TAKESHI YASUDA
goldmark
£10
Takeshi Yasuda
6
Takeshi Yasuda
Essay Prue Venables
goldmark 2013
Takeshi Yasuda
Takeshi Yasuda has established a remarkable and enduring reputation across the world as a potter and teacher of great imagination and integrity. Fifty years of making and still ‘I love the clay’ – his infectious enthusiasm is inspirational. Many people have been influenced and affected by him and his inventive, thoughtful approach – with his words of encouragement and innovation often remaining fresh in their minds for decades. A dynamic and open exploration of function combined with a passionate relationship with the porcelain material itself clearly lies at the heart of this current work. Music comes instantly to mind, where an in-depth investigation of tone requires delving into the world of the unexpected and thus the sounds that lie outside assumed limitations, over the edge of purity and beauty and even across the realm of distortion. It is with the understanding so gained that the musician extends their perception and experience of possibility. Such steps are risky, provocative – somewhat like standing on the edge of a precipice and leaning over – but it is this open-ness of thinking and risk taking that leads to extraordinary growth and new understanding. Takeshi Yasuda also explores this universe of the unforseen – where his great love of the clay is celebrated through open, reflective and engaged experimentation and a freedom from preconception.
9
I have been fortunate over the years to hear Yasuda speak many times about his thinking and making and have often wondered about the source of such ability. How did it start – this imagination, engagement, dedication and thus the nurturing of a remarkable talent? Born in 1943 and raised in Japan, Yasuda recognises clear moments in his childhood where important learning occurred, serendipitously, unconsciously absorbed, but that nurtured him well. ‘Like a first love’, from a treasured but faded photograph peers the soft round face of his kindergarten teacher Midori. The kindergarten Director, Kobayashi Munesaku, was the initiator of Eurythmics education in Japan. Based on the work of Swiss educator Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, this method combines rhythmic bodily movements, ear training, plus vocal or instrumental improvisation and was accompanied also by progressive ideas in art education. Later, in primary school, a unique and influential teacher encouraged creative writing about any subject. How fortunate to take first steps into learning governed by such innovative thinking. Yasuda's elderly father came from a working-class and not particularly intellectual background – employed as a pioneering photographer and then, during the Second World War, a recording engineer. Although more of a technician than an artist, his
12
photography magazines supplied Yasuda with the opportunity to observe the work of many great practitioners such as Edward Weston, and through this experience to recognise and absorb the essence of personality, timing and imagination in particular images – a kind of magic! Photographic equipment lay around at home – along with easy access to dark rooms – and as a young man, Yasuda always carried a camera. Mechanically minded and bored at school, he picked them up in the search for ‘something interesting to do and just because they were there’. Complex and manual, these cameras provoked experiments with light, aperture speeds and composition. Thus developed an unconscious recognition – unusual in such a young man – that although technique was essential, there was more to art than skill alone. Senior High School, a small public school somewhat akin to an English Grammar, provided a new-found intellectual environment where serious students formed small clubs focusing on modern jazz, classical music, contemporary art, film, theatre and literature. ‘I didn't know that this world existed!'. In sixties Japan, the field of contemporary art film and theatre was rich and exciting – 'through this, I was able to see a different picture of the world. I was trying hard to be an adult, reading serious novels that I could barely understand and putting on theatrical productions.’ A new and intoxicating experience.
