context: ceramics > sources

Raku by Tim Andrews

The history part is brief, as the book focusses on modern raku ware, much of it outside Japan - the term is taken in a pretty tenuous sense, and often has nothing at all to do with the aesthetics or ideas, and sometimes a technical connection is hard to spot. My heart sunk a bit when I read the phrase "whilst acknowledging the influence of the Japanese..." If I ever write a book about jazz, I must remember to offer a generous nod in passing to black people. I persevered, but a whole page on influences on Ogata Kenzan's work that doesn't mention his more famous brother Korin, who decorated many of Kenzan's pots, made me give up.

It is worth adding that there are some really lovely pieces among the modern Western ones reproduced, not least some very beautiful work by the author, and lots of very good technical information.

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