PDF The Unknown Craftsman A Japanese Insight into Beauty Bernard Leach Soetsu Yanagi 8601406217539 Books
PDF The Unknown Craftsman A Japanese Insight into Beauty Bernard Leach Soetsu Yanagi 8601406217539 Books
Download As PDF : The Unknown Craftsman A Japanese Insight into Beauty Bernard Leach Soetsu Yanagi 8601406217539 Books
This book challenges the conventional ideas of art and beauty. What is the value of things made by an anonymous craftsman working in a set tradition for a lifetime? What is the value of handwork? Why should even the roughly lacquered rice bowl of a Japanese farmer be thought beautiful? The late Soetsu Yanagi was the first to fully explore the traditional Japanese appreciation for "objects born, not made."
Mr. Yanagi sees folk art as a manifestation of the essential world from which art, philosophy, and religion arise and in which the barriers between them disappear. The implications of the author's ideas are both far-reaching and practical.
Soetsu Yanagi is often mentioned in books on Japanese art, but this is the first translation in any Western language of a selection of his major writings. The late Bernard Leach, renowned British potter and friend of Mr. Yanagi for fifty years, has clearly transmitted the insights of one of Japan's most important thinkers. The seventy-six plates illustrate objects that underscore the universality of his concepts. The author's profound view of the creative process and his plea for a new artistic freedom within tradition are especially timely now when the importance of craft and the handmade object is being rediscovered.
PDF The Unknown Craftsman A Japanese Insight into Beauty Bernard Leach Soetsu Yanagi 8601406217539 Books
"For those who know of the Arts and Crafts movement in the West, think John Ruskin and William Morris. Both influenced Yanagi Soetsu through their writings. In terms of Japanese culture and aesthetics, this is a landmark text, complete with many photos. Yanagi Soetsu was part of the Mingei movement. This can roughly be construed as the Japanese equivalent to the Arts and Crafts movement with a heavy Buddhist influence. Mingei refers to art of the people. The singular, often unknown craftsman, is trumpeted. Yanagi Soetsu emphasizes intuition, which takes in the whole, as opposed to intellect, which takes in only part. The perfect is rejected as static and unable to suggest the infinite. If you read only one book on Japanese aesthetics let it be this!"
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Tags : The Unknown Craftsman A Japanese Insight into Beauty [Bernard Leach, Soetsu Yanagi] on . This book challenges the conventional ideas of art and beauty. What is the value of things made by an anonymous craftsman working in a set tradition for a lifetime? What is the value of handwork? Why should even the roughly lacquered rice bowl of a Japanese farmer be thought beautiful? The late Soetsu Yanagi was the first to fully explore the traditional Japanese appreciation for objects born,Bernard Leach, Soetsu Yanagi,The Unknown Craftsman A Japanese Insight into Beauty,Kodansha International,1568365209,Asian - General,Decoration and ornament,Decoration and ornament - Japan,Design,Design - Japan,Japan,ART / Asian / General,ART / Asian / Japanese,ART / Folk Outsider Art,ARTS AND CRAFTS,Art,Art Art Instruction,Asian,Far East,GENERAL,General Adult,Non-Fiction,Oriental art,United States,art;art books;artists;coffee table book;coffee table books;art book;artwork;architecture;venice;art history;essays;design;philosophy;reference;culture;french;geography;rome;renaissance;sculpture;painting;language;calligraphy;prague;biography;tea;travel guide;wanderlust;classic;architecture books;mythology;cultural studies;folklore;literary criticism;aesthetics;historical;medieval;german;adventure;japanese;translation;cities;guide;nature;education;anthropology;photography;comics;picture books,aesthetics; philosophy; architecture; architecture books; art history; essays; biography; criticism; renaissance; arts; art books; cultural studies; culture; cultural history; venice; language; painting; 19th century; design; literary criticism; art; artists; coffee table book; coffee table books; art book; artwork; reference; geography; prague; french; rome; travel guide; calligraphy; essay; sculpture; classic; wanderlust; folklore; historical; travel writing; cities; tea; french literature; german; guide; education; mythology; medieval
The Unknown Craftsman A Japanese Insight into Beauty Bernard Leach Soetsu Yanagi 8601406217539 Books Reviews :
The Unknown Craftsman A Japanese Insight into Beauty Bernard Leach Soetsu Yanagi 8601406217539 Books Reviews
- For those who know of the Arts and Crafts movement in the West, think John Ruskin and William Morris. Both influenced Yanagi Soetsu through their writings. In terms of Japanese culture and aesthetics, this is a landmark text, complete with many photos. Yanagi Soetsu was part of the Mingei movement. This can roughly be construed as the Japanese equivalent to the Arts and Crafts movement with a heavy Buddhist influence. Mingei refers to art of the people. The singular, often unknown craftsman, is trumpeted. Yanagi Soetsu emphasizes intuition, which takes in the whole, as opposed to intellect, which takes in only part. The perfect is rejected as static and unable to suggest the infinite. If you read only one book on Japanese aesthetics let it be this!
