SIMPLE ACTION

Though I really enjoy a pot with a complex form and surface, simplicity has an allure that is just hard to explain but easier to understand when you are engaged with it. I think the difference is like the disparity between Beethoven's  HAMMERKLAVIER and Debussy's CLAIRE DE LUNE, where the one is complex and forceful and the later is calming, soothing and contemplative, in the end generally speaking, a simple pot with those characteristics wins me over most every time. This large Shino tsubo by Ando Hidetake is just such a pot, thrown round and flattened on each side, breaking the flow of the round form and the symmetry is altered with this simple action. Once dry and ready to fire, the surface had a white feldspar glaze poured over the surface where thinner areas have blushed to subtle fields and patches of iron red bringing movement and a simple landscape to life around the pot. Though simple in its form and approach to glazing, the scale of the henko-tsubo presents a sense of strength that exudes volume, commanding the space it is placed within and that is likely the feature that drives its character and appeals to me the most.