my last week

Last week in London was exciting with Design Festival and Open House weekend happening at the same time. It was nice to be out of the studio (especially to West London I hardly go.) and see some nice stuff!

Here are my favourite findings:

A lovely new shop The Garage. I love their taste, well-handmade objects and the space itself! It's only a temporary place until Christmas, so make a visit while they're still there.

Ed's shed in East London. This is a house for a family of a couple and their little one, designed by David Adjaye, and I'd been wondering what it's like inside this black cube. Finally I could get in this occasion and I was surprised to find its small windows actually open. I loved the lovely view of their neightbours' garden and trees through the huge window on the top floor and the clever system to hide cocktail bar and work space, but was not impressed with the shadowy kitchen downstairs. 

The structure is timber panel. The same is this one:

52 Whitmore Road. This building was on the way to my daily exercise routine last summer and its construction was on hold for a while with just concrete base. When I was wondering what's happening, suddenly it's got piles of huge timber panels next to it and went up so quickly. For me it was the first time to see this kind of building construction, I was fascinated by it. 

When I saw the huge space inside I couldn't just get my head around it. How can they support this space without columns? They've got 3 more stories above. Apparently this timber panel building technique was invented in Austria and it's more sustainable than using concrete and steel which produces tons of carbon dioxide in the process.

And 'gap house' just off Westbourne grove. The facade is very narrow being between two houses but it's wider in the back. There used to be a garage house which came with the garden. I really loved the fact the house was built with well-thought-through to feel spacious in a small lot and to maximise the use of sunlight and to save energy. 

It was a lovely weekend to see such beautiful houses full of ideas but also to meet people who shares the same interest in the queues!

先週はDesign festivalとOpen house weekend。今年の注目はBattersea power stationで、殻を残したままアパートや商業施設に作り替える前を見る最後のチャンスとのこと。私はそれほど興味をそそられず、個人宅を主に見て回った。注目の物件などは1時間、2時間、列の中で待たされることもあるので疲れるが、待っている間に興味をシェアできる人と話すので楽しい。

ロンドンは特に景観の法律が厳しく、古い家などは壊すことができない。そういう限られた中で、中をリフォームしてできるだけ好きなスペースに作り変えていたり、あるものをできるだけ利用したエコのアイデアの数々に感心してしまう。

前から気になっていた建物の中に入れる貴重な体験と、最近の技術や新たなロンドンを発見する機会になってとても有意義な週末になった。

horniman museum

This Sunday I cycled down to Forest Hill to visit Horniman museum which had been on my wish-to-go list for a very long time. It's like a small Natural History Museum plus Pitt Rivers. It is also an architectually interesting place too.

The reason I wanted to visit was because I had heard about their merman. As my friend who made a visit described it simply like 'monkey head and fish tail stuck together', I was imagining an object of two animals unwillingly joined together. Actually there’s such a craft skill in it. (Have a look at this link) I've heard a few mummified fake merman/mermaids like this are enshrined in Japan. I would love to know the intention behind these creatures. 

What I loved about the museum is their display from the Victorian era: the font, interesting ways of classification and the fact this is one man's passion, of very British, a tea merchant. 

I really appreciate the whole idea we can freely access to these places.

この日曜日はホーニマンミュージアムに行ってきた。ここは冬が終わると行ってみたくなるものの、なかなか行けずにいたところ。ロンドンは南側のForest hillという場所にあって、ハックニーからは自転車で片道1時間半というところにあるから。気候が良くなければ行きたくないし、暑くなっても行きたくない。でも、興味だけはずっとあった。

大学でも文化人類学や生活文化史の講義は好きだったが、ここに行った友人クリスが、なんでも人魚の剥製があって、「猿の頭と魚のしっぽがくっついている」んだと教えてくれたのがきっかけ。8年も前になる当時は、本当にその言葉のままを解釈していて、どこかのお寺が公開したようなコミカルで不細工なものを想像していたけれども、実際にはなかなかの職人技が盛り込まれた作品なのである。魚の部分以外の基本の形は木、紙や粘土で、魚の歯や鶏の爪で細部が作られている。アンデルセンの人魚とはまだまだギャップは大きいし、意図はわからないけど、制作者の熱意と工夫にそれなりに感心してしまう。

もちろん世界中から集められたのは工芸品だけでなく、自然科学部門には、珍しい動物の剥製の数々が、100年以上前のまま、面白い分類方法で展示されている（新しい世界の見方、進化論が出てきた時代のものなので）。楽器部門も、水族館も小さいながら充実した展示で、一日十分過ごせてしまう。何よりも驚くのは、後から加わったものもあれど、これが一人の人間のコレクションだったということ。その知識欲に脱帽。またそれらコレクションに、私たちが今アクセスできることも本当にすごいこと！

心地よい気候だったし、大満足の遠出。（博物館の庭もなかなかの見物。また戻ってこようっ。）

art and architecture in kagawa

You might have heard about Naoshima: an island where you can experience arts and the great architecture by Tadao Ando, but there are some more in a wider area. I was recommended to go to Teshima (the island next to Naoshima) but couldn't spare a day to take ferries (only four journeys a day from Takamatsu). If you like to check what's going on in the area you better have enough time!

