The term "ethical pot" was coined by Oliver Watson in his book ''Studio Pottery: Twentieth Century British Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum'' to describe a 20th-century trend in
studio pottery
Studio pottery is pottery made by professional and amateur artists or artisans working alone or in small groups, making unique items or short runs. Typically, all stages of manufacture are carried out by the artists themselves.Emmanuel Cooper, ...
that favoured plain, utilitarian ceramics. Watson said that the ethical pot,"lovingly made in the correct way and with the correct attitude, would contain a spiritual and moral dimension." Its leading proponents were
Bernard Leach
Bernard Howell Leach (5 January 1887 – 6 May 1979), was a British studio potter and art teacher. He is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery".
Biography
Early years (Japan)
Leach was born in Hong Kong. His mother Eleanor (née ...
and a more controversial group of post-war British studio potters.
[Collecting Ceramics](_blank)
/ref> They were theoretically opposed to the ''expressive pots'' or '' fine art pots'' of potters such as William Staite Murray
William Staite Murray (1881–1962) was an English studio potter.
Biography
He was born in Deptford, London and attended pottery classes at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts from 1909 - 1912. He worked with Cuthbert Hamilton, a member of the ...
, Lucie Rie
Dame Lucie Rie, (16 March 1902 – 1 April 1995) () was an Austrian-born British studio potter.
Life Early years and education
Lucie Gomperz was born in Vienna, Lower Austria, Austria-Hungary, the youngest child of Benjamin Gomperz, a Jewis ...
and Hans Coper
Hans Coper (8 April 1920 – 16 June 1981), was an influential German-born British studio potter. His work is often coupled with that of Lucie Rie due to their close association, even though their best known work differs dramatically, with R ...
.
The ''ethical pot'' theory and style was popularized by Bernard Leach
Bernard Howell Leach (5 January 1887 – 6 May 1979), was a British studio potter and art teacher. He is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery".
Biography
Early years (Japan)
Leach was born in Hong Kong. His mother Eleanor (née ...
in ''A Potter's Book'' (1940). He expanded the theories that ethical pots should be utilitarian
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals.
Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charac ...
, "naturally shaped" and originally as conceived should derive from "Oriental forms that transcended mere good looks." Leach had previously spent considerable time in Japan studying eastern crafts and mingei
The concept of , variously translated into English as "folk craft", "folk art" or "popular art", was developed from the mid-1920s in Japan by a philosopher and aesthete, Yanagi Sōetsu (1889–1961), together with a group of craftsmen, including ...
. His ethical pot idea was a rough interpretation of mingei
The concept of , variously translated into English as "folk craft", "folk art" or "popular art", was developed from the mid-1920s in Japan by a philosopher and aesthete, Yanagi Sōetsu (1889–1961), together with a group of craftsmen, including ...
for the western world; he advocated simplicity (ideally the best pots are so quick to make that they could be "thrown before breakfast"), and pots made to look natural and hand crafted. Soetsu Yanagi, a leading figure in the mingei movement, said that a craft object "must be made by an anonymous craftsman or woman and therefore unsigned; it must be functional, simple, and have no excess ornamentation; it must be one of many similar pieces and must be inexpensive; it must be unsophisticated; it must reflect the region it was made in; and it must be made by hand."[Transcript of Yanagi's talk at the first International Conference of Potters and Weavers, Darlington Hall, Devon, England, 1952]
According to ceramic art critics of today, this pot style was intended to be modernist, useful, and "democratic in usage" as opposed to the '' fine art pot'' and also opposed to industrial art.
Potters in the movement
The potters apprenticed to Bernard Leach
Bernard Howell Leach (5 January 1887 – 6 May 1979), was a British studio potter and art teacher. He is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery".
Biography
Early years (Japan)
Leach was born in Hong Kong. His mother Eleanor (née ...
include: Michael Cardew
Michael Ambrose Cardew (1901–1983), was an English studio potter who worked in West Africa for twenty years.
Early life
Cardew was born in Wimbledon, London, the fourth child of Arthur Cardew, a civil servant, and Alexandra Kitchin, the elde ...
, Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie
Katherine (sometimes known as Katharine) Harriot Duncombe Pleydell-Bouverie (7 June 1895 – 1985) was a pioneer in modern English studio pottery, known for her wood-ash glazes.
Biography
Pleydell-Bouverie was born into an aristocratic family a ...
, Norah Braden, David Leach and Michael Leach (his sons), William Marshall, Kenneth Quick and Richard Batterham. His American apprentices included: Warren MacKenzie
Warren MacKenzie (February 16, 1924 – December 31, 2018) was an American craft potter. He grew up in Wilmette, Illinois the second oldest of five children including his brothers, Fred and Gordon and sisters, Marge (Peppy) and Marilyn. His hi ...
, Byron Temple
Byron Temple (1933–2002) was an American potter.
Temple learned to throw on the wheel at Ball State University as an undergrad in his native Indiana. After college and serving in the U.S. Army, Temple discovered ''A Potter's Book'', written by ...
, Clary Illian and Jeff Oestrich. He was a major influence on the leading New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
potter Len Castle
Leonard Ramsay Castle (23 December 1924 – 29 September 2011) was a New Zealand Pottery, potter.
Early life and family
Born in Auckland on 23 December 1924, Castle was educated at Mount Albert Grammar School. He went on to study at Univer ...
, and they had worked together in the mid-1950s. Through his son David, Bernard was the main influence on the work of the Australian potter Ian Sprague.
See also
* Studio pottery
Studio pottery is pottery made by professional and amateur artists or artisans working alone or in small groups, making unique items or short runs. Typically, all stages of manufacture are carried out by the artists themselves.Emmanuel Cooper, ...
* Mingei
The concept of , variously translated into English as "folk craft", "folk art" or "popular art", was developed from the mid-1920s in Japan by a philosopher and aesthete, Yanagi Sōetsu (1889–1961), together with a group of craftsmen, including ...
Sources
* Britt, John.
Critical Ceramics: The "Unknown Craftsmen" is Dead.
' File retrieved February 10, 2007.
*de Waal, Edmund.
' File retrieved February 10, 2007.
* Leach, Bernard. ''A Potter’s Book'', Faber and Faber, 1988. {{ISBN, 0-571-04927-3
* Watson, Oliver. ''Studio Pottery: Twentieth Century British Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum.''
Studio pottery
English pottery