- In this book, industrialization and mass production get a tongue lashing, as one would expect from a writer devoted to preserving hand craftsmanship and traditional art forms. I found the book enlightening and thought provoking. The first chapters are about the author's creation of a craft museum in Japan, which while somewhat interesting, discouraged me about the main direction of the book. But subsequent chapters about pattern in art and craft, and about the beauty of irregularity, encourage me to keep reading. I found the most interesting chapter to be the one about the Buddhist idea of beauty. The idea that beauty and ugliness are essentially the same thing is a difficult one to wrap my Western head around. There is depth in this chapter, and I expect to re-read many passages that I highlighted. Much of the focus of the book is on pottery, but other crafts and art forms get their mention, too. Much of the writing is about aesthetic concepts and principles that encompass all arts and crafts. In a single section at the front of the book are numerous photographs of bowls, textiles, hand painted scrolls, and other items, which are referred to in the text. The text is written in a clear and uncomplicated manner, with some inserted clarifications and explanations by Bernard Leach.
- Ostensibly a book about pottery making but really about so much more. Despite the sexist title, Yanagi has much to say to anyone who cares about what is considered beautiful in the world. One of the traditional Japanese definitions of beauty involves appreciating craft/art done unselfconsciously. Yanagi risked his life during WWII to preserve such folk pottery in his craft museum in Japan. The book has much to tell us about the connections between the worlds of things 'born' and things made. A classic in identifying and defining the differences between traditional Eastern and Western ideals. Read it for an awakening. A book to be reread at different times in life.
- A well written book that inspires one to think of (look at) objects in a different way, for me it has me pondering the work I do in a different way.
While I still have the critical side this book has been a help in defining which criticism is of value and which is ultimately just a "voice" in my head.
What is perfect is a such a subjective and therefor fleeting notion with regard to art and craft it should not be the driving force in anyone's desire to create and/or collect art/craft[s]. - I purchased this book after reading an excerpt about pottery. The book is indeed about pottery but also offers insights into what the author sees as the potters frame of mind. This was an unexpected treat for me. As a student of various Asian philosophies, I love this author's description of how the "seeing" of the artist coincides with many of these philosophies and perhaps surpasses them.
- My interest is woodwork that is made within the traditions of Japanese woodworking techniques though not necessarily replicating traditional Japanese designs or style. While I have been happy with the aesthetics of objects I've been making, I haven't really understood the sometimes muted reactions from some of my Japanese friends. I've been to Yanagi's Folkcraft Museum in Tokyo and to a museum to the work of Kanjiro Kawai (a close friend of Soetsu Yanagi) in Kyoto and so have first hand experience of the pottery and woodwork objects that have inspired or been made by these men. However, it was only when I read "The Unknown Craftsman" that I was able to fully appreciate and to attempt to translate into my own work, Yanagi's "insight into beauty". From the book, it is apparent that Yanaki had a broad exposure to both Japanese and Western culture and philosophy and as a result, I feel that the principles that Yanagi describes are as applicable to western craft objects as they are to those of Japanese origin.
- looking for the quiet beauty, unpretentious, the "just-there" presence in artifacts? it starts with the maker embodying those humble qualities. really well-written...
- As a person who loves Japanese ceramics I was glad to have this classic book. It helps the reader appreciate the beauty of the simple. The love of clay and the transformation that comes through fire shines through. I felt the admiration that Mr Leach had for Mr. Yanagi, as well as his love for the craft and the Japanese aesthetic. Although I do love the Japanese porcelains with their beauty, my heart is moved more by what the Japanese call "wabi-sabi" or what westerners might call rustic. This is a lovely book, very Zen!
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