BRIEF ENCOUNTER

I had an extremely brief encounter with a rather nice pot by Takauchi Shugo yesterday at which time I took a lot of photos of it and then posted it up on Trocadero all as a favor to a friend. The pot in question is the illustrated Oribe te-oke, perhaps the quintessential form associated with Takauchi Shugo in which the the clay was roughly thrown leaving a variety of marks around the piece at which time he then hacked away vertical channels disrupting the surface and adding a sense of dramatic tension and even a hint of aggression to the piece. The top of the form was also quickly cut and a handle was skillfully added to the form which adds a striking visual presence to the pot and then it was glazed and fired in his trademark, rich Oribe glaze which has accentuated every mark made. The encounter of about two hour was brief as it went about as quickly as it arrived; it arrived, it was re-packed, it was shipped. I enjoyed this brief encounter but would have been just as happy have more time to spend with it but hopefully the 100+ photos and possible slideshow video down the road will be reminder enough of the time spent well.

DISPARATE BUT NOT SERIOUS

I have to admit almost nothing I see made by Suzuki Goro surprises me anymore. My first exposure to his work back in the mid-1980s were as disparate and far afield from each other showing various styles, techniques and surfaces which he is now rightfully well known for. I have seen Suzuki work, seen several videos of him working and handled quite a few of his pieces over the years and despite the diversity there is a quality, essentially how he handles clay, how it is pushed and manhandled that prevails in each and every pot. The illustrated pot is an excellent earlier example of his work, fired Shigaraki style though maybe it is best classified as haikaburi style; this deformed wood fired mizusashi has a wonderful posture and attitude that manifests itself in most of his work quite naturally. Without ever forsaking function and purpose, Suzuki creates these pots that stretch the rational of pottery making and in doing so his pieces have at times a fantastical and lyrical presence rooted in strength and conviction. It is always easy to praise a potter who is known internationally and is a favorite among critics, scholars and collectors but in respect to Suzuki Goro it is always easy to see and understand why his pottery has an allure unlike any other potter today.

RAPHANUS SATIVUS II

Over the years I have seen a number of wonderful Ki-Seto pots with various decoration of which the simple incised and accented radish design has always sparked my imagination. Considering I don't have a decent dry style Ki-Seto glaze I decided to make due and blend the design with the Oribe tradition to create moderate using pieces including this large sake cup. While still wet the mouth of the cup was lobed to compliment the natural theme of the piece and then the Momoyama influenced design was incised into the bottom of the cup. I used my rich lepidolite based Oribe glaze for the piece and I think that for the first and only of the production run, the results are not to bad. At nearly five inches across it will certainly make most aficionados pleased with the volume within and the design cloaked in the clarity of their favorite sake.

五郎効果

I love the subtle and often times not so subtle details that you can discover by studying a pot. Some are all in your face and others have to be uncovered through a thoughtful and thorough examination of the piece, in this particular case, the detail is easily spotted but not so easily forgotten. Clinging to the bottom of an attached lug, this rich green bidoro drip hangs precariously while being perpetually fed by a cascading river of ash running down the pot. Though forever suspended just as you see, the detail gives the pot a sense of being perpetually animated, one can almost imagine the sound of the ash dripping from pot to table top. What makes this even more dynamic is that it is not one of the usual Shigaraki or Iga potters that spring to mind, rather it was made by the master of the casual and direct, Suzuki Goro. Best known for his wide array of Mino traditional glazes, Suzuki has made a number of wood fired pots though it is a small percentage of his work, I have to say they are not only distinct and adventurous they are all uniquely his own and exceptionally fired for that dramatic Goro-effect.

FILL IN THE BLANKS

There are a lot of pots out there that have a rather fragile nature to them but this mizusashi is certainly not one of them. Made by Suzuki Goro, this E-Shino mizusashi is rugged, bold and eminantly solid in both its construction and appearance. There is a tremendous strength to the works of Suzuki Goro that are usually balanced with a casual sense of playfulness and experimentation; as I mentioned before there is a uniqueness to each of his pots, even those made in series.

I made this short slideshow to give the viewer a fuller persective of the articulation, volume and presence of the pot. Too often a single stationary image or even five or six pictures just dosen't give enough detail, hopefully, this may help fill in the blanks.