15
Takeshi Yasuda is ‘a hammer and plier kind of person’ – always interested in the mechanical world and fondly known now by some as ‘the handyman’ because his life is dotted with invented machines – so it was a natural step to assume that he would study engineering. A failed attempt to enter Mechanical Engineering, one of the most difficult courses in Japan, led to suggestions of art and industrial product design. Interested, but lacking in the necessary preparation, Yasuda joined a small introductory high school art class. ‘It was alarming and difficult for me as I didn't have the background or belong to the art community... I had to catch up quickly and learn to understand this new language of drawing’. Gradually he appreciated the more academic relationships between colours – but most importantly, that drawing encompassed something greater than realistic, graphical descriptions of objects. ‘It was the understanding of 3D volume that was the most moving experience and permanently changed my view of the world.’ He also visited exhibitions and museums, while a relative Takei Katsuo – author of a book on progressive colour and design education for primary schools – provided access to a fantastic library of art books. After eight months of study, Yasuda travelled with a group of friends around Northern Japan, finishing almost by chance with a visit to the pottery village of Mashiko. It was an exciting time as this
16
community had recently entered a period of expansion and change – through the influence of Hamada Shoji, plus changes in post war Japanese society – moving from the production of traditional kitchenware to more experimental pots for Tokyo restaurants and craft shops. Intrigued particularly by the throwing on a kick wheel and determined to experience this himself, Yasuda returned later to work for two weeks in a family studio. ‘I knew after that I would do this... be a potter...’. Several short visits followed until eventually the family agreed to take him on as an apprentice – Yasuda was 19. Apprenticeship did not encompass lessons, so clarity of intention and a self-determination to learn and experiment was paramount. For Yasuda, a clear understanding governed this time – that in throwing, although skill is essential, the wheel is a tool of expression rather than just of production. The importance of magic! Two years of apprenticeship was followed by a lucky break with the provision of a free studio and multi-chambered wood kiln. Initially, working alone led gradually to a more managerial role with assistants making production and one off pieces. This was followed by the eventual realisation of a personal need to focus on one type of work. Time was necessary for thinking and planning the future and at this point Yasuda moved to England. Shifting between cultures is a dynamic experience presenting a confronting focus on assumed understandings of the familiar in life.
18
For Takeshi, being surrounded now by engineering history – the entire chronicles of British mechanisation – was fascinating in itself but also accompanied by social issues that fundamentally affected his pottery making. Immersed in European rituals about the preparation, presentation and eating of food, his attention turned towards customs left behind and the anthropological phenomena associated with them. Eating was recognised as ritualistic and pleasurable rather than merely for survival, eating as the basis of family structure, social relationship, meaning and communication. Functional ceramic objects are some of the most centrally placed possessions in our lives. They lie quietly, familiar, mute and often disregarded, until a particular need draws them suddenly and importantly to centre stage. Each one asks to be touched, embraced by hands, enfolded by fingers, enjoined in ritual, feelings and symbolism, and all the while enticing our minds to travel across cultures and to picture the image of those who have done this before us. The making and use of functional wares has always been a key interest for Yasuda. Questions hovering around their definition as objects are paramount and threads leading back to customs entwined with the users imagination are strong. Japanese food is served as tiny appetising but isolated morsels atop small dishes often adapted from a variety of sources, with relationships between food and carrier carefully selected for
20
interconnections of flavour, colour and texture. Here, the user's mind makes an object functional rather than a particular function being attached to the object itself. In Japan, the large serving dish is not important and even not at all understood. In contrast, the presentation of Western food entwines drama with sharing and eating. Large purpose-made serving plates set the scene for ceremony and the theatrical rituals of carving and participation. For Yasuda, this change provoked the exploration of a world of experimental presentation dishes where even weight was of no concern – ‘so long as food could be placed and two hands could lift’. Fantastic and unusual objects appeared with extraordinary handles and features. The most celebrated of the pots from this time were made in 'Sansai' stoneware with copper and manganese glazes flowing onto a cream surface. These are pots of great presence and ingenuity, beckoning to be treasured, touched and inviting the imagination to fill them with bounteous feasts. ‘A goose, a turkey, a whole delicious trout’ – through his own personal love of cooking and eating, Yasuda directly introduced a new audience to these remarkable pots. Just as music has the power to transport, so too do these powerful and evocative forms. Life in the UK brought many fresh and important influences – a self sufficiency lifestyle triggered by experiences in Japan; new materials; time for re-evaluation; even a sense of novelty as a Japanese potter in a foreign land – but always at the heart of
22
Yasuda's thinking lay experimentation and a strong determination to be true and avoid the traps of fashion and tricks.. . ’to try to please other people’s expectations, this is a dangerous thing... something that every artist faces. Pressure comes in all sorts of ways. . . you must assess if this is reality or a trap ... you must not be afraid to experiment’. Important opportunities to teach and research arrived that both provided essential income and facilitated important learning and discovery. For Yasuda, starting to teach was an invigorating process – ‘working with and observing students’ as they developed. His own apprenticeship had presented an opportunity for intuitive learning in the absence of instruction, whereas this building of a teaching practice required a more conscious understanding of creative processes and the development of imaginative thought. A recognition of assumptions and then turning them around; the brainstorming of possibilities; the triggering of questions and ideas plus the use of the wheel in an unconventional way; all rapidly became characteristic of both Takeshi Yasuda's teaching and making practice. The standard scenario, of making a cup and then adding a handle became the making of a handle first and then a cup to suit it. Unattached, the handle was, as if suspended in air, waiting to trigger new experiments and have its placement freshly examined.
