Spoon & Tamago

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Hirotoshi Ito | Laughing Stone

October 7, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

I do wish I had $1500 because I would definitely buy Hirotoshi Ito’s stone sculpture “Laughing Stone.” How amazingly creepy yet enchanting! It would be hard to resist strategically placing it a garden somewhere for a priceless practical joke.

Hirotoshi Ito is a stone sculptor who is represented by the Keiko Gallery but also sells his work through the newly launched website ichii – a global marketplace for handmade Japanese goods. The stone reminds me of this old Japanese cartoon character.

You can see more of his amazing sculptures on his flicker stream. Honestly, I’m not quite sure how he does it.

Source: @ritorumagajin

Freitag Opens First Store in Tokyo

October 5, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

Images courtesy fashionsnap | click to enlarge

Freitag, the brand of environmentally conscious bags created from well-travelled truck tarpaulins, unravelled seat belts, bicycle inner tubes and airbags, have opened what is to be their first flagship store in Asia – Freitag Store Tokyo. The Freitag brothers Daniel and Markus were in Tokyo last night at their new location in Ginza (google map) for a press preview. The store opens to the public on October 7.

The 2-story shop was designed by Torafu Architects. In keeping with the philosophy of the brand, Torafu renovated an old an old shoe shop called ‘Boston,’ and attempted to retain a lot of what was previously there. I find the utilitarian look and feel to be a perfect fit for the store. (check out all our stories on Torafu)

Source: fashionsnap

Ie-tag by Naruse-Inokuma Architects | Redux

October 5, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

click images to enlarge

Naruse-Inokuma Architects’ clever redesign of the standard sticky note ie-tag (previously) is now for sale! The house-shaped page markers, which are made from waste generated during the architectural construction process, are just 2 euro a pop! You can get them at SuckUK.

(check out all our posts on Naruse-Inokuma Architects)

source: @j_inokuma

Keita Kurosaka | Midori-ko

October 4, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

Trailer for Midori-ko

Keita Kurosaka is an illustrator and animator who’s been exhibiting his work since the early 80s. Characterized by grotesque and surreal imagery, his work is hardly mainstream. But for over 4 years now rumors of a full-length animated film by Kurosaka have been tickling the hearts of fans wanting more. Now, finally, Midori-ko has hit theaters in Japan. It’s a 55-min film about scientists working to create a “dream food” in anticipation of a food crisis. They succeed in creating “Midori-ko,” but it has no intention of being eaten and escapes. A desperate search and ravenous battle unfolds.

A ten-year labor of love and composed from over 20,000 images, Kurosaka Keita’s animation film Midori-ko brings together narratives of bio-mimicry, food politics, and an uncanny, mystical environmentalism.

The team of scientists (above), and other fantastic characters from the movie | click to enlarge

You can see it at Uplink in Shibuya (through October 14), as well as at other indie movie theaters across Japan. If you want more, check out the 2007 music-video Kurosaka did for the alt metal band Dir en Grey, Agitated Screams of Maggots (lovely title, no?). This probably gives a sense of what to expect from the feature film.

Source: hitspaper | Anipages | USC

Tatsuro Kiuchi

October 3, 2011 / Maddie / Comments Off

We’ve previously posted an illustration by Tatsuro Kikuchi, but wanted to share more charming works by him. Tatsuro Kiuchi was born in Tokyo and attended International Christian University in Tokyo – studying biology. He started his art career when he moved to the US and attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California; where he graduated with distinction. He started out illustrating children’s books in the US and Japan. His fun and colorful illustrations have gained a large fan base and has been commissioned to do work for the Royal Mail, Starbucks (and this), and Toyota to name a few.

While the the color illustrations are vibrant and fun, I really enjoy his monochromatic series as well. There’s something very serene about them.

Here’s one last fun stereo pair (3d) piece.
quick how to

click to enlarge

Tatsuro is also featured in a iPhone/iPad app that is available for FREE(!) at the iTunes App Store: Art Tails – Art Books by World Creators for Japan.

Tatsuro Kikuchi’sBlog | facebook | Flickr

Shoko Matsumiya sculpts imaginary organisms from glass

September 30, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

All images courtesy ex-chamber | click detail shots to enlarge

Currently participating in the group exhibition “Subjective Objects” is Shoko Matsumiya, a 30-year old glass sculptor who creates intricate artworks by melting and adhering shards of glass. Matsumiya is a curious artist who attributes her macro organism-like sculptures to a childhood imaginary creature she believed would show itself if she stared into dark corners long enough. It’s called a “Duquheapuer” (pronounced duke-oo-heaper) she once said in an interview, explaining that she came up with the equally imaginary name as a child, but now calls it “Duque” for short.

