Posts from — March 2009

The great sleeping bear by Eiko Ishizawa.
I can’t tell you how safe I would feel sleeping in one of these.

via 149 sullivan street

Evidence of this? Not 30 minutes ago I was at Magnolia Bakery in Rockefeller Center buying cupcakes. The Roots were in line behind me.

Have a nice weekend!

Happy Friday the 13th!! I just saw that Wowlab will be displaying an interactive installation titled Factory and Fantasy, at the Miyagi Museum of Art. The show opens next week on March 17th and runs till the 29th. They even created a trailer for the show that is incredibly beautiful yet eerily foreboding; perfect for today.

The experimental installation is a collaboration between architects, digital artists, musicians and scientists, and deals with the realities and fantasies of life.

tu-tu r.t.d (2007) by Rock Paper Scissors
A simple display system for a single flower. Beautiful, no?

Japanese design firm Rock Paper Scissors’ work was recently on display at the Maison de la culture du Japon in Paris. They held their own, standing beside other notable designers, such as Naoto Fukasawa and Tokujin Yoshioka, in an exhibition on Japanese design. I wish I could have been there!!

Some beautifully tactile work by Tokyo-based architect Ryuji Nakamura. Makes me feel like I’m inside some kind of deepwater anemone. But if that was the case it would probably be much darker. And I would probably be dead.

The images are from his solo exhibition that took place in May of 2008. Those chairs in the background are his hechima chairs, also from 2008.

via grijs

Tama Art University, commonly referred to as Tamabi, is a prestigious art school in Tokyo (perhaps the equivalent of RISD?). They’ve produced several notable artists and designers, including Naoto Fukasawa and Issey Miyake, therefore, it’s no mystery why the art community pays a lot of attention to young artists being churned out of this educational system. So today, with the intention of possibly highlighting the next big thing in Japanese design, here are some highlights from apartment, the Information Design BFA show, which was on display last weekend in Harajuku.

Some common themes that seemed to permeate the show were self identity, interpersonal relationships, and memory (which ties back into identity).

i-them.log by Shoko Yoshikawa is an interesting reworking of the personal planner. The online planner allows you to add people who you interact with, placing emphasis on proximity of relationships, and allowing you to adjust how close you are to that person on a scale.

Rabu-neba sofa by Ai Fujii proposes natto (fermented beans and one of my breakfast time favorites) as  a metaphor for humans. The centerpiece of the installation is a sofa that works off a natto bean motif. A single natto bean amounts to nothing, but when combined – and the stickiness assures they are never separated – makes for a delicious meal of relationships.

Novel Thesaurus by Hiroka Hasegawa combines the kanji conversion tool with the concept of a thesaurus. The thesaurus contains multiple literary works and when you attempt to convert kana into kanji you get a list of suggested paraphrases from literary sources, instead of a list of kanji. For an English example, if you entered “pride” you may get “the hubristic tendencies of George W. Bush.”

Fuwafuwafuwa by Moeko Sugimoto is pretty straightforward; an investigation into all things snuggly. Compiled into a cleverly designed book, the practice attempts to understand why snuggly things make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Memory Cycle by Mari Sasaki is an interactive installation that I thought made a lot of sense. And keep in mind, EVERYONE rides a bicycle in Japan. In this piece the user must get on the bicycle and peddle, which generates a stream of images from the artist’s past, projected onto the wall in front of them. The act of peddling forces the audience to focus on an action that in turn generates memories.

images courtesy goen | click to enlarge

Another great album cover designed by Chie Morimoto for Japanese pop band Mister Children’s “Supermarket Fantasy,” released December of last year. What’s great about the concept is that, despite all it’s pop glamour, the shooting was done all in analogue. That’s right, Morimoto, along with her director of photography Mikiya Takimoto, opted to not go for any computer-generated graphics. Instead, all props are hung from a ceiling.

The band was so pleased with the shoot that they asked the designer to direct their music video for the lead song, Esora, as well. See below:

This is kind of random, but I’ve been listening to this song all morning. It’s Bebe Requin (Baby Shark) from the 1960s by France Gall. It’s about a baby shark that’s going to eat your heart.

How great are those male dancers!
Heard over on OK Fred radio. Lyrics, if you’re interested.

Those of you who have been following Spoon & Tamago for a while must be familiar with BadenBaden. They operate a design shop that features work by underground Japanese designers, many who don’t even have a website. But you wouldn’t know it by their work, which is often outstanding. Anyway, I like to visit every so often and post a few of my favorite finds.

Animal clock (in 2 colors!) by Igenoki (12,000 yen)

stool by tomo’s funiture lab (29,000 yen)
portobello watch by 是好装具 (27,000 yen)

To celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the opening of Omotesando Hills, an exhibition space titled “Magazine Library” will be opening tomorrow, and will remain open through March 14th. Entrance is free and visitors will be allowed to browse through a large quantity of art/fashion/design/architecture magazines from around the world! Given the demise of numerous magazine titles so far this year, this may be a very timely exhibition to attend.

Another reason to check out the space is to see Kyouei Design, who were invited to create a light/sound installation using 99 of their honeycomb lamps. Looks amazing!