Wed Mar 11, 2020 4:37 pm
For those who don’t yet appreciate this work I’d suggest having an open mind and giving it time. Sometimes what is new and different to one’s own aesthetic ‘comfort zone’ can be unsettling. Possibly to embrace Japanese aesthetic philosophies, one has to have moved beyond concepts of classical Greek ideals of beauty. Japanese interdisciplinary art forms have a unique place in the history of aesthetics being centuries ahead of the 20th c. modern movement. It’s taken a hundred years for some to begin to appreciate the modern movement, it might take a thousand years to enjoy Japanese avant-garde 14th c. aesthetic philosophy.
Akira Satake is an internationally recognized craftsman because his pieces display a level of excellence and balance that few achieve. Like all craftsmen at this level, pieces for sale are carefully selected, those deemed not good enough are discarded. What appears thick and clumsy to some is actually a pleasure to use as a tea vessel and to hold. As is often the case with Japanese chawan, yunomi, and guinomi there is a special aesthetic side of a vessel to present to a guest, Akira’s pieces have this. With the act of rotating the vessel toward a guest, a sculptural spatial quality is introduced into the moment of sharing. On some vessels the rim might appear thick but there is always a perfect and comfortable spot to sip from.
The splashing and slashing on his pieces express Flux, Change, the Transient nature of things. I recently wrote to Akira to thank him because each time I hold his yunomi I feel blessed, like a butterfly came by and said - today is a good day, enjoy it.
If you have not yet held a piece like this, and without a knowledge of art history and philosophy, it will be difficult to discern quality.
A few book recommendations if you would like to explore Japanese wabi sabi aesthetics and philosophy (although there are many);
In Praise of Shadows, by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers, by Leonard Koren