Using chards of glass, which she breaks herself by smashing various soda bottles, Matsumiya carefully assembles her creatures using glue and the occasional blow-torch.

source: ex-chamber

TOTO’s Toilet Motorcycle Will Travel Japan Entirely on Biogas

September 30, 2011 / Johnny / 3 Comments

Hold on to your butts everyone! That’s right. Japan’s number one toilet maker TOTO has created a toilet-motorcycle hybrid vehicle that runs entirely on biogas (read: human waste). Theoretically, as long as the driver continues to eat and drink, the motorcycle could run forever! Dubbed the Toilet Bike Neo Project, the campaign is part of the TOTO Green Challenge, the company’s stated goal of achieving 50% reductions in CO2 emissions in bathrooms by 2017 (vs 1990 levels).

In just 6 days the highly anticipated toilet motorcycle will take off on a month-long journey from Kyushu to Tokyo, making stops along the way to show off their new innovation and to educate people on the various green initiatives that TOTO is undertaking. For the last couple days the TOTO blog has been teasing us with renderings and even a blurred out image of the actual toilet motorcycle. But today – finally! – they have revealed their innovation in full form. Behold: Toilet Bike Neo!

Toilet Bike Neo is also equipped with some other cool functions. It uses residual light imagery to write messages in the air as it zooms by (you can see an example by scrolling down to their Sep 26 blog entry). It can also play music to entertain spectators. Finally, the toilet actually talks. This is a technology that TOTO has been equipping many of their new toilets with. For a complete archive of all the new toilet technology, take a look at these fascinating videos, which include fortune-telling, stock-quote-reading, weather-forecasting toilets.

If you’re wondering, how do I catch a glimpse of this fantastic contraption? Well, you’re not alone. The motorcycle doesn’t take off until October 6th so the staff are slowly leaking details. What we know is that the starting point is the TOTO Headquarters in Kitakyushu. It will then head to Nakatsu in Oita prefecture to pay homage to an ass-shaped boulder (yes, they are obviously having a lot of fun with this). From there the motorcycle will hitch a ride on a ferry to Hiroshima, then to Okayama and then to Kobe. After riding around Nara and Kyoto they will hit up Aichi, Shizuoka and then Tokyo. For more details you’ll have to keep checking their blog, where daily updates have been posted.

UPDATE – 10/6/2011
The toilet bike neo has launched! You can follow its adventures on twitter.

(From here on is the nerd inside me talking. If you have no interest in Japanese manga, stop reading now.) I couldn’t help but think that this toilet was invented for auto-bike kozo (オートバイこぞう), a fictional character who appears in the manga Dr. Slump – Akira Toriyama’s 1980 pièce de résistance. Accordingly, auto-bike kozo suffers from a rare, yet tragic orphan disease known as I-die-if-I-disembark-my-motorcycle syndrome. Because of this disease he is forced to wear clothing that comes with an opening around his rear (click here for visual) so he never has to take a bathroom break. Auto-bike kozo – your dream just came true.

auto-bike kozo

Numabookcat

September 30, 2011 / Johnny / 1 Comment

click images to enlarge | (the sign reads “this is a bookshop”)

If you’ll take a walk down memory lane with me, almost 4 months ago the Arts collective NAM collaborated with Numabooks – a group of creatives whose medium of choice is the book – to create a mobile pop-up bookshop. Well, Numabookface was popular enough to spawn a 2nd edition. It recently moved to a new location and was reincarnated as a cat. Numabookcat can be seen through October 30 at NADiff, the multi-purpose artsy building (see below for details).

The same rules still apply: for 4200 yen you have a little conversation with the host, who, based on those talks, will select 12 books for you. You will then get 1 book in the mail for an entire year.

check out all our posts on NAM

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Numabookcat
NADiff a/p/a/r/t Window Gallery (Map)
2011.9.23 – 10.30 (closed mondays)
12：00 – 20：00

source: NAM blog
(thanks Nakazawa-san!)

2450 white / clear by Junpei Tamaki

September 29, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

Power in numbers – it’s a story that’s been told many times, with varying aims. But it’s latest iteration is an architectural chair titled “2450 white / clear,” and is the latest work of designer Junpei Tamaki. As the name somewhat implies, the chair is constructed from 2450 pieces of acrylic sticks that each measure 5mm. If laid flat they could span the Empire State building, twice.

Alone, they are helplessly frail. Gridlocked together, they transform into a mysterious structure that maintains a visual fragility but is a robust, functional chair that supports almost any weight.

Source: architecturephoto

Polar Ice by Atsuhiro Hayashi

September 27, 2011 / Johnny / 8 Comments

Wow! Talk about making a statement. I’ve just found the best way to accessorize those refreshments you’re serving up at your next climate change conference. Two silicon cups produce these unique ice cubes that depict a polar bear and 2 penguins standing on a glacier. Once in your drink, they gradually melt away, mimicking a real-life scenario that many arctic animals are currently facing.

Originally designed by Atsuhiro Hayashi, the concept was unveiled at Tokyo Designer’s Week back in 2009. But it wasn’t until over last summer that the idea finally came to fruition. They’re available in our shop for $22.

Looking for more design with an environmental twist? Check out the article I wrote on Masahiro Minami’s Bears on Melting Ice.