23
Gravity too – the controller of all of our lives, our mentality, our making – is investigated here, leading to new and unexpected possibilities. The usual formula is to allow the process of making on the wheel to dictate the order of construction – firstly the bowl and then the foot. Yasuda questions all such patterns. Finished objects are inverted, even actually thrown upside down with inventive techniques developed specifically to allow this. A large bowl begins life initially as a flat dish, is then suspended over the wheel and thrown downwards in reverse – the final result emerging freshly sprung and full of life. A vase, expertly thrown, handsome, tall and well controlled, reaches upwards like a dancer before being coaxed to fold and collapse softly downwards – the sort of movement feared by most potters but here clearly celebrated. Removed on a bat from the wheel, the form is then hung upside down and gently shaken out like some favourite rumpled linen shirt and left to set and dry – such an innovative celebration of skill, expression and understanding of this wonderful material. From the moment of birth, repetition and practice leads to bodily learning – the training of muscles to unconsciously understand and absorb particular movements. A musician learns where to instinctively place fingers, a bow, even a breath. Just as in singing where the air is moved through the body to produce sound, so clay on the wheel is manipulated, moulded, caressed, driven and shaped in intimate connection to the body. With time and practice,
26
the body discerns instinctively even without vision, the thickness of a wall, the weight, the depth and quality of the material and the edges of possibility that lie in wait. The repetitive making of particular forms, so similar to the fluent practice of a musician, enables the absorption of the object itself into muscular memory – appearing even as if to make itself – and thus facilitates a deeper exploration of its expression and more energetic and magical qualities. Watching Yasuda, such a skilful, intimate, fluent and personally expressive connection to his work is immediately apparent. Nearly a decade in China has followed and again presented Yasuda with new challenges. Jingdezhen porcelain, a clay of such breathtaking beauty but ‘like a mistress’ – entrancing, difficult, secretive, always just out of reach – this material requires careful understanding, empathy, the emptying of previous knowing from the mind and an ability to merge and work from within. The fired material is soft, pure, luminous and translucent – almost like milky glass, and so evocative of the centuries old 'white gold' reputation – but is tricky, unpredictable, almost devious in character at the making stages. The work that has emerged here is as experimental as ever. Large bowls with edges formed upside down by the weight of falling clay play with a sense of fragile tearing – made by hands and yet no finger mark remains. Rich gold fills their interior – perhaps hinting at past reputations but also playing with weight and
28
intensity – gently held within softly melting meringue-like boundaries. Long sweeping suspended dishes ache for bounty to lay upon them, with material challenges, design, manipulation and firing practices having all been absorbed, dissolved and rendered invisible. Tall vases reach upwards with necks reversed – energetic, sensual, vigorous, and as if with outward reaching arms, their filaments activating and enlivening the surrounding space. There is a relaxed confidence inherent in this work, the result of decades of innovative experimentation and dedicated work. Here now stands an exciting invitation – to wonder and to admire these miraculous, playful objects. Prue Venables, Melbourne 2013 BSc(Hons) Zoology, Melbourne University; Harrow Diploma studio pottery, London; MA Fine Art Ceramics, RMIT University, Melbourne; Fellow Royal Society of Arts, UK; Member International Academy of Ceramics.
