Dear Shaded Viewers,
This morning I went to meet Yoshiko at the National Art Center. ‘Living in the Material World “Things” in Art of the 20th century and Beyond is the current exhibit. Aside from the wonderful architecture my favorite piece was by Cornelia Parker with her silver utensils and musical instruments that she picked up at antique markets, then crushed them with a 250 ton press to create a Rorschach-type design connected with a series of transparent strings. No photos permitted.
After the Museum we went to visit Yoshiko at her atelier.
Yoshiko showed me the 45 minute dvd of her interview for NHK TV, I want to see it even though I know I won’t be able to understand it. I loved meeting Yoshiko’s team.
I had my Bill Murrey moment as Yoshiko’s poster girl. I asked Yoshiko if she could write a note to my fanclub for me.
Next was Dresscamp. WHich was exactly that. It was pretty funny.
I would not mind owning a pair of these Dresscamp shoes. I am desperate for a pair of comfortable platform shoes. These are not quite high enough but I like them. All suggestions for platform shoes in Tokyo will be welcome. I cannot find a single pair.
I met Martin Webb at the show and he took me for a tour of Nakameguro. This is Tokyo’s trendiest area. After a walk through several shops we met Arashi (Yanagawa) of John Lawrence Sullivan and his younger brother Teppei. I really liked these two. Their brand is inspired by boxing and in fact Arashi used to be Japan flyweight champ. Currently they are doing a collaboration line with Lonsdale. Their show is on the 27th so most of the collection was at their different factories. I asked Martin to try on one of the pieces in the atelier and here are a few accessory shots. The shoes have little high heels. The fabrics feel heavenly.
DP with Arashi Yanagawa and the brothers Teppei and Arashi, the two designers behind the brand John Lawrence Sullivan
Martin Webb is the perfect model, so of course I could not resist asking him to try on some of the pieces.
John Lawrence Sullivan shoes and belt
Sueo Mizuma, Director Mizuma Art Gallery CO., Ltd.
Then we went over to the Mizuma Art, one of Tokyo’s coolest galleries. http://mizuma-art.co.jp/top_e.html
Ai Yamaguchi was the artist downstairs with her kawawi erotica inspirations
http://www.shuuemura-usa.com/content/Article.aspx?cc=4&c=56
and Susan Philipsz was upstairs with her audio installation ” Did I Dream You Dreamed About Me “
I really liked both and was very happy that Sueo Mizuma, the Director of the Gallery happened to be there.
Emi Ikematsu a.k.a. Shinsan Nameko
We also were fortunate to meet “media activist” (comic artist and essayist) Emi Ikematsu a.k.a. Shinsan Nameko. The nom de plume is a play on the Japanese phrase, shinsan wo nameru , which literally means “licking bitter acid.”
The final stop on our tour was the Soe presentation, where I met designer Soichiro “soe” Ito.
Designer Soichiro ‘soe’ Ito and Martin Webb talking me through the collection which I really liked.
I had both the designer and Martin model for me.
His collection was inspired by the theme “Poison Ivy” taken from a chapter in Fielding Dawson’s “The Black Mountain Book”.
Afterwards was the show that I already presented to you earlier Ylang Ylang and then it was off to dinner at Ninja. I am still trying to figure out who told me that I had to go there.
L’Eclaireur’s Yukiko arrives at the Ninja and L’Eclaireur’s Toshihiko does the card trick with a Ninja
Our Ninja food. Kaoru Sasaki, Editor in Chief and Creative director of commons&sense magazine.
Yukiko, Ninja, Kaori, Kaoru Sasaki, clearly wondering why I insisted on coming here and Toshihiko. All you can see of Akiko is her trousers and her shoes.
Later,
Diane
