Kintsugi Explained

Kintsugi, also known as,[1] is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with urushi lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. The method is similar to the technique.[2] [3] [4] As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.[5]

Origin

Lacquerware is a longstanding tradition in Japan[6] [7] and, at some point, kintsugi may have been combined with as a replacement for other ceramic repair techniques. While the process is associated with Japanese craftsmen, the technique was also applied to ceramic pieces of other origins including China, Vietnam, and Korea.[8]

Kintsugi became closely associated with ceramic vessels used for (Japanese tea ceremony). One theory is that kintsugi may have originated when Japanese Ashikaga Yoshimasa sent a damaged Chinese tea bowl back to China for repairs in the late 15th century. When it was returned, repaired with simple metal staples, it may have prompted Japanese craftsmen to look for a more aesthetically pleasing means of repair.[2] On the other hand, according to Bakōhan Saōki (record of tea-bowl with a 'large-locust' clamp), such "ugliness" was considered inspirational and Zen-like, as it connoted beauty in broken things. The bowl thus became highly valued due to the large metal staples, which looked like a locust, and the bowl was named ("large-locust clamp").[9]

Collectors became so enamored of the new art that some were accused of deliberately smashing valuable pottery so it could be repaired with the gold seams of kintsugi. It is also possible that a pottery piece was chosen for deformities it had acquired during production, then deliberately broken and repaired, instead of being trashed.

Philosophy

As a philosophy, kintsugi is similar to the Japanese philosophy of, an embracing of the flawed or imperfect.[10] Japanese aesthetics values marks of wear from the use of an object. This can be seen as a rationale for keeping an object around even after it has broken; it can also be understood as a justification of kintsugi itself, highlighting cracks and repairs as events in the life of an object, rather than allowing its service to end at the time of its damage or breakage.[11] The philosophy of kintsugi can also be seen as a variant of the adage, "Waste not, want not".

Kintsugi can relate to the Japanese philosophy of, which encompasses the concepts of non-attachment, acceptance of change, and fate as aspects of human life.[12]

Materials and types of joinery

There are a few major styles or types of kintsugi:

The key materials of kintsugi are: ki urushi (pure urushi), bengara urushi (iron red urushi), mugi urushi (a mixture of 50% ki urushi and 50% wheat flour), sabi urushi (a mixture of ki urushi with two kinds of clay), and a storage compartment referred to as a furo ("bath" in Japanese) where the mended pottery can rest at 90% humidity for between 2 days to 2 weeks as the urushi hardens. Traditionally, a wooden cupboard and bowls of hot water were used as the furo. Alternatively, thick cardboard boxes are sometimes used as the furo as they create a steady atmosphere of humidity or large vessels filled with rice, beans, or sand into which the mended pottery is submerged.[14]

Related techniques

Staple repair is a similar technique used to repair broken ceramic pieces,[15] where small holes are drilled on either side of a crack and metal staples are bent to hold the pieces together. Staple repair was used in Europe (in ancient Greece, England and Russia among others), South America,[16] and China as a repair technique for particularly valuable pieces.

Yobitsugi (meaning "invite connection"[17]) is similar to kintsugi, except that pieces from visibly different broken objects are put together, patchwork-style, to form one whole one, e.g., a blue plate and a white plate.[18] Tomotsugi, by comparison, uses broken pieces taken from matching objects, e.g., if two matching plates have been broken, and the pieces can be combined to form a single plate.[19]

Influence on contemporary art, design, and culture

Kintsugi is the general concept of highlighting or emphasizing imperfections, visualizing mends and seams as an additive or an area to celebrate or focus on, rather than absence or missing pieces.

Modern artists and designers experiment with the ancient technique as a means of analyzing the idea of loss, synthesis, and improvement through destruction and repair or rebirth.[20] Through an artistic lens, a Kintsugi object is permanently both evidence of crisis and cure.[21]

While originally ignored as a separate art form, kintsugi and related repair methods have been featured at exhibitions at the Freer Gallery at the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art.[22] [23]

Examples of contemporary artists and designers who incorporate kintsugi techniques, aesthetics, and philosophies in their work include:

