Spoon & Tamago

Page 292 of 406

Junya Ishigami collection for Living Divani

September 5, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

“Family Chair”

Japanese architect Junya Ishigami created a series of furniture products for Italian company Living Divani. Originally presented at Milan’s design week in 2010, the items, which include, among others, a set of chairs and a low table, will be available for purchase in Japan later this year.

The pieces are made from a variety of materials, but tie together as a family through magnificent optical effects. You’ll be able to buy them for exorbitant prices (surprise!) at the Tokyo-based e-interiors.

“Family Chair” (from 79,800 yen) are a series of chairs made from steel pipes and mesh and appear to be distorted. They’re all a bit silly looking, in a humorous kind of way.

“Garden Plate” (from 567,000 yen) is an extra-low table made from sandblasted high transmission glass. It’s perhaps the most theatrical of all the pieces, inviting the user to stage various objects in the many dimples, such as water, plants or candles – as suggested by the photo – to create their very own indoor landscape.

source: GQ Japan | Living Divani

New Costume National flagship store in Tokyo features work by Ryuji Nakamura and Patrick Blanc

September 2, 2011 / Johnny / 1 Comment

images courtesy excite.ism | click to enlarge

Yesterday, September 1st, marked the opening of Costume National Aoyama Complex (CNAC), the new flagship store of the “Edgy Chic” Italian fashion brand, Costume National. The new complex is, in a sense, a homecoming for the brand, which was founded in 1986 by Ennio Capasa, fresh from working in Japan as an assistant to Yohji Yamamoto. Along with a retail shop, the complex includes 2 other spaces – CNAC LAB and CNAC WALL.

CNAC LAB is a dedicated art space that will begin showing video artwork in October. But from now through the end of the month the space is encompassed by “Costume National: 25Years,” an exhibition designed by Ryuji Nakamura to showcase various archival looks that the brand has produced.
(check out all our posts on Ryuji Nakamura)

For the event, Nakamura has used over 4000 meters of polyester ribbon that functions like a lenticular print. Depending on where you stand, the ribbon can appear to be translucent to the point of non-existence, or it can appear to be opaque as a wall. As you approach the exhibition a curtain appears to close on all surrounding work so that, up close, you can only view a single piece at a time.

The other space – CNAC WALL – is a bar and terrace with a green wall created by Patrick Blanc. The vertical garden is reportedly his largest piece to-date in Japan and is comprised of over 100 species of plants that fit neatly together in 12 x 3 meters of lushness.

left to right: Patrick Blanc, Ennio Capasa, Ryuji Nakamura

source: excite.ism

Tomiyuki Kaneko | Yokai Substantiations

September 1, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

images courtesy ex-chamber |

Today is the first day of September, which means summer is winding down to a close. But it’s not too late to enjoy some old-school J-horror. Enter Tomiyuki Kaneko, who has made a name for himself by depicting Yokai, a class of supernatural demons in Japanese folklore.

The Yokai art arena is largely dominated by Shigeru Mizuki, the enigmatic author of the ever-popular GeGeGe no kitaro series. However, Kaneko differentiates himself by depicting large-scale creatures with an emphasis on minute detail you won’t find in Shigeru’s comics. Another differentiating feature is that Kaneko’s Yokai lean more towards realism than other artists. As with “Red Tiger,” Kaneko takes his cue from existing animals, which he then re-imagines as demonic “substantiations.”

The images are from Kaneko’s recent exhibition, “Yokai Substantiations,” which was on display at Mizuma Art Gallery through August 13th. Want more Yokai to chill your blood? Check out these great posts, as well as Matt Alt’s Yokai Attack!

Source: ex-chamber

A Beacon of Rebirth Poster Project

August 31, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

First came shock, then came loss and finally, a question: “I wonder what I could do.” Simply put, that was the process that moved an advertising professional from Morioka and a photographer from Tokyo to create A Beacon of Rebirth Poster Project.

The posters are comprised of a simple layout: a photograph of local residents, accompanied by short text. The posters a grouped by the location the photos were shot: Otsuchi, Kamaishi and Oofunato. What’s interesting – and what I particularly like about the series – is that they don’t solicit pity. Instead, the locals are portrayed as resilient and tenacious.

The posters have been on display at various sites in Morioka, Fukushima, Tokyo, as well as evacuation centers. You can purchase the posters (3,675 yen – 3,990 yen) via an order form in the Japanese version of the website. The English version doesn’t yet appear to have that functionality.

Source: twitter | fukkou-noroshi

Square Bookshelves by Nendo

August 31, 2011 / Johnny / 1 Comment

click images to enlarge

I love these new bookshelves designed by Nendo. They’re the latest addition to their dancing squares collection – an investigation into the possibilities of square planes – which they released earlier this year. Below are 2 different arrangements but the shelves can be infinitely customized to adhere to the orientation of almost any room, providing a dynamic visual effect. The only thing that’s missing are some books!

