My
ceramics life began with a challenge from my students in a university
beginning biology class--50 years ago. Since then, there have
been brief detours in working with clay, including
forays into weaving, enameling and
acrylic painting--magical media each in
their own right. But the siren call of
ceramics prevailed, always informed and
inspired by exciting visual experiences.
Travel was the crucial component with
Asia as the locus for some forty years
and the decorative arts and architecture
of Eastern cultures providing the
aesthetic vocabulary. I invite you to
spend a few moments in review of what I
have made in response.
Two
thousand years ago in China,
it became the practice to construct elaborate tombs for the burial
of important individuals. Whang Chong, a Confucian scholar of the
lst C. CE, wrote: "The service of the dead is analogous
to that of the living, and the worship of ghosts corresponds to
that of men. Since we behold the living eating and drinking,
they must do the same after they have died and become ghosts." To
provide for the functions of these ghosts, miniature ceramic buildings
were put into the tombs. Watchtowers, dwellings, granaries,
pig-sties, and sheep-pens were part of the tomb equipment. Some
are whimsical, some are militaristic and all have great visual
appeal and a wonderfully inventive charm. These objects
are my original inspiration.
Shifting
to Medieval Japan, the same practices can be found in those imperial
tombs which have been excavated. Structures that served and
sheltered the living are represented in clay models buried in these
tombs. Miniature clay storehouses and even boats are among
the tomb objects. These too are a delight to the eye.
In
the Southeast Asian countries of Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, many
houses and businesses have spirit houses which are intended for
a different kind of "ghost:" the spirit which possessed
the land before construction began. If not appeased with
a dwelling in the form of a miniature house or temple, and also
periodic offerings, the spirit can cause problems for those who
dispossessed them. These structures also are very appealing
to me in their design and architectural construction and details.
My
first experience with a Chinese tomb "spirit house" was
in the University of Singapore's
Art Museum on my first of many visits to Asia. I
wanted to acquire a similar piece for myself, only to discover
that prices for such art in antique galleries were far beyond my
resources. The only solution was to try to make one for myself,
not a copy, but a piece that would give me the same visual pleasure
as the original ones. My first attempt resulted in "Han
Spirit House," which you can see on this site, and it joined
my growing collection of Asian art that I live with. That
was in 1989, and ever since, I have been making architecturally
inspired pieces, sometimes with a strong Asian influence, sometimes
with other regional, time period or cultural references. Over
the years, my mentors in ceramics have been several noteworthy
ceramic artists: Ruth Rippon, Scott Parady, Yoshio Taylor,
Robert Brady and Peter Vandenberge, all at one time or still, associated
with California State University, Sacramento, CA.
"The Spirit
Houses of Lee Kavaljian -
It is said that within the walls of
each piece simmers a glow of
enchantment -
found by those who seek it -- The
Spirit that lives within." --Harry
Lee. |