Untitled / White Dango

Artist / Maker Jun Kaneko (Japanese, born 1952)

Date2017

MediumGlazed ceramic, stone base

Dimensions35 × 19 × 11 in. (88.9 × 48.3 × 27.9 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineGift of Barbara J. Janson. In the Art on Campus Collection, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberU2025.62ab

Status

Not on view

CultureJapanese-American

Label TextKaneko built his first Dangos, named after Japanese dumplings, in 1983 at an industrial kiln in Omaha, Nebraska, provided by the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. These hand-built monoliths were six feet tall and weighed five and a half tons upon completion. Since this first experiment with scale, Kaneko’s creativity and ingenuity have produced Dangos over thirteen feet in height. Yet for Kaneko, the scale of his Dangos is inherent to their form. He says, “Oftentimes I am asked why I make such large-scale work. In making any object, we cannot escape the problem of scale. I believe each form has one right scale. Whether I’m making a large or small object, in the end I hope it will make sense to have that particular scale and form together, and that it will give off enough energy to shake the air around it.” Kaneko’s Dangos have been recognized not only as the largest free-standing ceramic art pieces in the world, but as iconic masterpieces of contemporary art, represented in the collections of art museums and cultural institutions around the world. SOURCE: https://junkaneko.com/artworkcategory/ceramics/

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