GORIBE

Oribe by its very nature has a history of playfulness to it dating all the way back to the Momoyama era and when you combine that with the whimsy and creative force of a modern potter you can easily hit a homerun. Illustrated is a playful yet dynamic mizusashi by Suzuki Goro that is a near definition of what Oribe (GOribe) is all about. The radically textured mizusashi is cloaked in varying hues of green due to the complicated topography of the piece while the form appears carefully balanced and stacked with ever so casual lugs applied to either side and topped with a lid with a visually dominating and highly functional lid and knob. Every pot from Suzuki Goro is a surprise, each unique and conversant in a multitude of visual languages running through his body of work is wit, whimsy and a playfulness that is not often seen in ceramics that find their foundation in the art of the Momoyama era.

मिट्टी का तन, मस्ती का मन, क्षण भर जीवन, मेरा परिचय

"A body of clay, a mind full of play, a moment's life; that's me."  Harivansh Rai Bachchan (1907-2003)

TWO SIMPLE CUTS

Each and every chawan dictates what type of kodai that is appropriate to finish off the piece. When it comes to kodai, it is the less is more style that impresses, no muss, no fuss and the finished foot is fresh, casual and spontaneous. That being said, I love a strong yet casual pot with a casual kodai that looks like it was cut in two simple cuts and in the case of this Suzuki Goro kodai, that is exactly the case. Using a broken off piece of wood, shaped like a chisel, the fist cut goes around the outside of the foot to define it and the interior cut flows quickly removing the excess clay to finish the kodai. This photo is a screen capture from a DVD on Suzuki Goro and the whole process is fast, bold and an exercise in total commitment. The end result is a kodai that matches well with the bowl shape and is probably the result of 50+ years of making thousands of chawan; at some point one is bound to get the knack of it.

E-SHINO II

I put together another slideshow of a chawan that I had pass through last week. This large and bold chawan in E-Shino style was made by Suzuki Goro and was both a handful and an eyeful as well. Casual in appearance, the bold iron decoration gives one the feeling of directness and spontaneity and above all it is uninhibited; probably the best description of Suzuki's work. About the only thing wrong with this chawan was the fact that it didn't stick around longer for me to study and play with, the large number of pictures I took will have to fill in the void.

NARUMI

Narumi-Oribe is one of the more playful styles of Oribe where instead of a white background a reddish one is used in its place. Over the reddish background the use of iron, black and white pigments are used to decorate the surface giving way to a great number of designs in playful, whimsical and representational depictions and it is possible the style originated from a particular type of textile design and decoration from the 16th and 17th century. I find this style very engaging as it really does have an animated and whimsical feeling which can be so eloquently seen in the modern pottery of Suzuki Goro and Ikeda Syugo. While getting ready for a kiln firing recently I decided to make up a quick narumi test by mixing red iron and titanium together which I added to a thinned down porcelain slip. The resulting image shows the test which was also over painted in white slip and black pigment and glazed over in my alkaline clear while the rest of the bowl was glazed in an iron rich Oribe. Though there is always room for improvement, the appearance came out rather well for such a spur of the moment indulgence.

CONDITION

Let me start by saying that condition of a pot is not arbitrary or abstract, perfect is just that, perfect. The obvious chip or crack alters the original condition and also the artist vision and value. The question though is when is something that is not perfect, still perfectly acceptable in terms of condition? When you think of all the wood fired pots and scars, firing cracks, etc, how do you judge the condition of those pieces? If you delve further, think about all of the pots with serious firing cracks by Arakawa Toyozo, Tsukigata Nahiko and many others, including some of the heavy and thickly thrown pots of Suzuki Goro, these pots are perfect in the sense that the potters approved of the pot, put them in a signed box and determined that they were all the better for the scars won in a ferocious and harsh firing. It would seem the acceptance of such imperfection is further reinforced by the wabi-sabi aesthetics where such issues add to the austerity and weathered beauty of a pot, hence the beauty on kintsugi. It would seem that kamakizu are in fact the perfection of the imperfect style of irregular and intentionally contrived pottery.

In this vein, Sawa Kiyotsugu springs to mind. I have seen a number of his pots in which in the making it is obvious that he is building in certain self-destruct aspects. In the firing the pots often split, crack and in some cases they even fall apart after which he "reassembles" the pieces with glue and lacquer to create whole and new works. In a DVD put out by the Tohjiro magazine it shows several such pots, including a vase which he intentionally tears dramatically while building it and the pot literally splits apart during the fire and in the interview discussing this, it shows Kiyotsugu drinking from a badly split chawan. For Sawa Kiyotsugu, this type of imperfect is the perfection he is seeking out. How are we expected to accurately describe the condition of the pot now, especially considering it was the intent and purpose of the artist that the pot would literally need to be repaired after it was fired and prior to being shown and put in an attested signed box? It would seem condition is a bit more murky in describing than I had really thought.

