With a slight nudge from AI tech, here is a Tamaoki Yasuo
Shino hanaire, circa 1993 displayed in my mind’s museum. At first glance, this
may seem an odd choice, going with this more decorative piece as opposed to his
pots with large, undulating bands of contrasting glaze and texture but that is
exactly why I choose this piece. Rather than relying on his banded pieces or
his pots with sharp geometric patterning, Tamaoki infused this vase form with a
rich Rimpa meets Nihonga narrative, reminiscent of Kenzan and Hoiitsu’s two-dimensional
imagery of several centuries earlier. Using a strong and even idiosyncratic
form, Tamaoki has made excellent use of both the available positive and
negative space to lay out a rich ethereal landscape painted in the round where
the mind can make any number of associations depending on the viewer. This
vase was exhibited in 1993 and stands as a near perfect example of Tamaoki’s
oeuvre where the vivid, purposeful color scheme is achieved through in this
case, technical mastery of the technique which though is quite simple, there
are complexities to this innovative use. I mentioned the near perfect technique;
I focus on this in particular as the pot was fired in such a way that the
entirety benefited from the kiln atmosphere where the surface is even all
around. Though not uncommon, every aspect of this pot, from form, glazing,
decoration and firing all had to come out just perfectly to create this vase as
worthy an object as I can imagine, in my mind or in reality, where the museum
is the final reservoirs of (such) human creativity.
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