Production from the standpoint of the audience.
Takeshi Imaizumi is an up-and-coming ceramic artist born in 1978. It’s only six years since he became independent in 2005, but he has already received many awards and is in the center of much attention. His unique style, using sharp forms and colorful glaze is highly praised..
He has a unique background, too. He did not learn at art school, nor was he born to a local craftsman’s family but went to Waseda University and belonged to a pottery club . That is why there are many ”test works” in his workshop.
”I entered this world from the side of the audience. I can only judge from the finished products. So I have to do a lot of testing, and learn by experimenting.”
Intended cracks. Unintended cracks.
In the workshop, Nakata picked up a small vessel. The piece had very fine cracks called ”kannyu” on the glazed surface. Nakata described it as ”it’s very cute. It looks like cracks on an egg. I kind of like it .” Imaizumi gave a wry smile. ”You mean, like the egg is hatching. Actually, this piece is what I made when I just left university. May be that’s why it has a innocent look.”
Nakata laughed at that, too. ”Can you make these cracks intentionally?”
”To some extent. I know it by feeling that if I use such a material I get linear cracks, and so on. There are materials which will have many cracks.”
However, he never told us whether the ”egg cracks” were intended…
Fusion of practicality and art.
Imaizumi continued to say, ”Even if I can make things as I intended, it doesn’t necessarily achieve my goals. The intention, like I want make this one have an oriental look may result in something akin to ”greed”. ”
Certainly, one would have some kind of objective but that does not mean it leads to success.
”Do you make your works as objects of utility?” asked Nakata. To that, he answered,
”At first, I thought it wasn’t cool to make something you can actually use. But now I have come to think that it is an important element that the piece has a place in people’s everyday life.”
Where does the artistic quality exist in a work? The act of creating may be an act of exploring. At the end of the interview, Imaizumi said ”But I still tend to make pieces that are pretentious and ”cool.” and smiled shyly.
