Direction of the Wind—Unglazed Clay Pipes (Fūi—yakishime paipu)

Yagi Kazuo Japanese

Not on view

Emerging from a pottery industry steeped in tradition, several young postwar Kyoto ceramists founded Sōdeisha (Crawling through Mud Association) to redefine clay as a valid medium for sculpture. They created abstract, hand-built forms called objets, borrowing the term French Surrealists used for found and repurposed art pieces. Here, Yagi cut and rejoined wheel-thrown cylinders at angles and embedded them into a square with folded edges, creating multiple “mouths” that challenge the idea of the conventional vessel. Such nonfunctional artworks were a means of deconstructing traditional methods of producing ceramics. Made of Shigaraki clay, early Sōdeisha works are quite pale as members could only afford to rent cooler spaces at the communal kiln, where strong color could not easily develop.

Direction of the Wind—Unglazed Clay Pipes (Fūi—yakishime paipu), Yagi Kazuo (Japanese, 1918–1979), Unglazed Shigaraki white clay, Japan

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.

Direction of the Wind—Unglazed Clay Pipes (Fūi—yakishime paipu), Yagi Kazuo (Japanese, 1918–1979), Unglazed Shigaraki white clay, Japan
Direction of the Wind—Unglazed Clay Pipes (Fūi—yakishime paipu), Yagi Kazuo (Japanese, 1918–1979), Unglazed Shigaraki white clay, Japan
Direction of the Wind—Unglazed Clay Pipes (Fūi—yakishime paipu), Yagi Kazuo (Japanese, 1918–1979), Unglazed Shigaraki white clay, Japan
Direction of the Wind—Unglazed Clay Pipes (Fūi—yakishime paipu), Yagi Kazuo (Japanese, 1918–1979), Unglazed Shigaraki white clay, Japan

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.