Foundation Louis Vuitton Exhibition

Building in Paris by Frank Gehry
Exhibition venue : Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo
October 2015 - January 2016

This exhibition took my breath away. Completely. I was totally in awe. The project itself is super nice. The exhibition tell a story about the design process, an experiment on planning programs, making form, reaching for something different. It is also incredible to see how far nowadays technology can bring us and how far more it can possibly take us to.

* iPhone6 snapshot

Tamozawa Imperial Villa

In the middle of April, early spring, the weather has gone totally strange here in Japan. We encountered snow storm in Saitama. I wasn't there but my friends were and the temperature dropped quite a lot as well in Tokyo.

I bought a JR Kanto pass, used it for one-day snowboard trip in Gala Yuzawa and another day to Nikko. Shinkansen from Tokyo station to Ochanomizu, then change to Nikko line. It was raining and unexpectedly freaking cold. We have no certain plan so I just checked out the jepanguide website to see where should we go. I chose this imperial villa because I always have interest in these kind of buildings and it was definitely a worthily visit.

Just a brief, Tamozawa Imperial Villa is a combination of Edo and Meiji period architecture, some part of the residence were moved from Tokyo in 1899. Before that, the building was under Tokugawa family and later became a summer villa for the imperial family. But after the WWII, it was neglected and just been restored and opened to public in 2000.

: OLYMPUS35DC x KODAK PORTRA400 :

Hiroshi Senju Museum

I first known Hiroshi Senju when I was in Naoshima last autumn. There is one of the art house that called, Ishibashi, where his painting was exhibited along the well-renovated traditional house. Hiroshi Senju is a Japanese painter. His famous works are the series of 'Waterfalls'. They were stunning.

Hiroshi Senju Museum is located in Karuizawa, Nagano prefecture. The town itself is famous for its number of summerhouse. It is a summer getaway for the rich Japanese, as for what I've heard. It took less than 1hr and a half to get there (from Tokyo station). The museum was designed by Ryue Nishizawa which is another reason why I really wanted to visit it so bad.

'Senju asked me to create and open, luminous space where people would observe his works, relax and spend time in contemplation. The museum, which gently hugs the natural slope of the site, has lighting controlled by deep eaves, silver screens, and UV cut glass while allowing in the greenery. The open space was designed to unite Karuizawa's nature and Senju's art. I wanted to create a union of park and space that felt as inviting as a private living room.' , Ryue Nishizawa, the architect.

: OLYMPUS35DC x KODAK PORTRA400
and a snapshot of an interior which I took a quick shot while the automatic door hadn't closed yet.

Tange by Tange

Tange by Tange 1949-1959 : Kenzo Tange as Seen Through the Eyes of Kenzo Tange

This exhibition in Gallery MA is ending tomorrow. It is a free admission exhibits negative film that was taken by Kenzo Tange in his early years. Beginning with his debut project, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum 1953, to Kagawa Prefectural Government Office 1958, and some others of his trip to several places such as Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto. In this exhibition, more than 70 original contact sheets are out in public for the first time. We can see Tange’s red trimming lines on some of the film, allowing us to see his traces. To see what he saw through his lens, we can see what had he been interested in architecture at that time, or in that project.

What I like most about the exhibition is that they made a timeline up on the wall, streaming Tange’s works and what else are happening in the world. Since he was one of the most significant architects of the 20th century who was in the same era as many other modern pioneers. Even he have passed away for 10 years now, his works still continue to influence a lot of people in our generation.

Gallery MA : Nogizaka Station Exit 3

: iPhone5s with some adjustment

Kumamoto

Baby, it’s cold outside.

It’s getting colder and colder here in Tokyo. The autumn leaves have all long gone by now. Yet, I still have a lot to write about my first Autumn in Japan. My last entry was all about Autumn leaves, viewing Momiji, the maple leaves, and Koyou, Ginko leaves, changed their colours are quite impressive.

When Autumn was about to be gone in the end of November, I was lucky enough to be invited to join the Kumamoto Artpolis event in Kumamoto with my earlier college professor and 5th year students from Bangkok. While in Kumamoto, I visited places, saw things, and captured some photos, as usual.

Let’s start with the first day, we walked to Kumamoto castle, so the city isn’t so big in my opinion, the weather was nice, sunny and chilled. Actually all the original buildings were demolished during the war or something in the past. The leftovers were only some foundations and some drawings of the castle for the government to re-build it all over. What I interested here are the stone wall around the castle, they were cut and put up in a very unique angled, I read some information but already forgotten the name of the method. The stone wall’s slope is getting very slope at the top, to protect the castle from any intruders. Inside the main hall, which has been re-build in whole, there is an exhibition showing the construction of the building and also the recreation of the building purpose’s atmosphere.

I personally think that Kumamoto is a nice place to visit, as for the architectures’ admirer, there were some splendid things to see. Kumamoto station Shiragawa (East) gate, stood Ryue Nishizawa-san’s Public arcade shed which is now only 1 phase constructed, and at the West gate, Sato Mitsuhiko-san’s Public bus stop shelter. In the city, Kazuo Shinohara-san’s Police station also stood very elegantly both during day and night time. I only had a chance to see the building in the night because our schedule there was kind of busy and I couldn’t get up in the early morning to go. Shame on me. In the night time, you can see the structure of it very obviously, but during daytime, according to the search engine’s photo, the facade glass are all reflective kind that you can’t see anything inside it.

