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Wu Kun-Shan and “Pointillist Pottery”

Wu Kun-Shan and “Pointillist Pottery”

Unlike many ceramic artists, the childhood of Wu Kun-San, who started out as a traditional woodcarving master, was marked by hardship. In his early years, Mr. Wu tried his hand at erecting scaffolding, and works as plumber, electrician, food store clerk, and carver of jade and wood. Fumbling about and frequently changing jobs, however, failed to satisfy his love of art.

Soon after going to work as a wood carver, Mr. Wu faced financial difficulties and had to depend on his wife’s income as a substitute teacher to meet expenses. Talking about those days when they were forced to eat wild herbs gathered from the nearby hills, Mr. Wu and his wife just looked at each other and laughed, saying, “Back then we ate just about all the wild herbs nearby. We led a simple life. Sometimes when we got paid, we gladly took the money to buy books on ceramics to do research.” With the support and encouragement of his wife, Wu Kun-San enthusiastically researched glazes and all types of firing techniques, and with an apprentice’s zeal, focused on creating pottery. In his work, Mr. Wu still maintains the spark of his initial enthusiasm, undaunted by difficulties, and devoting his best efforts to bringing his heartfelt conceptions to fruition.

In Wu Kun-Shan’s early works, underneath the thick and unwieldy slabs of clay, one can easily detect the influences of primitive art and the hand of a self-taught artist, while the bright colors and abstract designs of these “colored-clay paintings” lend them a distinctly decorative flavor. The piece “All Made Up and Ready for the Stage,” chosen for the 1991 Biannual Ceramic Arts Exhibition, marked the beginning of a period in which Mr. Wu’s works explored the themes of mankind’s greed and selfishness, the concealment of sincerity in pursuit of fame and fortune, and the donning of masks that make it impossible to recall one's true nature.

He remains determined, hoping through his research to produce exceptional works of ceramic art that embody the special flavor of Taiwan: simple, primitive, and pure. With characteristic purity of heart, Mr. Wu is forever observing and explaining the world from his own singular and guileless perspective. Speaking of his own creative approach, he says, “as long as you’re sincere, the sources of creativity can be found everywhere in daily life.” Having carved Buddhist images in his youth, it is no surprise that themes drawn from religion and myth frequently appear in his works.

In recent years, Wu Kun-Shan has synthesized his accumulated creative expertise, inventing a unique new “pointillist pottery” technique that adds the lustrous colors of primitive art to his otherwise simple and unadorned works. Said Mr. Wu, “ I drew my inspiration from the ‘contending colors’ porcelain of the Ming and Qing dynasties. But the ‘contending colors’ of those porcelains were too bright and refined, with a kind of ‘unattainable’ feeling about them, a quality that I don’t really like. My own feeling is that pottery should be intimate, a work of art that is close to the people. Working with the ‘contending colors’ format, I used ‘colored clay’ -a combination of clay and pigments-that I painted on the unfired clay slabs drop by drop. This ‘pointillist pottery’ retains the bright colors of the ‘contending colors’ style, but without the refined, high-gloss of porcelain. So the results have the original integrity of pottery, while giving the surface of the work a three-dimensional feel.”

At first glance, these gaily-colored works of “pointillist pottery” remind one of the totemic images on primitive pottery, while droplets of color-simple, rich, and pure-along with the internal repetitions and continuity of the patterns, produce visually intriguing designs. Mr. Wu’s use of pure tones and overlapping color are thus reminiscent of the traditional folk colors of China, and images from Chinese traditional folk tales and stories.

As Mr. Wu says, “At the same time I’m making pottery, I’m still working on creating Buddhist pieces. The only difference is that I change mediums from camphor wood to clay. The creative frame of mind is the same-hoping that the benevolent visage of Buddha will comfort stricken souls.”

My greatest treasures are a sincere and innocent heart, and inexhaustible creativity, and I’m thankful for everything that Heaven has given me. In the future, I hope to make use of every minute, putting forth my best efforts to complete each piece. I just want to use my two hands to create beauty and hope, depict simplicity, awaken long-dormant memories, and inspire deep contemplation and exploration. I also hope to develop pottery works that are distinctively Taiwanese.” In short, Wu Kun-San thus hopes to continue to turn his dreams into reality.