Joan Takayama-Ogawa: Ceramic Beacon

ARTIST STATEMENT
52 Japanese American
53
Teabag
2003
Glazed earthenware
JOAN TAKAYAMA–OGAWA SEPTEMBER 24, 2022
Environmental disasters, social injustices, economic greed, and the art world’s marginalization
of clay motivate me as a sansei (third generation) Japanese American, artist,
and educator. My sculpture and vessel-inspired ceramics hold beauty in check with
subtle messages of despair.
Inheriting ceramic dna, I know without a doubt, clay picked me. My father’s family
has worked in clay in Tokoname, Japan since the 15 th century. Dad studied ceramics
with his favorite teacher, Glen Lukens, while enrolled in usc’s School of Architecture.
Mom lived her life with style and artistic grace seen through her beautiful interior
designs and food styling. For a decade, my husband Steven Ogawa, supported us
financially while I retrained and developed as an artist. I am indebted to the late Ralph
Bacerra at Otis College of Art and Design, who generously passed ceramic technical
knowledge, allowing me to unabashedly transmit ideas into clay. When I finish a major
piece such as the ones you see in this Craft in America Center thirty-year survey, I
wonder who made those pieces, knowing it comes from my ancestors and role models
and not from myself.
People often ask how I predict issues that initially require an explanation and over
time become common knowledge. Fueled by fury and fear, I reach a tipping point. Only
then, does commentary fluidly flow from my brain through my fingertips.
Since 1973 when I studied greenhouse gasses as a freshman at ucla, I have been
fearful we were slipping into environmental chaos. Today, as global citizens, we must
no longer defy nature and expect to win. We must follow nature’s rules, as nature’s
invoice is high.
The u.s. equity and real estate markets with their absurd highs and deserving lows
allow for ironic commentary on American culture.
Overindulgence and overt opulence lead to decadence that allows for over-the-top
deliberately decorative elements.
The art world’s discriminatory attitudes towards clay are fading. Craft in America’s
Executive Director Carol Sauvion continues to produce sublime pbs episodes resulting
in the word “craft” becoming acceptable. My hope is for viewers to see possibilities in
clay expressed with freedom and without censure, and commentary without boundaries.
We must change our behavior. For if we are to be remembered as a civilized society,
it will be the work we leave behind. To future generations, we entrust our lives.