30
BIOGRAPHY
1963-66
Trained at Daisei-Gama Pottery, Mashiko, Japan.
CURATORSHIP 1992
‘Thought For Food’, Aberystwyth Art Centre.
1993
‘Young Contemporaries’, Victoria & Albert Museum.
1995
Fletcher Challenge Ceramics Award, Auckland Museum.
1999
Sidney Myer Fund International Ceramics Award, Shepperton Art Gallery, Australia.
TEACHING 1978-85
West Surrey College of Art & Design.
1984-86
Camberwell School of Art & Craft.
1980-91
Kolding Kunsthandvarkskole, Denmark.
1989-92
Goldsmiths' College, University of London.
from 1997 Visiting Tutor in Ceramics & Glass, Royal College of Art. 1992-2001 Professor of Applied Art, University of Ulster. 2003
Visiting Professor, Alfred University, USA.
2004
Visiting Professor, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, PRC.
2008/9
Visiting Lecturer, Bókhald Myndlistaskolans í Reykjavík, Iceland. Lectured and held workshops in many colleges in UK, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and USA.
2006-8
Research Fellow, Ceramics and Glass, Royal College of Art, London.
2007-8
Research Fellow, Ceramics, Bath Spa University College, UK.
53
RESIDENCIES 1982
Research Fellow, South Glamorgan Institute of Higher Education. Sponsored jointly by Welsh Arts Council.
1984-6
Cleveland Ceramics Residency, Cleveland Crafts Centre, Middlesborough. Sponsored jointly by Northern Arts.
1990
South West Arts Craft Fellow, South West Arts.
1991-2
Ceramics Fellow, John Moores University, Liverpool.
1999
Artist in Residence, Mashiko Messe, Mashiko, Japan.
1999
Artist in Residence, European Work Centre for Ceramics, Holland.
2001
Artist in Residence, Guldagergaad Ceramics Work Centre, Museum of Contemporary Ceramics, Denmark.
2003
Artist in Residence, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, USA.
2007
Artist in Residence, International Ceramics Studio, Kecskemet, Hungary.
2007
Peter Voulkos Visiting Artist Fellowship, Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, USA.
2009
Helpmann Academy Artist in Residence, Jam Factory, Adelaide, Australia.
BOOKS/ARTICLES 1984
Paul Vincent, Takeshi Yasuda; Potter, Oxford Japanese Society Newsletter.
1984
Ingrid Hornef, Workshops mit Takeshi Yasuda, Keramik Magazin 6/84.
1985
Sandy Brown, The Sensuous Pots of Takeshi Yasuda, Ceramics Review, May/June.
1985
Sue Carr, Takeshi Yasuda at Kinfauns, Scottish Potters' Assoc. Newsletter, June.
54
1985
Mike Brogan, Pot On, Inform, Autumn.
1985
Setsuo Kato, Yasuda Takeshi-San, Big Ben, December.
1985
Japanese Treasure, Crafts No.76, Sep/Oct.
1987
Andy Christian, Not so Much a Profile, Arts North, February.
1988
von Wolf E Matthes, Sandy Brown und Takeshi Yasuda, Keramik Magazin Nr.2.
1989
Oliver Watson, Takeshi Yasuda, Glas & Keramiek, Jan/Feb.
1989
Tony Birks, Ce qui les remplit le mieux c'est leur ame, La Revue de la Ceramique et du Verre, No.45, Mar/Apr.
