The Other Half: A Self-Portrait by Kenneth Clark (review)

Books 341 Err0 is an Icelandic painter who has travelled widely, seen much and collected many things for incorporation in his pictures. These reflect aspects of the world of the past 25 years. His medium is predominantlycollage-ven the oil paintings seem to be derived from collages-and there seems no limit to what he will incorporate in them. Reproductions of art masterpieces (old and contemporary), advertising photos, posters, comics, cartoons , illustrations, lettering and typography are combined and transformed into sharp attacks on war, aggression, destruction, the affluent society, art critics, dealers and the art world in general and the oppression of humanityby misusesof technology and mechanization. This book is more like a scrap book than anything else. It gathers together reproductionsof the artist’s work from the age of 12 in 1944 to the date of publication. There is no text and not much organization. The works are grouped in series-sometimes according to when and where they were done, sometimes according to theme. They are in approximate chronological order but not strictly so. About 2,000 illustrations (I have not counted them) arecrammed into this book. They are in black and white, but 48 of them are repeated in color in the last 6 pages. Though the quality of reproduction is good, many oftheoriginal paintings are large and crowded with detail, and, since most of the reproductions are small, many not much larger than a postage stamp, it is hard to get much out of them. There is no list of the reproductions. The works are not dated, except within general groupings that may cover several years. The color reproductions at the back are not cross referenced to their original location in the main body of the book, so readers interested in learning the approximate date of one of them have to search through the whole book to locate it. There is no index. Thereisa list of one-man shows, a short chronological biography (erroneously called bibliography) and a bibliography. The best that can be said for this book is that the visual documentation is exhaustive and gives one a good general idea of what the artist has done in the last 25 years or so. Beyond East and West-Memoirs, Portraits and Essays. Bernard Leach. Faber and Faber, London, 1978.320pp. f8.95. Reviewed by Pamela Robertson* This is an important and enthralling book written by a masterhand with true poetic sensitivity, love, humour and generosity, by Bernard Leach, the distinguished potter of our time. After a short period at the Slade School in London, he went in 1909to Japan, where he built himself a Japanese house. With his friends Morita and Tomimoto he was invited with other artiststo decorate pottery, and thus began his career as a ceramist, working first in the pottery of Kenzan and then setting up his own workshop. With his friend Yanagi-a Buddhist philosopher interested in Western culture-he embarked on the age-long quest for truth and beauty. This led him to study Confucius and took him to Peking in the early years of this century, of which we have a delightful account. Returning to Japan in 1916, Leach met and worked with Hamada. Togetherthey decided to start a pottery in England and settled at Carbis Bay in Cornwall. In the 1920s Leach welcomed at St. Ives potters who have since become well known, including Michael Cardew. Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie and Matsubayashi . In 1932 Leach was invited to start the pottery work at Dartington Hall. Two years later he revisited Japan and also exhibited in Seoul. On his return to England he settled at Dartington and studied the Baha religion of Iran. After World War 11, Leach’s career took on an international dimension, with lectures and exhibitions in the U.S.A., Norway. Sweden, Australia and New Zealand. He met the French ceramist Francine del Pierre, with whom he held joint exhibitions in Paris, Caracas and Bogota, which had a tremendous success. Leach’s human approach is evident throughout the book, revealing his love and understanding of people-it won him the everlasting friendship of many fine potters. At the same time he writes about the humble with respect...