The Artpolis held the architectural tour another city in the area of Kumamoto prefecture by bus. We visited Yatsushiro, Toyo Ito-san’s earlier works; Yatsushiro Fire station, Yatsushiro Municipal Museum. These two architecture were completed more than 20 years ago, yet we can still feel how contemporary they are now.

Mostly iPhone5s and lots of filters :P

Hotel Okura Tokyo

When in summer, I went to visit Hotel Okura Tokyo, one of the iconic building since the last Tokyo Olympics back in 1964, though it was completed two years earlier. I read the article in Monocle magazine months ago about the renovation of this gorgeous building for the sake of the coming up Oympics 2020.

The Okura Tokyo is an architecture combining Japanese architects, folk artists, and potter, altogether, reflected Japanese traditional space, colours, atmosphere, yet including the sense of modernisation, an attempt to rise after the devastation of World War.

According to what I read from the magazine, this incredibly stunning space will be developed into the 38-storey high glass hotel building, 550 rooms. The renovation plan will be done by 2019, in time for the Rugby World Cup and also Olympics.

When I entered the hotel, I went in the wrong entrance so I didn't find the lobby at first. Anyway, entering the lobby from whichever direction still made me impressed. The space of the lobby, for me, wasn't so public, its has a private atmosphere, subtle natural light coming through 'Washi' on the window, Japanese paper used to make sliding screen/door. For the artificial light, most of them came form the lovely unique ceiling lamps. It was a little bit dark but enough for those activities occur in the lobby, I think.
I had a conversation with a concierge, I asked whether I can take a photo in there or not, and she told me to please take a stair up to the mezzanine too, and please enjoy the space. I asked her about the renovation plan, and she didn't seem to worry and told me that the developer are trying their best to keep the best of the hotel also.

Inujima

The same speedboat that stops at Teshima will later take you to Inujima in 55 mins. Sitting outside at the back of the boat was super cozy, feel the sea-breeze and sunlight on my face was somehow relaxing and comforting.

There was nothing else on the island except the Seirensho Art Museum and Art House Projects which were totally worth visting. The tickets are sell in the information center which you need only one ticket to entry them all. They gave a map with suggested route to explore all artwork accessible by foot. 

The Seirensho Art Museum took place where hundred years ago, it was a copper smeltery that was shut down due to the dramatic decrease of copper price in the modern era. According to that, the island has been deserted until recently. The architect, Hiroshi Sambuichi, designed from the existing to create the project that brought together architecture and other natural energies to reduce the burden on the environment, and art by Yukinori Yanagi. For further information, go here.
The art exhibited inside was impressive. The artist use the mirror back and forth in a maze-like path, every time you look back, you'll see the burning sun behind you, and while you're walking, the open sky is right before you. They don't allow picture inside so...

Inujima Art House Project, was also funded and run by Benesse Inc. It is developed by Yuko Hasegawa, as the art director, and Kazuyo Sejima, as an architect. Three of them were specially designed for art displays, F-Art house, S-Art House, and I-Art house. A-Art house and C-Art house were opened later with works by five artists.
Even if I don't have much knowledge about art, I did enjoy very much of them. Plus, a small cafe&restaurant near the last art house project was very nice. I had Spinach, Bacon and potato pasta which served in a japanese craft plate, very kinfolk-like. lol.

NIKON V1 + 10mm LENS

Teshima

Twenty minutes from Naoshima in a sunny day in pre-Autumn was a pleasant journey. We took the first ferry and get back on the last one.

A woman at the information desk advised me to rent a bike so that I don't have to wait and stick to the bus timetable that doesn't come every 10 minutes but more than half an hour, but since I was travelling in a group of 10 people and not everyone are bikers, we all agreed to use the bus route.

On the way to Teshima art museum, on a bus, we thought we made the right choice because the island's topography is made up of many small hills, our legs would definitely turn into jello after biking. 

Teshima Art Museum is consisted of Rei Naito's artwork and Ryue Nishizawa's architecture. Before visiting the museum, I didn't know that the art exhibiting in there is what. I was amazed by how architecture and art come together so beautifully. Inside the waterdrop-like architecture, constructed of concrete, without column, 40 to 60 metres wide, 2 open-skylight connected the architecture to nature, there was numerous waterdrop appearing from very tiny holes and flowing randomly on the floor. I couldn't figured it out why some drop just stay still and some flow to find the drain. It was mesmerising. It's funny how I could just sit and stare peacefully in silence for a very long time.

And again, they don't allow any photograph inside the art space. Please refer here for Iwan Baan's gorgeous photos.

Christian Boltanski Les Archives du Coeur was set up on the farthest area of the route. It stands beneath the beach, facing the sea. There, you can listen to stranger's heartbeat or pay to record your heartbeat sound too. We didn't understand much about this one but we did enjoy the view and have a little rest on the beach. But, I had listened to somebody's heartbeat, totally stranger from across the continent, it was strange but interesting.

I was too tired to get to Mori Mariko's work which I really would love to see, I was too tired though, I stopped at Shima Kitchen and have a nice lunch set, which was very satisfying.