images courtesy makoto azuma | click to enlarge
Remember botanical artist Makoto Azuma’s bottle flower series? Well he’s creating a new series, “Bottle Flower Quadrilateral,” this time in the shape of a rectangular box. Stunning!
No word on whether some sort of preservative is included in the flowers. Either way, it’s a shockingly gorgeous piece that finds beauty in both the life and the death of the medium.
You can read all our stories on Azuma right here.
Source: Azuma Makoto
I’m writing this post from my phone as i just received this message and am away from my computer all day. Takeshi-san is a good friend of mine. I’ll update this post as I get more information.
Brooklyn-based designer Takeshi Miyakawa was arrested on Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 2am for “planting false bombs” – he was installing a new series light sculptures inspired by the I LOVE NY plastic shopping bags around the city in trees and on lamp posts as part of NY Design Week 2012.
A passerby called in a bomb threat after noticing the sculpture installation. The NYPD arrested Miyakawa while a bomb squad verified that the sculptures were non-threatening. The designer and four of his colleagues co-operated with the police, repeatedly explaining that the hanging bags were an art-installation, and not explosives.
At an arraignment on Sunday, May 20, 2012 the prosecution recommended that the judge fix bail, while his lawyer, Deborah J Blum, characterized Miyakawa’s arrest as a gross misunderstanding as evidenced by his many accomplishments in the field of design.
The Honorable Martin Murphy decided to hold Miyakawa for a mental evaluation, extending his detainment for an additional 30 days.
The 50-year-old designer relocated Tokyo to New York City 23 years ago, working for the renowned New York architect Rafael Vinoly. Miyakawa established his solo design practice, Takeshi Miyakawa Design, in 2001.
[update 10:00pm Sunday, May 20th]
Via Gothamist:
according to the person who made the complaint on Friday, the issue wasn’t that Miyakawa’s art appeared to be a bomb, but how they were going to get it off the tree. “I called 311 asking how to get that thing off my tree, if it was my responsibility or the city’s…the 311 woman put me through to 911 then the cops came. I left for work,” they wrote via email.
Miyakawa is currently still in custody. A facebook group has been set up where you can find, among other things, people and addresses to write to, requesting Miyakawa be set free.
[update 11:30pm Sunday, May 20th]
Takeshi is currently being held at Rikers Island without bail.
[update 3:00pm Wednesday, May 23th]
After spending 4 nights in prison without trial, Takeshi was just released from prison without bail! He must return to court on June 21 for a psychiatric evaluation, but justice has been served.
[update 10:00am Monday, July 30th]
Under the terms of the ACD (adjournment in contemplation of dismissal) ruling on 19 July, Miyakawa will walk free as long as he stays out of trouble for the next six months. He has also been ordered to serve ten days of community service.
We’re all relieved that this issue has been resolved and that now Takeshi-san can go back to making great design work.
How adorable is this little dude? ChibiDashi is a miniature wooden jewelry drawer with a tiny space for small jewelry and a plenty of space for personality. I love how you pull him out from his behind.
Designed by conocoto, ChibiDashi is a blend of the Japanese words chibi (tiny) and hikidashi (drawer).
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Back in April we previewed Yasuaki Onishi’s upcoming installation at Rice Gallery in which the Japanese artist uses the simplest of materials – translucent plastic sheeting, strings of black glue, fishing line – to create monumental sculptures. In a new video shot by Mark and Angela Walley, the duo capture Onishi’s spatial forms and provide a glimpse into the making-of process. Stunning!
Reverse of Volume is on display at Rice Gallery through June 24, 2012.
all images by nash baker and courtesy rice university art gallery | click to enlarge
Source: swissmiss
a miniature house-shaped flower vase for your small saplings
“hanabunko” – because every bookshelf needs vegetation
“sasso” begins as a candle but is intended to be used as a planter once the candle burns down. It even comes with moss.
I’m slightly in love with these porcelain planters by 224porcelain, a Saga prefecture-based porcelain brand. I think my favorite is the planter disguised as a book. It even comes with its own book cover!
If you’ll recall, the porcelain brand was also behind the production of these pepper shakers.
As a child, did you ever wrap springs or wire clamps around your finger, pretending they were jewelry? If so, listen up! Kouichi Okamato of Kyouei Design just announced his latest product – wire spring jewelry (1,950 – 3,550 yen) made from components of the industrial manufacturing process.
The collection – an homage to all things mechanical – include wire clamp rings and spring earrings. I love the utilitarian look and feel of these and I admire Okamoto for finding beauty in even the most industrial of things. Admittedly I would have liked to see how they look against the skin of a model.
You can check out all our other posts we’ve done on jewelry right here.
source: press release
images courtesy gallery deux poissons | click to enlarge
The Tokyo-based gallery deux poissons, 1 of only 3 galleries in all of Japan who specialize in jewelry, recently announced that they had enlisted Torafu Architects to design their latest piece. The young architecture duo, who have no experience designing jewelry, managed to leverage their immense knowledge of material to design a ring that poetically captures the essence of the bond that is formed between two people who decide to spend the rest of their lives together.
But don’t call it a timepiece. “Gold wedding ring” is crafted from 18k-gold which is then coated with a thin layer of silver. As time passes the silver wears away to reveal the gold. It’s a poetic piece that visualizes the time shared between two people.
Depending on which ring you choose – round (52,500 – 94,500) or square (47,250 – 57,750) – the gold is revealed in different ways.
Check out all our stories on Torafu.
source: @_TORAFU
photos by guen-k
2012 is shaping up to be a year of great change for Tokyo, at least in terms of landscape. Within the last month we saw the opening of 2 new mega-retail complexes: Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku (Omohara) and Hikarie. And on May 22, Japan’s tallest structure, the Tokyo Sky Tree, will officially open.
But ahead of the highly anticipated event, architect Kengo Kuma‘s equally eye-popping Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center has opened its doors. The ambitious new 7-story structure – characterized by stacked stories, one on top of the other – features a roof deck and café, lecture rooms, exhibition spaces and a tourist information center/lounge. It actually wouldn’t look out of place as part of the Bathhouse town where most of the movie Spirited Away takes place.
photos by akasaka moon
top and bottom images courtesy tokyo-hotaru.com
The inaugural Tokyo Hotaru festival was held last weekend. And kicking off the festivities were an impressive display of 100,000 LED lights – made to resemble hotaru (fireflies) – that floated down the Sumida River through central Tokyo. Dubbed “prayer stars,” the LEDs were provided by Panasonic, who claims that the balls, which were designed to light up upon contact with water, were 100% powered by solar energy. After illuminating a large stretch of the river, which also hosts a popular fireworks festival in the summer, the LEDs were all caught in a large net.
photo by Jeremy V. | click to enlarge
photo by Jeremy V. | click to enlarge
photo by Jeremy V. | click to enlarge
There are plenty of literary references indicating that the Sumida River was once home to real fireflies, which were said to gather around clean, running water. Searching for these luminous creatures on the banks was a popular activity in Tokyo (Edo, at the time) during the 18th century. For sad and obvious reasons, fireflies no longer inhabit the area. The Tokyo Hotaru festival is part of the city’s “Sumida River Renaissance” initiative.
Like fireflies? Check out these stunning long-exposure photos of fireflies by Japanese photographer Tsuneaki Hiramatsu. Then read the story about how they went viral.
photo by makure | click to enlarge
photo by ajpscs | click to enlarge
photo by Mai Suzuki | click to enlarge
source: @stevenaga
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