Did you know artists talk to each other, even if they never meet? Take a close look at the two objects in this case. One was made recently by an artist named Yoo Byung-Ho, and the other is over 500 years old, made by someone whose name is now forgotten. But Mr. Yoo was thinking of that artist, and others he never met, when he made his piece.
One way ancient Korean artists decorated their clay was to make a stamp and then use it to press the same design over and over into wet clay. It let them work faster, and more accurately, than having to carve the design each time.
Yoo Byung-Ho was thinking about his country’s long history of creating beautiful items out of clay when he created his plate. But he was also thinking about how to make it in his own style. So he used the same stamping technique, but in a whole new way. Take a closer look at both pieces to see how….
And, when you are done looking, gently give stamping a try. The clay stamp to your right was given to the museum by Mr. Yoo – it is one he used to create the plate you have been looking at!