NOTES FOR A DOCUMENTARY FILM ON JOY BROWN | My father graduated from High School with a degree in chemistry. Despite trying many other adventures, he always remained fixated on his vision of the alchemist. He dabbled in the music publishing business and founded Qualiton, a record label catering to classical music lovers.
Towards the end of his life, he became interested in reviving an abandoned porcelain factory in the provinces, founded by refugees from the Spanish Civil War. The factory was used by Spanish artists like Luis Seoane, Diaz Pard, and Geno Diaz until they were able to restart the Royal Porcelain Factory of Sargadelos back in Galicia. Fascinated by the idea that porcelain was among the first substances produced by mankind and couldn't be found in nature, my dad often used it as an analogy for other concepts.
The Birth of Ceramics and Human Ingenuity
During the making of a documentary about Joy Brown, I visited master ceramist Paul Chaleff in upstate New York. In our conversation, I felt echoes of my father's fascination with human ingenuity. While this part of the interview might not make it into the documentary, I believe it's worth sharing for its own sake.