Theory of Art Creation 6 "Ishiguro Munema Pottery Fragment Collection"

https://www.momak.go.jp/senses/abc/ishiguro/

The "Digital Museum" initiative is extremely interesting as it allows visitors to come into contact with new artworks that emerge from the digital world.
This allows people to experience various works of art via the Internet without having to actually visit an art gallery or museum.
In the field of pottery, the "ABC Collection Database: Ishiguro Munema Pottery Fragment Collection" published by the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto is a comprehensive resource.
The collection is part of the ABC Project, which began in 2020.
The aim is for artists, blind people, and curators to work together to develop ways to appreciate artworks using multiple senses.
When you place the cursor over an image of a piece of pottery, the sound of rubbing or tapping the piece with your fingers automatically plays.
You can hear the different sounds each shard of pottery makes, such as rustling, roughness, and tapping, allowing you to experience the work using not only your eyes but also your ears.
By utilizing this type of digital technology, many people, including those with visual impairments, can enjoy imagining the texture and weight of pottery.
One of the attractions of pottery is being able to sense its physical characteristics, such as its surface irregularities and weight.
For this reason, the digital museum has devised ways to convey these elements through sound and tactile simulations.
Initiatives like this don't just digitize art; they also provide more people with the opportunity to experience art.

I will quote the introduction text from the homepage.

"ABC Collection Database The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto is conducting the "Opening the Senses - New Art Appreciation Program Creation Promotion Project" to explore ways of appreciating artworks that can be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of whether they can see or not. Starting in 2020, we launched the " ABC Project," in which artists , people with visual impairments, and curators use their respective expertise and sensibilities to create appreciation methods that use various senses. This year's project is based on 26 pottery fragments excavated from the Yase Pottery Kiln, and Nakamura Yuta has studied the techniques seen in the fragments, while Yasuhara Rie has unraveled Ishiguro's pottery making by touching and putting the fragments into words. Based on these observations, the curators have reconstructed the connection with the museum's collection. In the future, this database will incorporate various works and materials across disciplines to create a more organic and multi-layered network of the museum's collection. "

The content is rich, but I'll quote four things that were particularly impressive to me.

"Buddhas Ishiguro painted have exotic facial features. In January 1940, he traveled to northeastern China and the Korean peninsula with Mashimizu Keishiro [Zoroku III] (1905-1971). In the background of Ishiguro's portrait taken at a temple in Gyeongju, Korea, there is a wall full of Buddhas, likely made of ceramics, in relief. According to Ishiguro's disciple Shimizu Uichi (1926-2004), Ishiguro was an atheist but frequented Tofukuji Temple. In his twenties, he also used the inscription "Buddha Mountain". A stone statue of Kannon Bodhisattva that Ishiguro owned has been relocated to Ishiguro's grave in Yase Cemetery, along with the grave of his wife Tou."

"Chalk_no_hashiri Ishiguro was also greedy for new technology. The Kyoto City Testing Center developed "overglaze chalk," which is made by mixing funori seaweed with overglaze pigments, drying it, hardening it, and forming it into a rod shape. Ishiguro uses this chalk to vigorously draw ballet dancers and roses on vases and large plates. According to Shimizu Uichi, Ishiguro has never seen a ballet performance. Many of Ishiguro's sketches are done with Conté. He was probably attracted to the characteristics of overglaze chalk, which allows you to draw on vessels in the same way as you would draw on a sketchbook with Conté. It is not clear what is drawn on this piece of pottery, but you can see the chalk running. "Chalk-painted colored glaze plate" features a chalk pattern resembling a bridge made of eight bridges drawn on top of different layers of glaze."

"Dice No. It is not known whether it was made by Ishiguro. On the dice, the back of the "6" is a "1", the back of the "5" is a "2", and the back of the "4" is a "3", but on this dice the back of the "1" is a "3". The combinations are reversed. However, if you look closely, you will notice that the dots are slightly different. The dots on the "1" are large, while the dots on the "5" and "6" are small. Moreover, they seem to have been pressed with a tree branch or something, rather than with a sharp tool. Perhaps Ishiguro used them for some kind of play, or perhaps a child visiting Yase made them. This is beyond the realm of speculation, but even if they were made for fun, the fact that they were fired suggests that they were used for some kind of purpose. The continuous "dots" that are common in Ishiguro's works can also be seen in "Tetsubun Jar". The dots are rhythmically drawn with a brush as the potter's wheel turns.

"The Breaking of Sea Cucumbers" Ishiguro had been copying ancient Chinese ceramics since his Hebigatani period. Among these, the Jun kiln technique was one of Ishiguro's specialties. This Jun kiln technique using sea cucumber glaze can also be seen in the pottery of Kawai Kanjiro (1890-1966), a potter based in Kyoto. Kawai held the "First Creative Ceramics Exhibition" at the Takashimaya Department Store in Kyobashi, Tokyo in 1921, where he exhibited pottery that copied ancient Chinese and Korean ceramics. While his works were highly praised by newspapers and critics at the time, the philosopher Yanagi Muneyoshi (1889-1961) expressed dissatisfaction with this method of pottery. After that, while collaborating with Yanagi and others in the Mingei movement, Kawai's pottery evolved from copying ancient ceramics to making pottery suited to everyday life, and then to expressive shapes. Ishiguro, on the other hand, did not significantly change his pottery-making methods. Ishiguro's methodology was to combine various techniques, including the Jun kiln technique. This is why his curiosity in choosing materials and developing techniques was so intense. According to Shimizu Uichi, Ishiguro carried a backpack full of glaze ingredients wherever he went. He discovered that the iron in the polished sand from Boso, Chiba Prefecture, reacted with the glaze. This piece of pottery has deep blue copper lines applied to the sea cucumber glaze by pouring.

Finally, let me tell you a little about Ishiguro Munemaro.
Munemaro Ishiguro (April 14, 1893 - June 3, 1968) was a ceramic artist from Imizu City, Toyama Prefecture. Many of his works are on display at the Imizu Shinminato Museum.
He was born as the eldest son of a doctor, and after attending Uozu Junior High School and Toyama Junior High School, he transferred to Keio University's Junior High School.
In 1919, he was impressed by the Yohen Tenmoku tea bowl "Inaba Tenmoku" at the Tokyo Art Club and decided to pursue a career in pottery.
In 1935 he built a kiln in Yase, Kyoto, and in 1941 he discovered the techniques of Song kilns.
He was highly praised for his techniques, particularly in iron glaze, Tang Sancai and Jun Kiln, and was designated a holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) in 1955. He also worked hard to promote traditional crafts as a director of the Japan Kogei Council, and was named an honorary citizen of Shinminato City, Toyama Prefecture.
He was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1963 and the Order of the Sacred Treasure Third Class in 1968. He contributed to welfare activities in his later years and passed away in 1968. His grave is in Yase Cemetery.