1992
Tony Birks, Sandy Brown & Takeshi Yasuda, Ceramics Monthly Vol.40, May.
1992
Gabi Dewald, Sandy Brown und Takeshi Yasuda, H채nde Kopf und Bauch, Keramik Magazin Nr.6.
1993
Patrick Sargent, Sandy Brown & Takeshi Yasuda, Studio Pottery No.1, Feb.
1993
Peter Timms, Reactivating the Senses: Takeshi Yasuda, Art Monthly, Australia, No.63.
1993
Ruark Lewis, Takeshi Yasuda - Visitant, Ceramics: Art & Perception No.14.
1994
Paul Vincent, Interview with Takeshi Yasuda, Studio Pottery, No.10, Aug/Sep.
1995
Fenella Mallalieu, A Visit to Takeshi Yasuda, Ceramics Review, No.15, Jan/Feb.
1997
Paul Mathieu, Pushing Boundaries: The Pottery by Takeshi Yasuda, Ceramics: Art & Perception No.28.
1998
Paul Vincent, 2 Careers in Parallel, Studio Pottery No.34, Winter.
1999
David Whiting, Eleven British Potters: History and Invention, Ceramics: Art & Perception No.35.
1999
Nicole Crestou, Recontre avec Michael Flynn et Takeshi Yasuda, La Revue de la Ceramique et du Verre, No.107.
57
1999
Tony Birks, Takeshi Yasuda, La Revue de la Ceramique et du Verre, No.107.
1999
Tineke van gils, Takeshi Yasuda noemt zijn werk haif af, Keramiek June.
1999
Felicity Aylieff, Basic Form, Ceramic Review No180, Nov/Dec.
2000
Gabriel Gerlt, Takeshi Yasuda, Ein Töpfer zwischen Ost und West, Neue Keramik, Bd.7, Nr.2, April.
2002
Sally Boyle, Opening Up, Ceramics Review, Sep/Oct.
2004
Paul Mathieu, Takeshi Yasuda, Ceramics Monogram Series. Published by Marston House in association with the Arts Council England, Aug.
RECENT EXHIBITIONS 2000
Solo Exhibition, Oxford Gallery, Oxford, UK. Solo Exhibition, Keramikmuseet, Grimmerhus, Denmark.
2001
Solo Exhibition, Galerie Marianne Heller, Heidelberg, Germany. Solo Exhibition, Model Art & Niland Gallery, Sligo, Ireland. Solo Exhibition, Green Gallery, Tokyo, Japan. Solo Exhibition, Beaux Arts, Bath, UK. Solo Exhibition, Hart Gallery, London, UK. ‘The Future Table: Peter Ting, Takeshi Yasuda’, Sotheby's, London.
2002
‘Japanese Keramiek’, Knokke-Heist Culture Centre, KnokkeHeist, Belgium. Solo Exhibition, Contemporary Applied Art, London, UK. ‘Unfolding’, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea, UK. Solo Exhibition, Green Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand.
2003
Solo Exhibition, Beaux Arts, Bath, UK. ‘Summer Show’, Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, UK.
58
Solo Exhibition, Alpha House Gallery, Sherburne, UK. Solo Exhibition, Gallery Flow, London, UK. 2004
‘International Ceramics Exhibition’, Jingdezhen Ceramics University, Jingdezhen, China. ‘Taste of China’, Pottery Workshop Gallery, Shanghai, China. ‘Collect’, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK.
2005
‘Ceramics Collection’, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, Wales. Ruthin Craft Centre, Ruthin, Wales. ‘Table Manners’, Crafts Council, London, UK. ‘Jubilee Exhibition’, Loes & Reinier, Deventer, Netherlands. ‘Regards Croises sur la Ceramique’, Espace Culturel, Bertin Poiree, Paris, France. Solo Exhibition, Crafts Study Centre, Farnham, UK.
