images courtesy Takeshi Miyakawa | click to enlarge
Last week at Eyebeam Gallery in New York a group exhibition was held. Titled “The Creatomatic,” the show was curated by Nova Jiang, who challenged the artists to create works of art based on a computer program she designed of the same name. As Jiang describes it:
The ‘Creatomatic’ is a piece of software designed to accelerate the imagination and prompt new inventions. It works by randomly juxtaposing diagrams of two everyday objects from a selection of hundreds. Through free association, the two objects can prompt the invention of an entirely new object, which can be practical or nonsensical. Inspired by the accidental nature of creativity, the ‘Creatomatic’ uses the technique of surprise to overcome habitual ways of thinking and short circuit rational control.
In other words – to use an age-old cliche – it prompted artists to think outside the box.
Participating in the show was the Brooklyn-based Japanese designer Takeshi Miyakawa, who combined the concept of a candle and chandelier to create “Candelier.” Carved entirely from wax, the sculpture is as exquisite as it is ephemeral. And to exhibit it’s true beauty using flame is to shorten it’s lifespan, bringing it a step closer to its impending fate that is a pool of wax.
Check out some of our previous stories on Takeshi Miyakawa
Takeshi-san was also kind enough to give us a peak into his creative process. The Creatomatic proved to be as challenging as it sounds. Beginning with the tenuous preparation work of researching different types of chandeliers, sketching, model making, to experimenting with various wax casting, the finaly Candelier took roughly 10 weeks to complete. What’s amazing is that it functions as an actual candle, which wicks running through the entire piece.
Speaking of Takeshi Miyakawa, his Red Eclipse coffee table (previously) is part of a charity auction to benefit those affected by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. As of the writing of this post there’s only 12 hours left. You can bid here!
source: Takeshi Miyakawa (hat tip to Masako)
December 4, 2011 at 11:44 pm
So beautiful… I love how poetic the whole work is, that you can burn it down in one flicker of a light but how intensely and immensely well crafted it is. Bravo to the craftsmanship and professionalism that made this work possible. You need to see it in person.
December 6, 2011 at 10:42 am
luv…