Shoji Hamada Video - Leon Juncaj

     What I found interesting about this video was how Hamada preserved art/furniture from many cultures. He converted the first house that he purchased into a museum appreciating his art and art from many different backgrounds. The art that he collected was not just from famous artists, but from anonymous craftsmen. The video mentions him having collected 300 17th century Windsor chairs from America and England, old Spanish chests, etc. I also found it interesting that when he traveled to American antique shops looking at Pennsylvania Dutch pottery and other works of art, he would sketch what he saw down on a notepad so that he would not forget the art that he saw. At around 5:00 in the video, it shows pots that he was making using the throw and coil method, and he later started etching his sugarcane design onto the pot. Later we see the workers bringing the pots down a hill where they will be glazed. I had anxiety when seeing them carry the pots like that, sometimes more than 10 pots at a time. I would definitely have broken a pot or two on accident if I went down that hill.