Illustrated is a large and powerful Shigaraki mizusashi by modern phenom, Suzuki Goro. Suzuki has spent decades crafting his work to speak volumes about happenstance and a state of the casual. In the past two decades, he has made pots which he then breaks and repairs by rebuilding them into new and modern statements by means of the kintsugi technique. In this particular mizusashi, Suzuki started with a very thick slab of clay which he attached to a wheel head and altered it to create rhythm and motion, he then took a ball of clay and threw the top potion of the body onto the slab and slightly into the thick base. Once thoroughly dry the pot was fired in his wood kiln for Shigaraki affect and the overly thick base cracked during the firing. Whether by mad design, serendipity or just previous experience, the pot is recreated by the fierce and brutal crack and harkening back to the medieval style "Burst bag" mizusashi well know to us from books and museum shows. I find this pot to be a tour de force piece, it is both powerful because of it presence and it ability to make it out of the flames in one piece, the question that I have though is; what is the condition of this pot? The answer I think is that beauty and perhaps condition is in the eye of the beholder.

LIVE OR MEMOREX?

In a previous post, I mentioned how Miyamoto Musashi understood the importance of studying master artists and craftsman across a wide array of pursuits in his pursuit of the perfection of his craft. There is something magical about watching a person who appears to have total mastery over their art/craft. The simplicity of their actions and spontaneity of the creation is both envious and intoxicating. Watching a master potter, like Suzuki Goro, either in person or on video (well dvd) is mesmerizing and seeing a chawan or mizusashi spring out of a lump of clay in an instant is  nothing short of an accomplished magic trick. The image grab from a dvd on Suzuki Goro shows him at the end of throwing a chawan, which may have taken a minute or so, sprung to life out of a lump of wonderful mokusa clay. It may well sound naïve or childish, but there is true wonderment when witnessing a master at work, irrespective of the art, craft or field.

Juan Hermosillo at work and at home;

 

 

UNITY

Lugs, ears, mimi, what have you, have been used to accentuate and decorate pots for almost as long as pots have been made. If you think back to the fantastical and functional lugs of Jomon vessels, the concept has certainly been a part of Japanese pottery from a long while. Lugs on woodfired pots, in particular, help define, unify and accentuate the forms as well as acting to trap ash or create pathways for the ash and flame. For the pots of the various distorted, weathered and rustic pots of Iga, Bizen and Shigaraki the attachments need to compliment the form in attitude, posture and strength which is a bit easier said than done. Like a mediocre foot on a fine chawan, lugs can easily ruin a strong and well fired form; Kermit the frog style arms on a solid, purposeful form comes off as timid and almost feeble, yet this is far more common that one would think. The ultimate goal of such attached clay is to create a complementary anthropomorphic form without appearing superfluous or contrary to the pot.

Illustrated is a strong, wonky Shigaraki style vase with overtones of whimsy and modernism by the master of combining tradition, playfulness and purpose; Suzuki Goro. The wonderful form echoes the human form with undulating neck appearing to be held in place by the strong, arm-like lugs as if Alice in Wonderland had first visited Japan. The parts of this vase all work well to create a form that has a whimsical sense of movement which accentuated by aggressive marks and rich hi-iro and ash. Created by an innate understanding of form, clay and firing, Suzuki recognized the importance of putting together strong elements that cease to be just pieces parts and create unity as a strong and impressive pot.

KI-SETO II

From my perspective, Ki-Seto is one of the hardest surfaces to work out just right. Many modern Ki-Seto glazes are all wet, translucent and flat and just don't do justice to what the original intent of the style was. Looking at older pieces, the drier, scorched aburage surfaces are what cloak the treasured bowls of the Momoyama and Edo periods. In modern times, potters like Arakawa Toyozo, Kato Tokuro, Kagami Shukai, Hara Kenji, Hori Ichiro and Suzuki Goro create works based on the Momoyama archetypes with surfaces that do justice to the original vision of the glazes. At times, it seems that truly great modern Ki-Seto pottery is rare and not that often seen, but there are always examples that emulate the spirit of those great old pots.

