The Artist’s Challenge
Formal education within fine art institutions often direct students to learn from art history. It is common to see artists continue their research to include the work of other artists including ‘old masters’. A profound influence for Bernard Leach was William Blake1. In his book The Potters Challenge2, Leach writes, “It is as Blake says: “Do not pursue skills, technique will follow the idea. The idea will find technique, it is included in the real gift.”3 Blake’s quotation provided Leach a dictum, which he could use as a framework of reference to support his work in his field of art, ceramics and philosophy.
Bradiotti writes, “Why should we pursue this project? For no reason at all. Reason has nothing to do with this. Lets just do it for the hell of it and for the love of the world.”
Bernard Leach was born in Japan to a British colonial Judge and brought up in his earlier years by his Christian grandparents in Japan. His life constantly shifted between East and West and in so doing between different schools of philosophy and their conflicting positions. On the one hand, he had a life seemingly rooted in Enlightenment values, dualistic principles