World-renowned. European roll. 2

Author: Bai Ming
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2005-01-01
Features: This book is quite different from my previous works:
1. Before submitting the manuscript, I deleted an article on Chinese and foreign ceramic art research, nearly 20,000 words long. What I had to say has been covered in several of my other books and articles. Upon review, these statements, though varied, seemed to delve deeper, yet they were nothing new—merely "old clichés" that had no reason to occupy readers' valuable time. As a member of the ceramic art community, my emotional perspective also made it highly likely that my article would be biased. In the endless questioning of concepts and techniques, tradition and modernity, theory and practice, and national and international issues within China's higher education and contemporary art environment, it was even more unnecessary to elaborate excessively. Therefore, after the short preface and postscript, as the author, no introductions written by me appear in the book. I wanted the outstanding works of ceramic artists from around the world to be the most important narrative subject, supporting the academic value of ceramic art itself being "seen," thereby minimizing the author's influence.
2. The massive eight-volume format includes 112 internationally renowned ceramic artists, most of whom are members of the International Ceramic Association of UNESCO. Many of them are celebrated in the global ceramic art world, and many are masters whose works in modern ceramic history cannot be overlooked. Most of the artists included have provided images and descriptions of their creative processes, which was also one of the most challenging and most laborious parts of the book's solicitation and production process. Those in the industry know how difficult and unimaginable it is to ask so many influential artists to provide their creative processes within a relatively short time. Fortunately and proudly, ceramic artists from around the world, with their understanding, support, and selfless cooperation, have made it possible for this book to showcase these magical and uniquely charming creative processes, allowing the world to explore the different techniques and materials used by ceramic artists from various countries. This gives the book precious historical and documentary value as well as the function of a textbook on techniques and methods. This is rarely seen and uniquely distinctive among contemporary ceramic art books, journals, and art collections worldwide. In today's frequent exchanges within the international ceramic art community, decoding the creative processes of so many renowned artists will undoubtedly have a profound impact on promoting and enriching ceramic culture and inspiring new ceramic art techniques.
3. The artist biographies can reveal the economic and cultural environment in which the artists live and are educated, while their creative philosophies (or self-reports) reflect how they view the world and their inner selves. Although these are not the only ways to interpret their works, they at least provide direct help in better understanding the artists and their creations.
4. All the works and demonstrations, as well as the text, in the book are personally provided and signed by the artists for authorization, a practice rarely seen in China's publishing industry. Each artist's works can stand alone as a separate volume, and I have made no cuts as long as the clarity meets publication standards. Strictly speaking, this is a self-selected collection of artists from around the world, and they are the true authors of the book.
5. Although the letters inviting these artists explicitly requested them to provide personal studio environment photos, creative process demonstrations and descriptions, artistic philosophies, biographies, and works, a small number of artists did not provide complete creative process demonstrations and some materials due to age, health conditions, or time constraints. This is one of the differences between compiling an international-scale art collection and simply editing a collection of Chinese artists' works. Moreover, some of the text materials provided were not in the required English, so after translating them into Chinese and then back into English, some inaccuracies were unavoidable. The reason we did not choose a simpler and more conventional way to compile the works but instead added so many challenging content and bilingual text formats was undoubtedly to give the book more academic depth and greater influence on international exchanges. However, the effort and hardship involved in this far exceed the imagination of ordinary people.
6. More than half of the artists in the book are being systematically introduced in China for the first time. Some of the artists I have previously introduced also feature new works along with creative process content, giving the book a fresh appearance.
7. I invited several artists and art critics from different nationalities and backgrounds to contribute articles to this book. The sincerity, wisdom, and heartfelt attention to Chinese ceramic art, as well as the selfless support for the author, that shines through these articles not only add a diverse academic perspective to the book but also infuse it with vitality and a warm current of care.