Illustrated is a Ki-seto chawan by Suzuki Goro. Suzuki, something of a renaissance potter, has mastered the skills and styles necessary to create inspired works in a wide array of styles from Ki-Seto to Shigaraki pottery. This chawan is simply thrown, with the slightest amount of looseness present creating a subtle rhythm to the pot. Decoration is fluidly incised about the piece with highlights of copper added before dipping the bowl in a thin coating of Ki-Seto. The results are both intoxicating and timeless with dry and wet areas complimenting the piece. The decoration calls to mind the sparse decoration of old Ki-Seto ware and create a lyrical, even poetic statement in total harmony with the chawan.

EARLY ON

At first glance, I wasn't sure what this chawan was; I thought I was looking at one of those early Showa period pieces that was made in imitation of the late Edo and Meiji period Oribe chawan. It had that crackaleur style whitish opaque glaze and shiny rich green. To my surprise, it turned out to be a chawan, a very early chawan by Suzuki Goro. Made in the early 1970s, this piece shows the free and loose style of throwing he is so well known for together with spontaneous brushwork and casual glazing. The foot, though just a bit stiff, has the glint of things to come in terms of Suzuki's handling of kodai today and all in all, it is a solid pot, early on in the career of one of the most popular potters in Japan today. I can only imagine it would feel great in the hand or look fine just hanging out.

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

Admit it, when you think of Suzuki Goro, Ki-Seto, Oribe, Seto-Guro and Shino spring to mind; however, his diversity  and experimentation is broad and quite accomplished. One of the staples of Suzuki's works as far back as the 1970's has been his Shigaraki influenced pots in every shape and size. Back in the 1970's and 1980's a good number of his pots were Shigaraki style while currently they seem to be a much smaller percentage of his output. His Shigaraki pieces have the same dynamic sensibility to them as much earlier Momoyama and Edo works and the clay is handled in a brusque and masculine manner that creates their bold, almost bushi-like nature. Add to Suzuki-san's bold handling of the clay, firings that accentuate and animate his pottery and you can not help but have a winning combination.

Illustrated is a very medieval inspired Shigaraki tsubo by Suzuki Goro. This tsubo has a very austere, weathered appearance and a powerful stance and presence. Striped of the superfluous, Suzuki has decided to let the bare essentials convey his message; the simple lines, lugs, decoration and ash bring the pot to life like a resurrected medieval pot, recently unearthed and still ready for any purpose or challenge.

INCOMING

I have been around pottery for quite a while now and in that time have met a number of potters and collectors who have graciously shared pots, information and ideas. Among those interested in pots, I have been extremely fortunate to know a number of dedicated and longtime pottery collectors who have been very open to sharing access to their collections. Our first real contact with a pottery collector was in Cleveland when I had just started making pottery. It was rather interesting being able to handle and examine everything from Momoyama Shino ware, a sancai style Betty Woodman pillow pitcher, a nice collection of Beatrice Wood and Laura Andresen, an extensive collection of American studio pottery including many museum quality Grueby and Rookwood pieces as well as a large array of American, British and Japanese pots by modern studio potters. To this day, I carry on long distance relationships with a number of these collectors.

In the past hand full of years, I have also been able to help some of these collectors downsize, refocus or sell off their collection because of my Trocadero website. Many of the collectors are now retiring and moving to smaller accommodations or even out of country. Some other collectors are refocusing their collections and moving into different collecting avenues, so some pots must go. A friend of mine is just such a collector. Having started collecting only a few years ago, at first, he was collecting pots that appealed to him at the time and were good pots. Recently while collecting, he hit on a particular strategy and focus for his collection and decided that he would part with pots that didn’t fall within these refocused parameters.

Fast forward to last week and this week, with on UPS box already arrived and two on the way, in comes another small collection to help find new homes for. This grouping consists of primarily traditional tea wares, including a work by a Ningen Kokuho and a Prefectural Living Treasure.

The following is a list of pots coming in that I will post on Trocadero over the next week;

Suzuki Goro Yashichida Oribe Chawan (Sold)
Miwa Kyuwa X Hagi Lg. Plate
Yoshiga Taibi Hagi Chawan
Takahara Shoji Bizen Chaire
Kawai Takeichi Tessha Chawan (one of the finest I have ever seen)
Sakai Kobu Shino Chawan
Kamiya Eisuke Yohen Tetsu-yu Chawan
Ishii Takahiro Oribe Summer Chawan

Illustrated is a detail of the inside of the yohen-tetsuyu chawan by Kamiya Eisuke. There are a variety of effects ranging from streaking hare’s fur to radiant iron crystals.

