote to materialism and the throwaway society. I don't think
their primary motivation was fame and fortune.
I find no problem with art being supported by patrons. It
always has been. At the doctor's office today, when I was in to pick
up my medicine, I read an article about how a beer tycoon from the
Kansai who was responsible for financing the beginnings of the Mingei
movement here in Japan. Another person, I think he was in the
textiles industry, created the Mingei museum in Kurashiki. I
don't have a problem with business or wealthy people investing in
culture. They should do more of it. I don't know about you Lili,
but my spouse is my "patron" currently. We really couldn't live
here in Japan if it weren't for her teaching.
>It was a strange time because here (and I know this from having been there!) veterans of WWII, people who has suffered immensely at the hands of the Japanese were studying and imitating Japanese pottery. I still do not know what to make of it all. And I have thought on it for over 50 years.
>
>
Imitating Japanese pottery? Can you give specific
examples?
I am a product of that war too. I was born in Osaka, but I grew up in
Detroit. I know that people in America can be ambivalent about
Japanese "things."
Now tell me, when was the last time you heard
someone who was not of German decent being criticized for salt
glazing? Why is German inspiration acceptable and Japanese not?
Maybe for the same reason Japanese Americans were interned and German
Americans were not. Think about it.
>Because--oh yes--the $ was riding high and the GI Bill did a lot for one in Japan as well as in England many on the GI bill went to study in Japan, and GB, and on their own plunged into that tradition.
>
Many people who were stationed in Japan became interested in its
culture. The heyday of studying here was probably the '70s, but that
had nothing to do with the G.I. bill. (Never heard of anyone being able
to use the G.I. bill to do a pottery apprenticeship.) War and
colonialism are bad things, but they are responsible for the mixing of
culture and people, and for creating a synergy in which a new and more
vital culture can come out of. Because of occupation, many Americans
became interested in Japanese culture. That is why we have teachers
of Zen, and Japanese pottery and art in America.
>Meanwhile the US tradition and the British were supplemented by Hitler refugees-- not only the
>
>Abers, who were not in clay,
>
Do you mean, Josef Alber the Bauhaus teacher, who wrote The Interaction
of Color, taught at Yale and lectured widely in America? Not very
quiet, it seems.
> but the Natzlers, Marguerite--and later Frans-- Wildenhain
>
Another Bauhus person. After Hamada and Leach left Black Mountain
Marguerite told her students "Forget everything you just saw."
Quiet? Brash is more like it.
>, and in GB, Lucie Rie and Hans Coper--not to mention Ruth Duckworth.
>They were however quiet folk, and unlike Leach not in the right social milieu.
>
You are comparing apples and oranges. Being "quiet"
(you say it as if it has some virtue that Leach lacks) has nothing to
do with it. Leach and Hamada were not just making ceramics, but were
developing a philosophy and a way of life. For me personally, their
work was only a by-product of their philosophy and the way they lived.
Leach could write too. So maybe it was not the humility
of the other people you mention, but their lack of abilities in these
areas, that kept them from writing and giving lectures about their
work. It is a rare artist who can both speak and write about his
art. Leach was one of these gifted people. And also wrote about
Asia as one who has lived there and had a great appreciation for the
culture. I am very lucky to have found him.
>NONE OF THIS MINI-RANT IS ADDRESSED TO HOW I FEEL ABOUT THEIR WORK.
>
>
As I mentioned, to me, the work is only a by-product.
>
>But the traditions that were in place, the British, American. Scandinavian, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese inter al went on, with all these ducks riding on them. And so many Americans--Voulkos, Soldner-- have been the ducklings--
>
But many more of the ducklings are unknown and can't afford the jacuzzi
you mention below. Really, The Voulkos and Soldners are like
Michael Jordan, or Tiger Woods. The vast majority of basketball
players, golfers and potters don't make a living from what they love.
Without the work of Leach and Hamada, far fewer of us would have an
audience for our work, even if we don't make a living at it or have to
supplement our work with teaching or a patron spouse.
>
>I think the tradition of the Arts & Crafts Movement and its Continental and US equivalents have become dilluted. The specific values that a craftsman was an intellectual who lived the simplest life style so that he could look real workmen in the eye, and have a beer with them at night, is gone. More "blue collar" folk today can afford a Jacuzzi than potters can!
>
I don't think you can measure the success of a movement simply by
the wealth and fame it brings. You damn Leach for fame and fortune
and then damn him because we don't have it. Doesn't make any sense.
Here in Japan, before Yanagi, Leach and Hamada, the interest
in traditional craft was dying. Most of the remaining potteries were
making roof tiles water jars and other storage items that people no
longer wanted. For many years, the "ancient kiln" potters were making
nicknacks and figurines just to put food on the table, because city
people didn't want their pottery any more. "Modern" people were
getting running water, refrigerators and bought their pickles from the
grocery store so they didn't need crocks to make them in. Before the
war, there were only 30 kilns in Mashiko. Now there are 400 to
500. No doubt, if it weren't for Hamada, there would be far fewer
than 30 kilns here.
>
>I think the tradition of the Leach and Hamada time has gone. In part because the economy has changed, the environmental problems have changed. The technology has changed. I think the Rie and Coper and WIldenhain and Natzler tradition continue but they too have changed.
>
Because Leach and Hamada worked out a philosophy and
mapped out a way of life, and then wrote and lectured about it, even if
the tradition does break some time in the future, it can alway be picked
up again.
I am not sure that the other people you mentioned
really left behind a fully formed tradition, not in the sense that
Hamada and Leach did. Here in Japan, in America and in England,
the need for traditional crafts were fast disappearing. The great
good fortune they had here in Japan, is that feudal times were so recent
that the traditional folk crafts didn't die all together. Because
Leach's created the studio artist here in Japan, there was work that
could be done in these traditional craft towns. Craftsmen don't make
things for the home out of necessity any longer, but because of
aesthetic reasons. But this change in emphasis is true everywhere:
Because of the appreciation of craft here in Japan, including the
support from industry and government, what Yanagi, Leach and Hamada
helped build is still going strong.
>
>It has been pointed out, though I don't remember by whom, that we all are dropped at birth into the river of history. Same with tradition. It lives on IN US and so Mel's fortunate students get the influences he was shaped by as lived and expressed by Mel.
>That is why the Talmud so often says: Rabbi So-and-So says in the name of his Master, Rabbi X--- because we all should acknowledge the Masters whose voice continues through us.
>
>
>
Much of the philosophy that Mingei was developed out of, is
rooted in Zen. The appreciation of art and craft is synonymous with
the practice of Zen. Because of this foundation, it can be said that
Leach and Hamada created a continuation of an old tradition: a way for
modern man to look at tradition, transform it and make it relevant to
modern life. They didn't just leave us a legacy of "stuff."
I believe, as more people become sick of materialism and the
lack of stability of modern life, more folks will become interested in a
more wholesome lifestyle, which includes either using or making handmade
things or both. Also, as more baby boomers reach their "mid-life
crisis" and start questioning the "9-5", shuffling papers, they are
going to be turning to more substantial things. We can help them.
Lee In Mashiko, Japan
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