It is widely known that Sōetsu Yanagi tried to establish a uniquely eastern aesthetic, different from western modern aesthetics, through Buddhist thinking.
His craft theory, called ‘Mingei Theory’, was established through the concept of ‘nondualistic beauty’ as detailed in The Dharma Gate of Beauty, written three years before he died. The discovery that an unknown potter created the Joseon tea bowls provided Yanagi with an object through which his theory could be substantiated. This was because he identified religious experiences with aesthetic experiences by associating ‘non-dualistic beauty’ with the concept of ‘other-power faith’ in Buddhism.
This article uses other works to substantiate Yanagi’s controversial ideas of ‘non-dualistic beauty’ through consideration of the works of Korean ceramist Hun Chung Lee. In this, consideration is given to the concept of ‘otherness’ and ‘effacement’ of the artist in craft.
When people who have a prejudice about what beauty is, stand in front of the works of Hun Chung Lee, they are usually embarrassed. Realising his renown in Korea, this embarrassment turns to confusion. Hun Chung Lee’s work raises universal questions of beauty, skill and art making. What do people expect from a good work of art? Is it the technical perfection that can only be reached by mastering the elaborate proportions of the human body and anatomical knowledge seen in paintings and sculptures of the Renaissance? Or is it the transcendental ability to reveal the vibrant spiritual world of humans and nature? After all, the expression of human emotions and spontaneity pursued by 20th century artists can still be said to drive contemporary artists today.
Rosalind Krauss and Nicholas Bourriaud’s concepts of ‘technical support’ and ‘postproduction’ respectively, are now familiar in museums and galleries. Krauss’ notion that the medium is the memory, and the medium is the support seeks to restore the medium specificity possessed by various objects that disappeared as contemporary installation art focused on ‘space’ at the cost of material distinction and appreciation1. It is against this backdrop that the works of ceramists began to appear in the world of
