Tatsuzō Shimaoka
Seven Junipers has just introduced me
to Tatsuzō Shimaoka
a ceramicist
renowned in the Mingei
Japanese folk-art movement of the early 20th C.
I think the idea here --
is to have a sturdy, simple style
appropriate for a humble
peasant life style.
Sort of like the pieces shown above
simplicity can be a virtue,
and actually,
Japan was a rather poor country
until recent times
so this is something they perfected
like this piece,
where the simple
can become meditative
but what I like about Tatsuzo,
is that
there seems to be a restless
maybe even a whacky
spirit underneath that calm exterior
What was he thinking
when he made
this strange piece?
and he has more than one way
to be strange
this piece seems to be so illusional
and maybe this one is prophetic ?
I feel like I've entered the set
of a science fiction movie
birth of a universe ?
what a pleasure
when something feels
both
strange and pleasant
And this has to be
one of the most spectacular
slide shows
available on the internet.
There's got to be about 50 pieces there.
A wonderful exploration
of one man's aesthetic life
7 Comments:
As soon as the pain meds wear off a bit, I'll be back to look longer and more. (Dental work. Aeeii!)
Hi, Lori -- yes, I read your recent post about your root canal -- and cringed appropriately.
But if you're feeling miserable -- just click on that slide show -- and let yourself be therapeutically bathed in its sequence of aesthetic images.
Ahhhhh.... now don't you feel better already ?
Chris ~ Thought you might find this interesting. Hamada was Shimaoka's teacher. It's a wonderful chance to see a real master potter at work. Looks so effortless, doesn't it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwFtg8mBW3s
That's a really good overview of Tatsuzo Shimaoka's work. It gave me a richer appreciation of his multiple dimensions.
-- xensen (7 junipers)
Chris - this really looks like Mashiko ware, and Mashiko was where Hamada lived and worked. This "chatter" -type surface decoration is so beautiful, it is too bad that not many potters in North America have learned this technique. I particularly love this "feel" and character in ceramic ware. This is a yummy post! GEM
Wonderful slide show, Chris. I enjoyed all of this. The last two of yours seem especially surprising.
Since all artists are all constrained in ways we do not even comprehend--being enmeshed in an era--it is interesting to see one man's transformations and flights within constraints and a seemingly narrow but fruitful aesthetic.
Gem said:
"This "chatter" -type surface decoration is so beautiful, it is too bad that not many potters in North America have learned this technique. I particularly love this "feel" and character in ceramic ware."
Hi Gem,
I was the last foreign apprentice of Shimaoka Sensei's. I set up a pottery in Mashiko after 3 years of study. I am in Minneapolis now, and use Shimaoka's inlay technique.
You can see some of my work here:
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/
Lee in Minneapolis
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