Wall Label
Lenore Vanderkooi
American
1996
Stoneware with bamboo
Lenore Vanderkooi’s ceramic water basket, adorned with bamboo, was created locally in Nashville, Tennessee. Although the piece is modern, it mimics the baskets used to carry water in ancient Japan. The piece demonstrates the need for simple rituals in our eternally complicated modern society.
Bamboo has been an important part of daily life in Japan since ancient times. The bamboo handle has a practical function, as it would allow two water baskets to be carried on one pole. Since the eighth century, basket-making required six to ten years of intense apprenticeship. Japanese bamboo baskets were used for Buddhist ceremonies, flower arranging and water carrying.
Vanderkooi’s ceramic basket is created with the purest hand in an attempt to emulate the ancient Japanese. The artist even harvests and prepares the bamboo by herself. She firmly believes that an object can create personal connections between the potter, the earth and the user.
Gabrielle Levitt, ’18
History of Art major; MSCS and Spanish minors
