If you missed out on seeing the Kami-Robo shows at GGG and the Parco Gallery earlier this year (some previous posts), here’s another chance to see Tomohiro Yasui’s paper fighters in all their glory, this time at the KDDI Designing Studio.
KDDI Designing Studio showcases over 200 “Kami-Robos”, robot-fighters made out of paper. Discover their variety, and experience just part of a whole new world lying ahead. (
TAB)
It starts today, and ends October 2.
Update: Be warned, it seems that this is just a low-key “artist profile” kinda thing, so don’t go there expecting something anywhere close to the GGG or Parco Gallery shows.
The “Theater Flyer Collection Exhibition,” which I mentioned in a post last week, is ending this week, and I’m posting the TAB entry as a reminder that you should really catch this if you haven’t already. It’s an amazing collection of graphic work, and don’t let a lack of interest in the theater stop you.
This is an exhibition of 350 flyers from the “Theater Flyer Collection” by Pie Books. Fliers for theaters are usually high quality designs that convey the personality of the performers and appeal of the performance. For small companies that have no way of reaching people through the media, flyers are an irreplacable communication tool. This is an exhibition for theatergoers and non-theatergoes alike. (
TAB)
It’s at Creation Gallery G8, and ends September 30 (this Friday).
Although I’ve yet to meet him in meatspace (even though he doesn’t live that far from my place), David Macklem has been a longtime reader and we keep in touch. I updated you a while back on the work he did for Knee High Media’s relaunched website, and his latest site is for the independent music label Soulside Kitchen. He’s also formed a design collective: Maku Remu.
If the above image (“Uncharted Settlements I”) is anything to go by, the upcoming Slater Bradley show at the Taka Ishii Gallery in November is going to be a fun one — let the geek within take control!
Taka Ishii Gallery is pleased to announce the debut solo exhibition in Japan of New York based artist Slater Bradley. A selection of the artist’s recent solo and group museum exhibitions includes the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York, 2005), the Museum Reina Sofia (Madrid, 2005) and the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, 2004). Slater Bradley’s work was first exhibited in Japan in the group exhibition Study (Taka Ishii Gallery, 2002). In 1998 the artist collaborated with Takashi Murakami’s Hiropon Factory on the release and distribution of the video Take me home forever and ever .
A significant portion of Slater Bradley’s work is comprised of photographs and films produced in collaboration with his friend and look-alike, Benjamin Brock. Throughout their collaboration, Brock has served as Bradley’s doppelganger – first posing as the artist in press and other promotional material, subsequently portraying cultural icons significant to Bradley. The icons impersonated by Brock include two independent rock musicians, Ian Curtis of the band Joy Division and Kurt Cobain of the band Nirvana, as well as the ubiquitous Michael Jackson. Significantly, each of these cultural figures was destroyed, in large part, by the public nature of their existence. Both Curtis and Cobain, having attained early fame, committed suicide; Michael Jackson’s continual transformation from pop idol to spectacle continues to unfold in the media. For each icon, Bradley produced a film using equipment and formal devices directly referencing the figure and their time. These films and their accompanying photographs comprise the series known as the Doppelganger Trilogy .
Taka Ishii Gallery will exhibit, in its entirety, a new body of work entitled Uncharted Settlements. This new series consists of 6 large-scale photographic works, a film piece and a boxed photographic portfolio. Uncharted Settlements exists as a record of Bradley and Brock’s participation in Celebration III, a convention organized by fans of the Star Wars film series. Dressed in Star Wars costumes, the artist and his doppelganger pose for photographs, capture moments on film and make new friends; their actions indistinguishable from those of other convention participants. Star Wars serves as a further environment in which Bradley may examine mediated identity; the participation of a cast other than Brock -a cast which includes Bradley himself- further complicates the project.
The show will be held November 11 to December 10.
It’s that time of the year again — onedotzero_nippon is back in town, taking place at Unit in Daikanyama this year, September 30 to October 2. I’m a big fan of the festival, and try to catch a few programs every year (finances permitting). On top of the film showcase (have a look at the schedule here — the retrospective program this year covers the works of Mike Mills), Unit will host a few live events, on both Friday and Saturday nights, starting at 23:00.