“one part of the bookshelf is frozen in a tumbling cascade, creating variety in the way books can be stacked.” – nendo

check out all our stories on Nendo.

source: designboom | nendo

Your Clock is Toast

August 30, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

regular-size toast clock | click images to enlarge

I love waking up to toast. But what if, in the most literal sense possible, you were actually woken up by toast. Yea, that would be pretty cool. Well now it’s possible, with this new toast clock by oh-real. It comes in regular size (3,150 yen) and mega size (5,800 yen). Awesome.

Mega-size

oh-real is a Japanese company that just launched earlier this year (their website doesn’t even function yet). We all know that Japan has perfected fake display food, but I can’t get over how real that toast looks (and how hungry it’s making me).

Regular-size

source: walkerplus | real gift |
hat-tip to Japan Pulse (I stole their twitter status for the title of this post)

Yasuyuki Okamura | Etiquette

August 30, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

Over the weekend the self-proclaimed singer-songwriter-dancer Yasuyuki Okamura launched a new teaser website in conjunction with a new double-album, “Etiquette (purple jacket) and (pink jacket)” that was released last week. The website features the artist performing a song with seemingly nonsensical lyrics (pen pen pen pen pen pen pen, grass!) as his whole body – coughs, convulsions, mouse taps and all – appear to give birth to a wide range tumultuous yet addicting sounds.

The musician can also be seen writing down his lyrics in, amongst other places, his twitter account. And if you visit said twitter account, lo-and-behold, there are the same lyrics. Fun!

I’m sure that I’m not the only one who noticed the ffffound coffee mug. Well that’s because the website was created by none other than the founder of ffffound, Yugo Nakamura and his interface design firm tha. (read all our stories on Yugo Nakamura)

Other throwbacks you may have sighted in the video include a volume of Le Corbusier : Complete Works, John Maeda’s Maeda @ Media, Oomori Shozo’s Shin Shikaku Shinron and Jeffrey E.F. Friedl’s Mastering Regular Expressions.

Okamura has had a rough couple of years. After being arrested not once, but three times over the past 10 years (he was released last February) for drug possession, he is attempting a comeback. But judging by his latest record sales, fans still adore him. In just 1 week both his albums sold roughly 10,000 copies, catapulting them to the 1st and 2nd place in indie charts for a brief period of time, after settling in the low teens.

source: twitter

Wall Animal-Escape by Yuko Hara

August 29, 2011 / Johnny / 1 Comment

We have a very active 2-year old and 4-year old and – in a sentiment much akin to that mirrored in Toy Story – we sometimes feel bad for the toys that are subject to their hyperactive energy. This is sort of how Yuko Hara, the self-proclaimed stuffed animal artist, was inspired to create her Wall Animal-Escape series. The series of 3, an elephant, a rabbit and a deer, depict each animal in a desperate attempt to escape, with just their cute, vulnerable little butt exposed.

I love how, even for me, it raised so many questions, like: “are they stuck?” and “what’s on the other side?” But maybe I just like looking at animal butts.

The pieces are all hand made by the artist and prices range between 12,600 (for the rabbit) and 26,250 (for the elephant). They are available from goodevening, a store that collaborates with artist to create unique children’s toys.

source: goodevening

Vehicle for Children by Masahiro Minami

August 26, 2011 / Johnny / 2 Comments

click images to enlarge

Back in 2009 when designer Masahiro Minami created the fantastic “Bears on Melting Ice” rocker for his daughter, he also promised himself that we would create an equally distinguished piece for his son as well. But as we all know, especially if you are a parent, time is a brisk wind. Luckily, for the designer, he set to work before it was too late and, over the past year, designed this exquisite wooden vehicle for his son.

One of the most significant considerations in designing the piece was that, at some point, toys such as these eventually become a nuisance, or simply end up occupying more space than they are worth. Minami proposed a simple solution that integrated a pull-out drawer attached to a tail-like rope so that the vehicle could also be used for storage. I also love how it comes equipped with a very serious pair of googly eyes!

source: Masahiro Minami’s blog

Picture Furniture by Ikuo Kubota

August 25, 2011 / Johnny / Comments Off

Ikuo Kubota is a photographer who, like many, got his start in commercial photography working for several fashion and lifestyle magazines. Inspired by the timelessness of Erik Satie’s Musique d’ameublement (furniture music), in 2009 Kubota set to work creating a body of artwork that could infinitely be enjoyed without growing old. The result was “Picture Furniture,” a departure from landscape and nature photography and, instead, a white-on-white chromatic sensation of dilution that re-imagines the mundane.

The upcoming solo exhibition will consist of roughly 30 gelatin silver prints and will open on Sept. 3 at Gallery Speak For.