Fun vintage Japanese pottery films.

[Saladin]

I'm home today with a messed up lower back watching youtube videos. I found these two which are pretty interesting as they are dated and feature some pretty famous potters, some of whom went on to be Living Treasures. I like the second film the best, as it features one of my favorite Mashiko potters making yunomi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raIwUJpeu8o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKgG8L0WEp4

[JBaymore]

The Peeler films. Yup... good stuff. I have them on VHS.

best,

................john

[Saladin]

These are great! I had never seen them, and I really liked watching Shimaoka make the tea cups. I also watched the one featuring a very young Warren Mackenzie.

[bliss]

Wonderful stuff. Thanks for sharing!

[tortoise]

Thanks for posting these.

[Saladin]

Here's another old one featuring Hamada Shoji and Tomimoto Kenkichi ; two giant names in Japan. Hamada is my absolute favorite of course. Also, the basket maker is amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgPZy4QqIHk

[eyvind]

I really enjoyed these old school films.
If you know of more, please share. I like this no nonsense documentary style even if it is a little grainy. The films do not necessarily need to feature Japanese pottery. Perhaps instructional videos on ceramic techniques or other ceramic traditions.
Thanks!

[debunix]

Cool links, thanks for posting.

[Saladin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Twwjiape3A

This one is a classic and well worth watching. Serious shino content at minute seven.

[Saladin]

This is my absolute personal Fav. I bought the DVD from the Phoenix Learning Group. My pottery teacher in HS showed this film every year, and it led me to really appreciate Hamada's pottery in Art School a few years later. I'm still obviously a fan. Bernard Leach has some good things to say (and possibly some nonsense) if you can understand him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cOwze7agxI

[JBaymore]

"Art of the Potter" is one of my absolute all time favorites also.

I have a scad of videos on VHS that I have bought........... unfortunately I'll soon have to upgrade it all to disks since VHS is rapidly going the way of the dodo.

However, as a visual artist and as a former musician, it really bothers me that all this copyrighted stuff is posted on Youtube like this. Sigh...........

best,

...............john

[Saladin]

John I can understand your feelings about this. Those peeler films were apparently put up there with permission of his family (see below). I'm sure the National Geographic and Art of potter films are not used with permission though. If old, dated films like these aren't properly preserved and transferred to digital then they will fall into decay and be lost forever. Some things just won't be reissued for various reasons. I'm still looking for the Village Potters of Onda. Here is another one featuring some great footage of a very youthful Warren Mackenzie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVsWbI5FUUA

"After Mr. Peeler passed away I helped Mrs. Peeler transfer them to digital format and put them on here for anyone to use. They were once the most used ceramic educational films in the western world. They are public domain so if you want to download them and edit out the music is OK by us. Wagoner Pottery"
"

[kikula]

These are wonderful. I seem to spend a lot of my spare time these days scouring the net for such stuff - thanks for the post!

[JBaymore]

John I can understand your feelings about this. Those peeler films were apparently put up there with permission of his family (see below). I'm sure the National Geographic and Art of potter films are not used with permission though. If old, dated films like these aren't properly preserved and transferred to digital then they will fall into decay and be lost forever. Some things just won't be reissued for various reasons. I'm still looking for the Village Potters of Onda. Here is another one featuring some great footage of a very youthful Warren Mackenzie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVsWbI5FUUA

"After Mr. Peeler passed away I helped Mrs. Peeler transfer them to digital format and put them on here for anyone to use. They were once the most used ceramic educational films in the western world. They are public domain so if you want to download them and edit out the music is OK by us. Wagoner Pottery"
"

I actually helped a bit with that Peeler project.

"Art of the Potter" is and was held by Phoenix Films educational film library. For institutional use, "Art of the Potter" costs many hundreds of bucks ($400+ last I checked). Steven Branfman and I many years ago tracked down and arranged to get "Art of the Potter" available for "personal use" for more like $70. Both Sperry's "Village Potters of Onda" and "Art of the Potter" can be had from Steven Branfman's Potters Shop bookstore... last I checked.

Go to the videos page here: http://thepottersshop.com/

best,

...............john

[Saladin]

Cool, and very interesting. I got the Art of Potter from Phoenix for about $25 (personal use) a couple of years ago.. Maybe there was a sale. They don't make films like these anymore alas.