Last days in Jingdezhen

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This is the first time for all of us trying to keep a blog. We are trying to learn how to feed it while continuing our research and traveling. Entries may be spotty but we will try to keep you up to date on our travels.

To conclude our time in Jingdezhen. Eartha had mentioned visiting the artist Gan Daofu. He graduated from the Jingdezhen Ceramic Art Institute a couple years ago and is now a guest instructor working with fourth-year students. He and eight other young artists have formed a group called Ice Blue and rented a gallery space to show their work in the Sculpture Factory area. My friend Bai Xu set up the interview for us and the students were able to interview him about his work and teaching. He talked about respecting the blue and white tradition that is so prevalent in Jingdezhen but break and make his own statement. He told me he attempts to paint from the heart.

I also brought the students to the Jingdezhen Ceramic Art Institute to meet with our interpreter - Zhang Jing's - professor Cao Jian Wen. He is Dean of the Department of History and a leading expert on porcelain. We met in his office and had tea from 100 year old tea bowls from the Ch'ing Dynasty. We were able to touch and hold two bowls from his collection dating back 1000 years to the Song Dynasty. He also brought out four porcelain buttons that a local farmer found buried in the earth. These objects had been buried for disposal at the end of the cultural revolution. The farmer has been storing them away for years waiting for the right time to bring them out with an interest in selling. Professor Cao Jian Wen talked to us about his research and explained how during the Cultural Revolution Jingdezhen had shut down to making traditional work and new factories were constructed to make mass-produced government directed utilitarian forms for the people. These factories in turn were abandoned or converted back to the small workshops producing the blue on white traditional ware along with entrepreneurs looking for new markets in the ceramic world.

We changed our itinerary to fly to Beijing one day early, June 18th, for students to begin their research on the contemporary artists in Beijing.

Gary

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Photos

Interview with Gan Daofu
Students speaking with Gan Daofu in the Blue Ice gallery space.

Painted tile by Gan Daofu
Using his contemporary sensibilities with the Qing Hua (Blue on White) tradition.

Blue Ice artist
Glaze effect tile by artist Zhou Qiang

Blue Ice artist
Painted tile by artist An Ruiyong

Blue Ice artist
Enamel painted figure by artist Jia Bin

Jingdezhen Ceramic Art Institute
Meeting with Professor Cao Jian Wen and our interpreter Zhang Jing.

1000 year old bowl
Bowl from the Song Dynasty in the collection of Professor Cao Jian Wen

Porcelain buttons
Buried buttons found by a local farmer

Supper at Sanbao
Most of the resident artists were leaving at the same time. This was our last meal together as a group.