Omaha
Visit, Jun Kaneko I-Chi Hsu
I know Jun for more than a year but not until I
went to Clayfeast in Australia, I got to know him much more. He was with Goro
couple all the time, so I also got to know Goro and his wife very well. I kind
of felt they were Chinese, the intellectual type knows sophistication. We had
one nice dinner at a local restaurant and then a feast I treated 12 ceramic master
artists at a local bowling center where I discovered a young Chinese cook when
can do a good job to set up a fancy dinner. I have such smelling talent to find
where there is a fine Chinese restaurant. So, I asked Jun to let me visit his
studio in Omaha the 2002NCECA time because it is only about 4 hours drive to Kansas
City. He agreed so I visited him in the early March about a week before the NCECA
time. I spent 4 days there and enjoyed to see him and his colleagues to work and
enjoyed to chat with Jun on everything particularly the feeling of the art between
the East and the west. Of course we dined a lot such as the little Thai restaurant
specialized in noodles. Jun and I are both noodle lovers. We also went a good
Japanese restaurant where the chief made some special excellent dishes. Then the
French restaurant in downtown basement and a Mid-East lunch place. Jun knows these
restaurants very well so, I usually followed his order or asking him what is the
best to order. I did not do this way when I first walked into the Thai restaurant.
Jun told me we came here for noodles and this is my first lunch in Omaha. I thought
I know noodles so well so after I saw the Manu, I ordered the pork liver soup
noodle. Jun smiled at me and ordered something else. When the noodle came I found
my pork liver soup noodle was okay but Jun's noodle was so good to look at it
and I could tell that he also enjoyed very much. I immediately knew that I mad
a mistake. I should have asked him what was the best noodle there. From there
on, I either follow his order or asking what should I order. We both believe,
a good ceramic artist should know food not only knowing how to enjoy it but even
knows how to cook it in certain way.
I asked him about the origin of the "Dungo",
his famous elliptical round sculpture body. He told me that it came from China's
dumpling, a rounded kind with ingredients in side or not. There were at least
hundreds of Dungos in his studio. This is why he occupied a 4 story building which
extends to a block length. He has 3-4 young artists help him doing the work mostly
in the stage of body forming. After bisque is made, he does all by himself. He
also has a secretary and some young student-girls helping him for publicity. He
is one of the very few knows how to mingle the modern art into the ceramics and
how to handle the relationship in decoration among the point, the line and the
surface.
During the second evening dinning, we were sipping the good
red wine; I told him that the last 20 years China made a big progress but mostly
on the eastern coastal side. Now China wants develop the GNW (the Great North
West). I asked him that if I took him to China to see the Qin Tomb and its life
size Terra Cotta in thousands; and again to see the colored Han nude terra cotta
figures and animals in hundred thousands; to visit the Dunhuang Grottos in the
Gobi desert and the JIaYu Gate, the beginning of the Great Wall, and the loess
plateau in most of the "Great North West". It is the origin of Chinese
culture. After you see all these, I will let you stay at Fuping Pottery Village,
a place owns 100 plus acres land with a modern ceramic tile factory, for three
months and making your art work. I am sure they will reflect the GNW. We will
then build a museum for you to store all the work you have done and the work you
would do in the future. He listened attentively and smiled at me but said nothing.
Then I saw him again at NCECA the last day. I thanked him for those 4 very enjoyed
days. He came close to me and pats my shoulder and said: Ichi, work on the museum
project, I will come.
Of course I was very joyful when I heard Jun to
make such promise and I know the importance to the idea Fuping and I have to build
about 10 museums in Fuping to host many international ceramic artists' work.
At
the end of May I received a long distance phone call from Jun. He told me that
he just came back from Japan and was intended to come to China but the timing
was not right so he told me that he will be in Japan again in September and willing
to schedule the China trip early enough so he could come for sure. He asked me
whether I am still interested in the museum project. I told him not only we are
interested but we are thinking of 10 museums complex. I also told him that I will
be available to company him to travel GNW for 7-10 days after I return from Geneva
where I will attend the opening of the "China Ceramics Today " exhibition..
Now Jun is coming on the September 23rd. I hope I can tell him more about the
museum and also the food. I guess this is really just the start between Jun and
me.
陶艺专访