Art Frenzies & Desirable Designs, Japanese Style

A reflection on current Japanese muddling of old and young, the exhibition Tokyo Design Week 2015 (TDW) discloses this year’s theme: Edo x Harajuku. The selected goings-on join old Tokyo (Edo) and contemporary Tokyo (Harajuku) with today’s Kawaii trend that focuses on the quality of cuteness in Japanese culture, creativity and technology. More than 10 main events celebrating traditional and contemporary Japanese design, art, fashion, music and food will liven up the venue Padiglione Visconti.

Certain events center on Harajuku, an area of Tokyo which represents Japanese youth culture and fashion. Harajuku Kawaii advocate Sebastian Masuda brings Tokyo Girls Room by Chintai, a single-room space exhibition. He’ll use this to present Colorful Rebellion – Seventh Nightmare bedroom installation.

Sebastian Masuda brings Tokyo Girls Room by Chintai,

Japanese born, contemporary female artist Asami Kiyokawa will present Tokyo Monster; an avant-garde homage to the Harajuku fashion subculture born in the 90’s. The Harajuku street fashion magazine Zipper will present 4 typical Harajuku styles. And the Harajuku Theater will fill eager ears with Japanese pop culture and Harajuku power through music with the group m-flo (Verbal and Taku Takahashi), as well as videos and live show recordings of new Japanese artists.

On the “Edo” angle, there will be exhibitions inspired by ukiyo-e: A Japanese art movement from the Edo period (between 1603 and 1868) that depicts everyday life and interest of the common people and is comprised of paintings, original narratives and Japanese prints engraved on wood. Seibu Sogo organized two exhibitions: Homage to ukiyo-e with participating world-renowned designers such as Ross Lovegrove and the Hokusai Manga Inspired Exhibition with distinguished artists Nicholas Gwenael and Katsumi Asaba. TDW 2014 launched the Hokusai Manga Inspired Exhibition at The Grand Palais in Paris with over 50 creators, 20 of which have been chosen to present their work in Milan 2015.

Past unacceptable see the light of day with the Japanese art director and filmmaker Seiichi Hishikawa. He will present the world’s first animated ukiyo-e, inspired by Katsushika Hokusai’s former taboo art form, Shunga. This art form could not be present to the public until recently as it was scorned in Japanese social and cultural history. Shunga means erotic art and is translated into English as the picture of spring, with spring being a euphemism for sex in Japanese culture. Hishikawa’s work will have spectators peeking at the Shunga through shoji (Japanese sliding screens made of washi). The artist believes that this is the most charming aspect of his piece, he told ArchiExpo’s editorial team.

TDW 2014 reached a record of more than 90,000 visitors and this year they expect to have 115,000. They will also exhibit Tokyo interior and product design companies such as ELD Interior Products, Gaku Takasu Design, and Hikaru Yamaguchi Design Lab; creative and interactive design and media art by several Japanese artists, companies and schools. TDW will also host their second annual World Design Week Summit on April 16th at the Museo del Novecento with initiatives of launching a global event database with design weeks around the world, creating a global network with international creators, and establishing the World Design Week Award Grand Prix.