YASHICHIDA-ORIBE

One of the real intresting aspects of Oribe is the nearly infinite variety of green that is manifest through varying glazes used over the centuries. When you add the various styles of Oribe, the tradition is just full of potential and possibilities for the modern potter. Of the wide array of styles, there is one in particular that sprung on the scene in the Momoyama period and almost as quickly disappeared, Yasachida-Oribe. Yashichida-Oribe is awhimsical and playful style of Oribe that was popular during the renaissance of the late Momoyama to early Edo period, spontaneous and casual lay dormant until the style of decoration was revived by modern master potter; Suzuki Goro. This technique epitomizes the playfulness in Japanese art and highlights the creative genius of Suzuki and is used as an overall design that encompasses the pot or is focus in “panel” style decoration and surrounded by large areas of Kuro-Oribe or Ao-Oribe. Though Suzuki is a master of everything he tries and is considered a consummate master of Ki-Seto and Seto-Guro, it is his playful, Momoyama infused works in Yasachida-Oribe style that I believe he excels and propels the possibilities of a tradition into the 21st century.

Illustrated is a bold Yashichida-Oribe chawan by Suzuki Goro. This chawan is large with an exillerating foot and panel  “free-style” decoration with a variety of marks in rich iron, greens and corals on a creamy ground under a clear ash glaze and surrounded by a feldspathic glaze over a rich charcoal black background. The beauty of this work is the timeless nature it exudes while confidently serving as a bridge between the old and the very new.

More pictures of this chawan can be seen on my website at;
http://www.trocadero.com/stores/albedo3studio/items/1092571/item1092571store.html

A FEW KODAI

This Friday is foot day. Illustrated is a group of kodai from four chawan I have seen somewhat recently. Each one has something very unique to say and a unique way to say it.

#1 Karatsu chawan by Tanaka Sajiro with a very nice chirimen clay texture and off centered foot ring reminiscent of a mikatsuki sickle moon

#2 Shigaraki chawan with excellent and vivid hi-iro by Komori Shoan with resisted areas from the clay pads the foot ring rested on during the fire

#3 Narumi-Oribe chawan by Suzuki Goro, soft and lyrical in appearance though very thoughtful in execution and the simplicity belies the poetry of the foot

#4 Enbu-Shino chawan by Yamada Kazu with exceptional clay color and classically addressed interior of the foot ring

IPTV; TEABOWLS IN CAMBRIDGE

I am not sure how many of you may have seen this video produced by the Ceramics Program at Harvard of a recent demonstation of four potters making teabowls. The video highlights Suzuki Goro, Tsujimura Shiro, Richard Milgrim and Jeff Shapiro as they throw, tool and talk teabowls. It is certainly worth a watch!

A WEE BIT-O-GREEN

Having grown up in a town with three large industrial plants, a large air force base and a state university, Plattsburgh, NY was always a festive place on St. Patrick’s Day. In my youth, I imagined Plattsburgh on March 17th to be like a smaller version of Mardi gras and even Playboy magazine agreed, naming Plattsburgh as one of the places to be on that day of green beer and unbridled debauchery all in the name of an Irish saint. Though neither my wife nor I are Irish, we have taken the day to heart and now celebrate it in a somewhat sedate way with a few Irish beers and a retelling of that classic John Ford film, THE QUIET MAN (1952).

Illustrated to honor the traditional green of St. Patrick’s Day is an Oribe chawan by one of the best potters to embrace the Momoyama revival, Suzuki Goro. This large wonky chawan has broad areas of Oribe green glaze splashed over the surface and embodies the meeting of the old and the new. Suzuki Goro is a master of various styles of Oribe as well as Ki-Seto, Seto-Guro and Shino. His ability to present such a happenstance style chawan belies the great skill it takes to manipulate a piece in such a naturalistic manner. For pottery lovers, maybe it really is a “pot” (like this chawan) at the end of the rainbow………..

(A large number and variety of Suzuki Goro’s works can be seen on David Callens’ website;

http://www.trocadero.com/Dabido/catalog.html

Just type in “Suzuki Goro” for a search.)