Ken Mizutani, noticing that I tend to mention tees here a lot (still waiting for my Threadless order to come in), recently contacted me to talk about his UK-based online store/label called The World Chico. More than just a store featuring cool t-shirts, they also started an exhibition project that sounds interesting. Here’s more from Ken:
The project was launched in May to exhibit the work of established artists alongside talented newcomers some of whom are exhibiting for the first time and also for whom the exhibit provides a much-needed platform for their work. Our hope is that we can continue to attract new people of such high calibre to shine a light on their work and perhaps even help them along the first few steps of their careers.
Established artists who have allowed their work to be shown to support the project include: photographer Leon Chew (who’s work has appeared in numerous publications including Blueprint, ViewPoint & Next Level), illustrator Mr-Bingo (who has been commissioned by the BBC, Dazed & Confused and Carhartt) and illustrator and textile designer Eugenia Tsimiklis (whose fabric designs have been used by several high profile US fashion houses and whose illustrations have appeared in The Sunday Telegraph, The Big Issue and Etisoppo).
The success and enthusiasm for the artist project has inspired a second showcase for music that has also started to attract established artists, whose work will appear alongside unsigned acts. So far the site features a diverse range of music; Afro-latin house from Faze Action, spoken word artist Dwayne Morgan, Jazzy instrumental hip hop from Nick Nack, exotic lounge music from Rollercone and my personal favourite a guy called Capital who plays guitar beautifully he’s been on tour in Japan recently and
getting a big underground following!
And speaking of t-shirts, Graniph has recently launched a few new designs.
The one good thing about being stuck at home because of the flu is that you don’t have to feel guilty when you spend a couple of hours playing WE LOVE KATAMARI! What an absolutely beautiful blend of colorful pop graphics, simple yet addictive gameplay, and probably the best soundtrack ever to grace a game. I’m having way too much playing this — and my mind is clouded with thoughts of rolling the whole world up into a katamari…
Update: Well, that couple of hours turned into a few more. What a terrific game.
Momus follows-up yesterday’s post on DAZED & CONFUSED with a look at RELAX. He also mentions the Japanese edition of DAZED & CONFUSED, on which I’d like to comment, but like him, it’s not a magazine I follow.
I owe you a post on the Swedish Style events I’m organizing at Cafe Pause in Ikebukuro with NCM (more specifically, with good ol’ Jesper), and unfortunately I’ve been hit with the flu and I’m just not feeling at all like sitting in front of the computer — there’s also a “This Week in Magazines” post I need to write up. I’ll try to get to it tomorrow, if I’m feeling better. In the meantime, here’s another shot of Pause’s interior, which I took the other day to help Jesper visualize the space for some installations.
I’m embarrassed to say that I still have never made it to Living Design Center Ozone — BUT, I will… one day… I swear. Maybe for this:
Professional industrial designers and design students come together to propose new ecodesign products. The students have been engaged in a workshop since May, and this exhibition showcases their output. (
TAB)
It ends September 27.
I just did something I should have done a long time ago — update the RSS 2.0 feeds at the TSiG blog so that they offer the full content instead of just excerpts. Here are the links:
You know what — I quite like the “peaceful nature imagery, [...] unashamedly feminine women [...] and reassuring pictures of cakes and cafes” found in Japanese magazine.
Japanese film site Midnight Eye has just updated, and they’ve put up a feature that looks at the influence of the PIA Film Festival on the indie film scene.
Oh, Marxy‘s gonna love this! Found at the TSiG blog:
Members of popular hip hop groups Rip Slyme and m-flo are to team up with fashion designer Nigo (33) to make their recording debut in the US. Ryo-Z (31) and Ilmari (30) from Rip Slyme, m-flo vocalist Verbal, Kaze no Hito’s MC Wise, and Nigo as DJ will make up the 5-man unit Teriyaki Boyz. They will release their debut album “Beef or Chicken” on Def Jam Recordings on November 16. Nigo is best known for the A Bathing Ape street fashion brand, which has a huge cult following. He is a friend of Def Jam artist Jay-Z, and got the idea of putting the group together this summer. The album also has a stellar lineup on the production side, with Japan’s Cornelius alongside Grammy Award winners the Neptunes, Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys, French artists Daft Punk, and DJ Shadow. The group will hold a launch party in New York and play live dates in five cities towards the end of the year. There are no plans for the members to continue as a group after that. (
japan-zone.com)
Click here to see a preview image.
Jean Snow is a contributor to 
He will be contributing to the upcoming fifth editions of 
