Oh, what I would do to see the return of a Braniff-like airline! I went to the Braniff Airline exhibition today, at Parco Museum, and it so got me wanting to have been an airline traveller in that era (sixties and seventies). Style was as important as anything else, and they had it in droves. Pucci-designed uniforms, multicolored planes… Flying is such a depressing thing these days, and it just seems to be getting worse. Unless you can afford first/business class that is, and even then, it’s technological and spatial comfort that you’re getting, not the feeling of flying in style that you had with a Braniff-like airline. I want to enjoy air travel, to feel like I’m going through an exciting experience, not just a means of getting from one point to another. It seems that the time could be right for an airline to do something like that, what with the growing popularity of boutique/designer hotels. A lot of people seem to be ready to pay a bit more for style, and that’s a good thing. Without style, all we have is a utilitarian system that lacks the excitement that might help get the whole airline industry out of the financial hole they find themselves in these days.
Month: September 2004
Kouchi Market
The latest entry I wrote for MoCo Tokyo is about the very nice-looking Kouchi Market at the Tsukiji fish market. With the MoCo site I need to be a bit more careful about images I use, and the one from their official site wasn’t so great. To get a better idea of what the place looks like, have a look here. Also, I first learned about the place in the latest issue of MONITOR, which has an absolutely beautiful pictorial of it.
Design UK Campaign
October just keeps getting busier and busier, if you’re into design.
The British Embassy and the British Council in Tokyo will jointly organize the Design UK campaign in October, a campaign meant to promote the British design industry.
More than 40 events, including exhibitions and symposiums, are scheduled to be held at various locations in Tokyo and other parts of the country.
More details on the various event are in the full DAILY YOMIURI article. You can also get more details at the Design UK site.
Ribbon Project
And speaking of Dezain.net (see previous post), it seems that the person who runs it, Okada Eizo, is also behind the Ribbon Project. Ribbon is composed of 4 designers who create beautiful objects using ribbons. They are currently exhibiting at 100% Design in London.
Atelier Bow-Wow
I am in love with the designs of Atelier Bow-Wow. Expect a full MoCo Tokyo listing sometime soon. Right now there’s a feature on them at the site for the magazine DOMUS (free registration required, and it’s worth it). Link via Dezain.net.
Sonarsound Tokyo 2004
The Sonarsound music festival is coming to Tokyo. It happens October 9-10 in locations around Ebisu Garden Place.
The annual Sonar festival has made Barcelona the mecca for all fans of cutting-edge music and art. In 2002, SonarSound was established as an international edition that has so far traveled several European countries, as well as Japan and most recently Brazil. While the first Tokyo event two years ago wasn’t much more than an average techno/electronica party, this time’s “sonarsound tokyo” features an impressive lineup of roughly 30 artists from around the globe. Appearing next to the likes of Carl Craig, Akufen, and many more guests from abroad will be Rei Harakami in a collaboration with former Dumb Type member Takatani Shiro, and even Sketch Sketch show together with Sakamoto Ryuichi, in other works another renunion of the legendary YMO! Don’t miss it. (REALTOKYO)
Have a look at the lineup: Akufen, Atom, Aoki Takamasa, Benge, Carl Craig, Ceephax Acid Crew, Chicks on Speed, Fonica, Guitar (Digital Jockey), Hifana, Hiroshi Watana.be aka Tread/Kaito/Quadra, I’m Not A Gun (John Tejada + Takeshi Nishimoto), Karafuto (Fumiya Tanaka), Little Creatures, Nujabes, O.lamm, Opiate, Qodibop, RADIQ aka Yoshihiro Hanno, Rei Harakami + Shiro Takatani (Dumb Type), Schneider TM, Sketch Show + Ryuichi Sakamoto = Human Audio Sponge (Visuals: Ryoichi Kurokawa), T.Raumschmiere, Towa Tei, and World Standard.
Baba Masataka
In the latest edition of REALTOKYO’s “Redesigning Tokyo” column, we learn a bit more about the R-Project from architect/editor Baba Masataka.
Braniff Airline Expo
A couple of weeks ago I read about the latest exhibition happening at the Parco Museum in Shibuya (part of the renewal celebrations of Parco Part 3) covering the very funky designs of legendary airline Braniff International. As often happens if I don’t immediately write about something, it slipped my mind, but luckily a post at Groovisual Diary reminded me of it. I’ll be in Shibuya tomorrow afternoon, and I plan on dropping by. The exhibition lasts until October 11.
Midnight Eye Anime Update
The excellent Japanese movie site Midnight Eye has just released an update that focuses entirely on anime. You’ll find an interview with Oshii Mamoru, an in-depth look at the early days of Japanese animation, and reviews of the following: STEAMBOY, JOURNEY TO THE WEST, CUTIE HONEY, and a round-up of 4 other films. There’s also a review of Brian Ruh’s book on Oshii, STRAY DOG OF ANIME.
MoCo Tokyo Is Go
I announced a while back that I was going to be involved with the MoCo network of sites, and today marks the launch of MoCo Tokyo, a guide to modern contemporary design in Tokyo. It’s edited by me (meaning I write all the entries). Here’s the announcement that MoCo Loco guru Harry Wakefield just posted:
MoCo Loco is pleased to announce that Jean Snow of jeansnow.net fame is now also the editor of MoCo Tokyo, the latest addition to the growing network of MoCo directories worldwide (Amsterdam, Montreal, San Francisco). Tokyo is a hotbed of design and architecture, home to many trends that, increasingly, and rapidly, find their way to the rest of the globe. Jean is a transplanted Acadian with a unique perspective on the city and it’s design. Welcome Jean by sending him a submission here. Bienvenue Jean!
So from now on, all of my writings about design in Tokyo will be posted at the MoCo Tokyo site exclusively (except for graphic and web design). Please let me know what you think, and of course, any suggestions on things that I should be writing about are greatly appreciated. I plan on posting new entries a few times a week.