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Cher on East and West contemporary art design in the process of learning ceramic design

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Cher on East and West contemporary art design in the process of learning ceramic design

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I would like to share what I feel about the differences between the East and Western contemporary art design in the process of learning ceramic design. Here I take the example of China and the UK.

Craft based VS. Creative based

Craftsmanship in East Asia

Since ancient times, the Chinese handicraft/art industry has mostly followed a principle of "technology inheritance",which we can also call the spirit of craftsmanship. Although this situation is less and less common in contemporary China, its influence on contemporary art and design is still profound. Now in Asia, especially in East Asia, among the countries I know, Japan and South Korea still pay great attention to "craftsmanship inheritance and craftsmanship spirit", especially Japan. The inheritance of some traditional handicraft skills in Japan is similar to that in ancient China, which is mainly inherited by families. Generally, the first son or daughter inherits the skills of their ancestors, such as tea ceremony and flower ceremony.

In terms of its influence, the inheritance system is very demanding for students' technical mastery. The principle is that the more similar your work is to the teacher's work, the better. The more skilled your work is, the better. Once you have mastered the skills of your master (which maybe takes more than 10 years), then you are free to find your own style, and you could design your works freely.

In order to figure out the differences between the styles of British and Chinese ceramic design students in their graduation exhibitions, I went to interview student Ning from Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute

The first project:

In CSM’s ceramic design , the first project was called ‘thinking through making’, by the name, we could tell it is an experimental project, let you do anything you like with the material ‘ceramic’, and the same time, you may think about what is it, and why you doing this, as well as why you like it. The process gave me a strong sense that ceramic is only a material to express my ideas, my imaginations, my designs.

And Ning said, the first year  in Jingdezhen Ceramic institute, was a whole year of skill training, like throwing, drawing, painting, glaze making, ect. In her opinion, ceramic design is more like a potter’s work, than a designer.

Here, we can see the difference between Chinese and western education in ceramic design. CSM is more about the cultivation of open thinking, creative thinking and design thinking, while Jingdezhen College pays more attention to the inheritance of ceramic technology and the production itself.

From the phenomenon of education, we can understand why there is an obvious difference between Chinese contemporary ceramic design and British contemporary ceramic design, as well as the design difference .

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Graduation show of Jingdezhen Ceramic institute(China)

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Graduation show of Jingdezhen Ceramic institute(China)

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Guth ends by suggesting balancing or navigating the study of Asian design in thinking of a 'center-periphery model' and 'disjunctive global flows'; thinking about whether we look at Asian design via the global hot spots of Asian design (scattered) therefore in accordance with globalisation and Asian design as part of the larger globalisation trend in design (could seem general) or if in research we focus more on local and regional areas within different Asian countries and cultures (more specific and in depth however overlooks the complexity of identity, style, product etc.)

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Material Culture Approach - (East vs. West)

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Material Culture Approach - (East vs. West)

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Process of design through the cultural lense (Cher)

Technique to design

design to technique

global immigration and technology of Asia

romanticism of Japanese style

ancestry and heritage of cultural identity in the global market

the narratives and interpretations of examples for museums and gallery

questioning maps, how maps were constructed and what these can say

the gaps in or generalisations of Asian (design) history in books

balancing or navigating both a 'center-periphery model' vs. 'disjunctive global flows'; thinking about whether we look a Asian design via the global hot spots of Asian design (only a few scattered) therefore in accordance with globalisation and Asian design as part of the large globalisation effect in design (could seem general) or if in research we focus more on local and regional areas within different Asian countries and cultures (more specific and in depth however overlooks the complexity of identity, style, product etc.)

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The difference of Contemporary ceramic design between"the East and the West"
(Here we take China and Britain as the example)

Craft mind or design mind?

Example 1: Central Saint Martins(UK) BA ceramics VS. Jingdezhen ceramic institute.

Example 2: British contemporary ceramic design VS. Chinese contemporary ceramic design

Graduation show of Central Saint Martins(UK)

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design as a western idea, encouraging categorisation; about identity politics

understanding what exactly is meant by ‘Asian design’ and how design in Asian countries, design across various Asian cultures have been presented in both European and American cultures, museums and academia, and also presented in Asian countries themselves; how design was presented and how it can/could/should in the present and near future

asian design had been described by the west or Eurocentric cultures, usually encouraging categorisation and also generalisation

what does 'Asian' mean, takes in so many different cultures and used from a Eurocentric point of view; again the problem with East/West, modernity/non modernity

author looks at the language that has been used to describe design that developed in Asian countries: points how terms such as ‘Asian’, ‘Asia’ and ‘Asian design’ are very general, exemplify how in the past and still today many various Asian cultures, ethnicities, and traditions are regrouped under the category of Asia, which ultimately overlooks Asia’s multiculturalism, complex and multi-layered history and identity too, it forces this one identity on objects and individuals who have much more  multi-layered backgrounds. Author notes this is also coming from a Eurocentric view and seeing anything else as ‘other’

books that talk about/are on the subject of Asian design; author considers these as 'empty multi-culturalism’, lack of specificity on the area or culture of focus, overlooks the fact that there are multiple cultures within Asia

maps are socially constructed, we have to think about who made them and in what context/for whom? ex: the division made in the past between Orient and Occident

how museums are structured, divided into galleries, and collections presented

paying attention to how museums are structured, how their galleries are divided, and how collections are presented; this can reveal information about the institution, its priorities, perspectives, and values, and the relationship it held towards objects from Asia, Guth provides the example of the V&A

looking at the language, decolonize it, based on the 'other', looking also from a post colonial lens

"deterritorialisation"

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Asian Design 101: Conceptual and Methodological Frameworks in Historicising Asian Design, by Dr Christine Guth

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Asian Design 101: Conceptual and Methodological Frameworks in Historicising Asian Design, by Dr Christine Guth

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Your report should include:

a summary of the key argument

your critical assessment of the argument

points that might relate particularly to a material culture approach