Saturday 27 June 2015

My head exploded (in a good way)





This is what happens when you visit the Tokyo City Flea Market in Oi Keibajo. You go totally nuts. 
I was hunting for cheap vintage jewelry to tear apart for a new project of mine, and man oh man, do they have what I was looking for. Some treasures there and I didn't spend more than 3000 yen (25$).







Beautiful gemstones, pearls, chain maille, and a lot of bling. All of this is going to be dismantled and.. well, you'll see.







Love those golden squares!








That flea market is held every Saturday and Sunday of the year. Oh dear. I'm gone…

Saturday 20 June 2015

More Tokyo Metro Posters





I'm puzzled, as always :-)) Haven't got a clue. And because I know you like the Tokyo Metro, here are two (not one, two!) bonus posters for you:













Wednesday 17 June 2015

Bonsai on the Balcony and Man in Fog





I got such a sweet postcard in the mail the other day from David Stafford. Bonsai on Balcony refers to this particular balcony of course :-)) Spot on, David, it looks exactly like you imagined it.








The other side of the card is a story of Monkey Ladies and Kale Rooting Hormone. Kale rooting hormone which, as everyone knows, is an important component of radioactive pasta.
Oh yes, there was a day when I was a Sweet Pea. Then a Sweat Pee. And then just a P. I don't know how David knows all those things but this card got me all wiggy :-)) It must be time for my protein pills...



Wednesday 10 June 2015

Akiko and Takao's garden





Akiko and Takao's garden is right by the sea, facing Hiroshima bay. You can see the oyster racks floating out there.








It's a beautiful garden. I got a bit excited wanting to take cuttings from the various trees to grow them back in Wakoshi when I remembered that I only have a 3m2 balcony, already packed with 25 bonsai and bonsai wannabes.















































I did take some cuttings after all :-)) (Gingko, blueberry, rosemary, maple, firethorn, and a couple of unidentified species) and they seem to have survived the Shinkansen trip back home. So far…






Thursday 4 June 2015

Akasegawa Genpei at Hiroshima MOCA





If the Akasegawa Genpei show is coming to your town I highly recommend a visit. Akasegawa (1937-2014) was a multifaceted and multitalented figure who was active as an avant-garde artist, manga creator, illustrator, writer, and a photographer.







Akasegawa got his start as an avant-garde artist when he helped form the Neo-Dadaism Organisers with Shinohara Ushio, Yoshimura Masunobu and Arakawa Shusaku in 1960. Then, after becoming active in the Hi-Red Center (as one of the three founders) he came to be one of the most prominent representatives of Anti-art.








The Hi-Red Center was closely connected to the Fluxus movement (then in its heyday) with its output dominated by stunts and happenings. An exhibition at MoMA a couple of years ago documented the activity of the Hi-Red Center in relation to Fluxus. If you want to read more about this interesting period in Japan here is a very good article: https://throwoutyourbooks.wordpress.com/2014/03/02/hi-red-center-in-1960s-japan-avant-garde-art-experimental-akasegawa-genpei/

















The queen of happenings at the time was of course Yoko Ono, who collaborated with the Hi-Red Center for several projects. Here she is being measured out to get her own tailor made life size shelter (no, not the one above. Below, below!) :-))















Akasegawa's Model 1000 Yen Note series produced around the same time was deemed to be a violation of the Act on the Control of Imitation of Currencies and Securities, and led to a long court battle in 1965. This made Akasegawa's name widely known outside of the art world.













Maria of Waterdrops (1966). A mesmerising piece that shows the extent of his talent.









In 1968, after his appeal in the case had ended, Akasegawa moved into manga and illustration, and following the success of Sakura gaho (Sakura Illustrated) became a standard-bearer of parody manga.







So much poetry…








Later in his career Akasegawa moved on to photography, exploring streets in search of strange objects, constructions, found material etc. The cemented tofu wrap above is one of my favourites in that series (reminds me of Trash Sunday, oh dear…). This was only the start of Akasegawa's photographic work and there would be a lot more to say about his legacy, but I will let you do the research if you are curious :-))


Monday 1 June 2015

Behind the Kameido Shrine






I completely forgot that I still had a few pictures from the Kameido area. The streets behind the shrine (the one with the Wisteria) are quite interesting for a quiet stroll. The typical local downtown, authentic and laid back. I also realised how rusty I got at street photography, and how much more self conscious I am when it comes to taking pictures of people or their shops/belongings. Getting old...














A rather scary guardian-of-the-groceries.








OK, someone went very creative with their veggies! I had to laugh. And what's that "decoration" in the middle? :-))














Take a nap. I thought that was called a beer?







A small restaurant kitchen open towards the street.









The whole street is a path leading to a small shrine (after all my posts about shrines you must be very good at spotting shrine gates by now - cf picture 1, 2). Green and peaceful, like an oasis in the city. The stage on the premises was packed with armours waiting to be used for a show the week after. I wish I had more pictures but… I don't :-((