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: October 28, 2022 . Definition of kintsugi . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221004191710/https://www.definition-of.com/kintsugi . October 4, 2022 . October 28, 2022 . Definition-Of.
  2. .
  3. .
  4. Web site: Daijisen - 金継ぎとは - コトバンク . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211123213002/https://kotobank.jp/word/%E9%87%91%E7%B6%99%E3%81%8E-481548 . November 23, 2021 . October 28, 2022 . Kotobank.
  5. News: Kintsugi: The Centuries-Old Art of Repairing Broken Pottery with Gold. 2017-04-25. My Modern Met. 2017-07-12. en-US. October 10, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181010052523/https://mymodernmet.com/kintsugi-kintsukuroi/. live.
  6. Web site: Japan's Ancient Art of Lacquerware. September 22, 1985. New York Times. Ota. Alan K.. February 10, 2017. May 3, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200503165708/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/22/travel/shopper-s-world-japan-s-ancient-art-of-lacquerware.html. live.
  7. Web site: A Craft Polished to the Lofty Heights of Art. April 4, 2008. New York Times. Ken. Johnson. April 5, 2014. May 3, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200503165754/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/arts/design/04lacq.html. live.
  8. Web site: Golden Seams: The Japanese Art of Mending Ceramics . November 8, 2008 . . 2014-04-05 . March 14, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170314183854/http://www.si.edu/Exhibitions/Details/Golden-Seams-The-Japanese-Art-of-Mending-Ceramics-4567 . live .
  9. Web site: Celadon porcelain bowl, named Bakōhan . . e-Museum - National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties . National Institutes for Cultural Heritage . 2023-04-02 . August 23, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230823010358/https://emuseum.nich.go.jp/detail?content_base_id=100886&langId=en . live .
  10. Web site: Kintsugi Is Recognizing Beauty in Broken Things Make. 2015-08-17. Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers. 2017-07-12. August 2, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200802162513/https://makezine.com/2015/08/17/kintsugi-japanese-art-recognizing-beauty-broken-things/. live.
  11. Roma . Caterina . April 2013 . Kintsugi . Ceramic Review . 260 . 63.
  12. Book: Bartlett, Christy . Flickwerk: The Aesthetics of Mended Japanese Ceramics . Iten . Charly . Holland . James-Henry . . 2008 . 9783930090211 . Ithaca, NY . 605712918 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231202144513/http://swisschado.ch/publications-en/know-how-en/63-flickwerk-the-aesthetics-of-mended-japanese-ceramics . 2023-12-02.
  13. Web site: Gold joint (mending gold) What is it?. 2014-04-02. 2013-05-04. ja. May 20, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200520205507/https://matome.naver.jp/odai/2136989780569618901. dead.
  14. Book: Kemske, Bonnie . Kintsugi: The Poetic Mend . Herbert Press . 2021 . 978-1912217991 . 84–95 . 1247084472 . September 12, 2022 . August 23, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230823010402/https://worldcat.org/title/1247084472 . live .
  15. News: It's as Good as Glue: Mending Shattered China. 2014-04-05. Kahn. Eve. January 17, 2013. New York Times. May 3, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200503215109/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/18/arts/design/repaired-china-the-potter-john-bennett-schoolgirl-rugs.html. live.
  16. Elliptical nose ring . nd . Quimbaya style, Colómbia, Middle Cauca River region, Late Period, 700–1600 . Gold Museum . O16113 . Bogotá . 2023-11-19.
  17. Web site: Westall . Mark . 2022-10-05 . YOBITSUGI: Beyond Repair . 2023-12-05 . FAD Magazine . en-GB.
  18. Book: Kemske, Bonnie . Kintsugi: The Poetic Mend . 2021-02-18 . Bloomsbury Publishing . 978-1-78994-000-8 . 43, 74 . en.
  19. Book: Hori, Michihiro . A Beginner's Guide to Kintsugi: The Japanese Art of Repairing Pottery and Glass . 2022-04-26 . Tuttle Publishing . 978-1-4629-2292-5 . 70 . en.
  20. Web site: Smashing idea to put it together again. February 27, 2011. Taylor. Andrew. Sydney Morning Herald. April 6, 2014. July 15, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200715134608/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/smashing-idea-to-put-it-together-again-20110226-1b990.html. live.
  21. Keulemans . Guy . 2016-01-02 . The Geo-cultural Conditions of Kintsugi . The Journal of Modern Craft . en . 9 . 1 . 15–34 . 10.1080/17496772.2016.1183946 . 1749-6772.
  22. News: Lippke. Andrea Codrington. December 15, 2010. In Make-Do Objects, Collectors Find Beauty Beyond Repair. New York Times. 2014-04-05. July 14, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200714064923/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/garden/16makedo.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0. live.
  23. Web site: The Aesthetics of Mended Japanese Ceramics Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. museum.cornell.edu. en. 2017-09-23. May 3, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200503191109/http://museum.cornell.edu/exhibitions/aesthetics-mended-japanese-ceramics. live.
  24. Web site: 2016-04-28. Artist Mimics Japanese 'Kintsugi' Technique to Repair Broken Vases with Embroidery. 2021-10-19. Colossal. en. August 23, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230823010439/https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2016/04/embroidery-kintsugi-charlotte-bailey/. live.
  25. Elman. Leslie Gilbert. July 2019. Monumental Femininity. Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine. November 4, 2021. August 23, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230823010430/https://gpgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Todays-Master-LaMonte-finished-5-29-19.pdf. live.
  26. Fasolino. Chris. February 2021. World of Glass. Vero Beach Magazine. 142. November 4, 2021. August 23, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230823010421/https://issuu.com/vbmag/docs/february_2021_full_digital_edition. live.
  27. Web site: Shirley. Kristen. Milamore Modernizes An Ancient Japanese Art, Kintsugi, In Its Jewelry. 2021-10-19. Forbes. en. August 23, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230823010358/https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristenshirley/2021/09/24/milamore-modernizes-an-ancient-japanese-art-kintsugi-in-its-jewelry/. live.
  28. Web site: 2020-08-18. Victor Solomon mends dilapidated LA basketball court using Japanese art of Kintsugi. 2021-10-19. Dezeen. en. August 23, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230823011433/https://www.dezeen.com/2020/08/18/victor-solomon-kintsugi-court-basketball/. live.
  29. Web site: 2020-08-06. Artist Uses Japanese Art of Kintsugi to Fill in Basketball Court's Cracks With Gold. 2021-10-19. My Modern Met. en. August 23, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230823011443/https://mymodernmet.com/victor-solomon-kintsugi-court/. live.
  30. Web site: Conoce a Poltchageist, el nuevo Pokémon que roba la fuerza vital de los humanos . Yahoo News . 24 August 2023 . es-US . 22 August 2023 . August 28, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230828054357/https://es-us.noticias.yahoo.com/conoce-poltchageist-pok%C3%A9mon-roba-fuerza-212000857.html . live .
  31. Web site: Morgan . Tom . 2023-08-25 . How Holding Absence made their most hopeful album yet . 2023-08-27 . Alternative Press Magazine . en-US . August 26, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230826205720/https://www.altpress.com/holding-absence-the-noble-art-of-self-destruction-interview/ . live .
  32. Web site: Binx . Anya . The Beautiful, Traditional Japanese Art That Inspired Thrawn's Troopers . Collider . September 26, 2023 . 23 January 2024.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kintsugi".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.