Joan Takayama-Ogawa: Ceramic Beacon

34
lauria
(FIG. 11)
Chrysanthemum
(Covered Container)
1992
Glazed earthenware
35
casting a light on change
Now in her third decade as a professional studio ceramist,
Takayama-Ogawa has developed a body of work based on explorations
of traditional functional pottery shapes, including plates,
bowls, containers, and teapots. This inventory of utilitarian forms is
complemented by other pieces that are wholly sculptural interpretations,
many of which engage her Japanese lineage. Her first series
of covered containers and teapots, from 1992 to 2000, are testaments
to her application of Bacerra’s design mantra, “surface follows
form” (FIG. 11-13). On these wheel-thrown and altered vessels, she
has devised original decoration techniques. Her two-dimensional
patterns based on geometry and botanicals encircle the functional
wares and activate the eye over their volumetric contours. In hindsight,
Takayama-Ogawa views these early vessels as challenges to
achieving proficiency in materials and methods, explicitly mastering
low-fire clay bodies and surface applications of underglazes, overglazes
(China paint), and metallic lusters, fundamentals she learned
and refined while under Bacerra’s tutelage.
The “teapot towers” stand out in this series as her most complicated
pieces: highly theatrical and playful. They revel in their contradiction
of functionality; as assembled serviceable wares associated
with the tea ritual, they transform into sculptural stacks that mock
purpose. Takayama-Ogawa’s objective was to render these towers
“deliberately decorative,” an overt gesture to tease the eye. In addition
to the layers of surface decoration, she added a layer of subtle commentary:
teapots, cups, and saucers are the most enduring symbols of
hospitality and domesticity. The structured towers recall the activity
of stacking dishes in the kitchen sink, a domestic task traditionally
allocated to women. Thus began Takayama-Ogawa’s leap into feminist
territory.