Disappearing Jar (Kieyuku tsubo)
This work belongs to a series in homage to Chinese Song-dynasty ceramics, which Yamada admired but from whose tradition he wanted to detach himself. Rendered as a flat, hand-built sculpture with nested cutouts that frame a jar-shaped void at center, this piece challenges the viewer’s perception of the form of functional vessels. Salt water blown onto the frame before firing gives the appearance of rust and decay. By placing the outline of a disappearing jar at center, Yamada symbolically relegates the concept of the traditional vessel to the past.
Artwork Details
- 山田光作 消え行く壺
- Title: Disappearing Jar (Kieyuku tsubo)
- Artist: Yamada Hikaru (Japanese, 1923–2001)
- Period: Shōwa period (1926–89)
- Date: 1976
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Bisque-fired, white-glazed stoneware
- Dimensions: H. 20 in. (50.8 cm); W. 15 in. (38.1 cm); D. 4 in. (10.2 cm)
- Classification: Ceramics
- Credit Line: Gift of Halsey and Alice North, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2017
- Object Number: 2017.166.20
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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