2006
Solo Exhibition, Beaux Arts, Bath, UK. ‘Group’, Loes & Deventer, Netherlands. ‘Pure Porcelain’, Joanna Bird, London, UK. ‘To Hold’, Farmleigh Gallery, Dublin, Ireland. ‘The Shape of Things’, Water Shed, Bristo, UK. ‘COLLECT’, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK.
2007
‘Salon International de la Céramique de Collection’, Paris, France. ‘Cheongju International Craft Biennale 2007’, Cheongju, Korea. ‘Celadon Show’, Gallery Marianne Heller, Heidelberg, Germany. ‘CPA 50 Years’, Aberystwyth Art Centre, Aberystwyth, Wales. ‘Jug Show’, Gallery Besson, London, UK ‘Celadon’, Gallery Handverk, Munich, Germany.
2008
‘2008 International Tsung-Yeh Ceramics Festival’, Tainan, Taiwan. ‘Walter Keeler & Takeshi Yasuda’, The Gallery at Bevere, UK. Cup Exhibition, Contemporary Applied Art, London, UK.
60
2009
Solo Exhibition, Jam Factory, Adelaide, Australia. ‘Tableware – An International Collection’, Rex Irwin, Art Dealer, Sydney, Australia. ‘Ningbo Contemporary Ceramic Art Exhibition 3rd Season’, Ningbo, China. ‘Focus’, Contemporary Applied Art, London, UK.
2010
Solo Exhibition, Beaux Arts, Bath, UK.
2011
Group Exhibition, Porcelain, Victoria & Albert Museum, London,
2012
Group Exhibition, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS Crafts Council Victoria & Albert Museum Cleveland Crafts Centre Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter Ulster Museum Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire York City Art Gallery Shipley Art Gallery Bolton Museum Keramion, Germany Gateshead Hove Museum & Art Gallery Norwich Castle Museum Portsmouth City Museum & Art Gallery Newport Museum & Art Gallery Peterborough City Museum & Art Gallery
62
Text: © Prue Venables 2013 Photographs: © Jay Goldmark Design: Porter / Goldmark / Uttley ISBN 978-1-909167-07-0
goldmarkart.com
Goldmark Gallery, Uppingham, Rutland, LE15 9SQ 01572 821424
GOLDMARK CERAMICS MONOGRAPHS 1
Phil Rogers New Pots 2005 2 Clive Bowen New Pots 2006 3 Lisa Hammond New Pots 2006 4 Mike Dodd Recent Pots 2007 5 Ken Matsuzaki (2007) Thirty Years of a Living Tradition 6 Svend Bayer (2007) New Pots 7 Jim Malone (2008) The Pursuit of Beauty 8 Phil Rogers (2008) A Potter of our Time 9 Lisa Hammond (2009) Unconscious Revelation 10 Ken Matsuzaki New Pots 2009 11 Mike Dodd New Pots 2009 12 Clive Bowen New Pots 2009
13 Svend Bayer New Pots 2010 14 Nic Collins New Pots 2011 15 Ken Matsuzaki New Pots 2011 16 Jim Malone New Pots 2011 17 Mike Dodd (2011) The Perceptive Spirit 18 Anne Mette Hjortshøj New Pots 2012 19 Lisa Hammond (2012) A Sense of Adventure 20 Svend Bayer Svend Bayer 2012 21 Jean-Nicolas Gérard Slipware 2013 22 Ken Matsuzaki Ken Matsuzaki 2013 23 Takeshi Yasuda Porcelain 2013
GOLDMARK CERAMICS FILMS 1 2 3 4 5
Phil Rogers - A Passion For Pots Ken Matsuzaki - Elemental Svend Bayer Nic Collins Jim Malone
6 7 8 9 10
Mike Dodd Anne Mette Hjortshøj Lisa Hammond Jean-Nicolas Gérard Takeshi Yasuda
For further details or to order: visit goldmarkart.com or phone 01572 821424
goldmark