ROTATION

I realize that I put up a post on this chawan quite some while back but this was up for rotation and I decided to have a bit of photographic fun with it before just letting it hit the shelf and start to collect dust. The previous post, entitled, HIER EN DAR revolved around how differently a pot looks between varying photos and light sources, one being taken in situ and the other coming from an exhibition catalogue. Though a new post, you can see that I did decide to stay on topic, referencing photography as I decided to pull out a number of Hollywood style backdrops for this bowl since the past couple of days have been quite dreary, downtown days*.      

Illustrated is another photo of a rather dramatic and bold Iga chawan by Kishimoto Kennin. Using a photo of a half-moon that I took a long while back, I created this image without the aid of any photo manipulation or AI, just old fashion 1950s technicolor technology. I choose this moon image because as with most wood fired chawan, the front and back usually have different landscapes, in this case, the from is juicy and wet and the back is drier ash and hi-iro but the textures of both images seemed to work well to my eye at least. Having the chawan in hand, I also find it quite interesting how it affects my mood more so as the sun goes down allowing the bowl to “dance by the light of the moon”, balancing skillfully, exuberance and a sense of impermanence. It may sound overly sentimental but I am struck by the solemnity and moodiness of this chawan; was it intentional, baked in or is it just me?

(* A B-52s reference and homage to Quiche Lorraine)