Tag: Japan

Art

Globalization visualized in immersive Hong Kong art installation

The Tokyo-based art group known as teamLab is made up of individuals with diverse skills such as programmers, designers, mathematicians, animators, and architects. This group works together to create culturally relevent art...

By Justin Crowe · 6 days ago

Sculpture

Artist Shinri Tezuka practices the art of rolling, sculpting, and painting candy

Teaching yourself how to sculpt is hard enough, but to sculpt candy is one step above that. You have to also worry about making it tasty! Shinri Tezuka taught himself how to sculpt candy at the age of 27 and is perhaps the youngest practitioner...

By Umar Ansari · Dec. 06, 2019

Creativity

Giant Dragon Ball-related snow sculptures in Japan

Kids playing on the snow is not an uncommon sight; and 66 years ago in Japan, that inspired The Sapporo Snow Festival. What started with middle and high school students and six snow sculptures has evolved into a traditional winter...

By Odette Carrasquedo · Dec. 05, 2019

Design

Thin shelving that appears as wind-blown paper

The idea is taken from a 19th century woodblock print, Travelers Caught in a Gust Of Breeze in Ejiri, wherein a character’s wad of paper flew into the air.  With this romantic scene as inspiration the Japanese design studio YOY has...

By Caris Cruz · Oct. 30, 2019

Photography

Masashi Wakui gives Tokyo cityscapes a cinematic feel in new series

Having recently watched Blade Runner for the billionth time, I can’t help but fall in love with these neon-filled photos from Masashi Wakui. The Japanese photographer gives Tokyo a well-deserved series featuring its vibrant...

By Umar Ansari · Oct. 27, 2019

Furniture

Haunting array of floating chairs put Lake Poroto under the spotlight

“Fragile Chairs” is an environmental art installation created by Japanese-based art studio Hidemi Nishida. Their recent installation of floating wooden chairs in Lake Poroto in Hokkaido is only a development of their series...

By Mariza Monta · Sep. 04, 2019

Art

Intimate paintings of dreamlike girls and floating illusions

Fuco Ueda is a Japanese painter well-known for her beautiful portraits of long-haired, waifish girls in dreamlike, morbid scenarios bursting with intimacy. The innocent-looking female characters are surrounded by nature's...

By Nhan Tran · Jul. 27, 2019

Design

Wacky pop art canvas is indented to double as a real chair

The line between art and furniture is blurred in Japanese design firm YOY's amazing creation, the 'canvas chair.' In their words, it's "a canvas shaped chair with a drawing of a chair." One can either hang it on the wall as a piece of...

By Nhan Tran · Jul. 23, 2019

Creativity

Fun fairy tale cups magnify illustrations when filled with water

'The method of drinking a fairy tale' is a series of glassware by Japanese design company D-BROS. Designed by Yoshie Watanabe, the glasses feature adorable illustrations of classic fairy tale characters like Little Red Riding...

By Nhan Tran · Jun. 10, 2019

Digital

You have to see this bizarre Japanese phenomenon of cats sitting on sushi!

There's no other way to explain this strange phenomenon, so what you see is what you get: 'Neko-Sushi' is a collection of pictures of cats on sushi. An inexplicably amazing brainchild of Japan-based company Tange & Nakimushi...

By Nhan Tran · May. 16, 2019

Architecture

The Michelin Man stars in an unusual hotel concept for the heart of Paris

You may be familiar with the Michelin Man (whose real name is actually Bibendum), the giant, lumpy white mascot of the Michelin tire company. But have you ever imagined him as a hotel? And a hotel smack dab in the middle of Paris at that?...

By Cameron Chapman · May. 12, 2019

Art

The illustrated wonderland of Heisuke Kitazawa

Japanese illustrator/designer Heisuke Kitazawa has made a career out of his enchanting, fairy tale-like illustrations. His list of past projects include high-profile clients such as Kenzo Parfums, The Guardian, Honda, and...

By Nhan Tran · Apr. 28, 2019

Fashion

Coffee table book collecting adorable (and absurd) Japanese cat fashion

Pet owners sure love dressing up their little friends from time to time, but can you handle 160 pages of adorable cats in fancy clothes? If your answer to cute overload is yes, you ought to love 'Fashion Cats,' a self-explanatory coffee...

By Nhan Tran · Apr. 14, 2019

Illustration

Psychedelic collage-based concert posters from the 1970s

Tadanori Yokoo is a Japanese graphic designer, illustrator, printmaker and painter whose work came to prominence in the 1970s. His portfolio includes concert posters for the likes of The Beatles, Tangerine Dream, Earth Wind...

By Nhan Tran · Feb. 24, 2019

Photography

Rare aerial phenomenon produces colorful jet contrails in Japan

If you look up more often you just might find something awe-inspiring like Kagaya who happened upon this colorful sight in Japan. The photographer was taking a stroll with his camera at Oshino-Mura, Yamanashi Prefecture...

By Umar Ansari · Feb. 17, 2019