BEYOND THE TRADITION

摘要

In his introduction to the reprint of A Potter's Book by Bernard Leach, Soetsu Yanagi emphasises that the outstanding characteristic of Leach's work is the union of East and West and that 'all his ideas, life and endeavour seem to have been fixed on this one point.' The oriental tradition is still an important context for a number of eminent potters with a lineage that can be traced back to Bernard Leach and the St Ives Pottery. There are those that now eschew the tradition, seeing it as a significant but purely historical phenomenon. Nevertheless, the Japanese influence on contemporary studio ceramics continues, as does the influence of western art on current Japanese practice. The regular visits of UK potters to Japan as well as the Japanese who study and work here in the UK is testament to this cultural osmosis.