(above) This is the ground floor of Kagawa prefecture office (in Takamatsu): the architect Kenzo Tange's early work built in the '50s, greatly inspired by Le Corbusier and in Japanese style. The wall piece is done by Genichiro Inokuma who was a local and international artist.

The artist's museum is in Marugame (30 mins away from Takamatsu): Mimoca. He always strived for the new expression throughout his life. You can see his paintings as well as a part of his belongings in their permanent collection. The current temporary exhibition was showing what stayed unchanged in his varied paintings. It was fun and very interesting. Their next exhibition is about a London artist: Francis Upritchard. The architect of the museum is Yoshio Taniguchi who also designed the extension of Moma in NY.

Mr Taniguchi also designed this one: Higashiyama Kaii Setouchi museum (sorry only in Japanese). Kaii originally was from Yokohama but had a strong connection with this district. Kaii was great at painting landscape especially using blues. 

And a sculptor-designer (and more) Isamu Noguchi. You can't really see anything but these two stones which are not his work. Over the stone wall there is his studios and house where he spent later of his life in a town where they produce quality stone. You can see his finished/unfinished work in the wall and the mountain disappearing on the background! He also designed a garden with stones next to his house with the seasonal trees: ume (plum tree?), sakura (cherry blossom), tsubaki (camellia) and momo (peach tree)... and it will be nice to visit in different seasons.

This art goes back a lot more. This was built in Kompira shrine complex (in Kotohira, Kagawa) in 17th century (the part at the back, on the left in the picture. the front was built more recent about 100 years ago?). It accommodates fine paintings by Okyo Maruyama from 18th century. They are drawn on the fusuma: sliding doors dividing the rooms. It might sound funny for you but our house used to be built very flexible with fusumas (because of the climate and the small land), and one room functioned as bedroom, dining room and guest room. If you like to make a bigger space for the guests you'd just get rid of these fusumas and join two rooms. Anyway that means the fusuma functioned as the wall which became a great canvas for the wealth to show their taste. So a lot of the old masterpieces were drawn on the fusuma and byobu (panels which also functioned as a room divider). Amazing!

When you can make it over to Setouchi Triennale this year, you should also check out those too! 

香川のアートです。去年はTateに草間弥生の個展が回ってきた上に、某ブランドも彼女とコラボレートしたので、ロンドンでも彼女の認知度は一気に高まり、同時にかぼちゃのある直島のことも随分と知られるようになりました。直島や豊島の新しい美術館も気になるところではありましたが、限られた時間内にフェリーを使って動くのには問題があり、断念。今回は谷口吉生デザインの猪熊弦一郎(Mimoca)と東山魁夷の美術館、イサムノグチ庭園美術館と金毘羅宮に行ってきました。

Mimocaでは、猪熊弦一郎が変幻自在に表現を変えながらも、一貫して変化しなかった部分に焦点を当てた企画展があり、とても面白かったです。次の企画展はロンドンのアーティストFrancis Uprichardで、友人たちがデザインを担当しています。ロンドンの風を感じてみたい方は是非、お足を運んでみてください。

東山魁夷の美術館は年に4回、作品の入れ替えをしているようです。私が行った時は信州を描いたものと白い馬の現れる絵を集めたものが展示されていました。風景画と青色遣いを得意とした魁夷、美術館の目の前から本州に繋がる瀬戸大橋の色を決めたのも彼だそうです。タクシーの運転手さんは宇多津の塩業の話、埋め立て地（そして地震による液状化の心配）の話などをしてくれました。日本どこへいっても同じ問題がありますね。

イサムノグチの庭園美術館では、2つのスタジオと、完成、未完成の作品、晩年を過ごした家と庭園を見る事ができます。幾何学的な形を岩で作るという事に、意志を表現する魅力を感じたノグチの試行錯誤の様子を見ることができます。石の表情は変わりませんが、季節が変わったらまた違って見えると思います。見学には前もっての予約が必要。

そして、こんぴらさん。お参りはもちろん、表書院に寄っていきました。円山応挙らのふすま絵を見る事ができます。私が大学生の時、京都の国立博物館で盛大な応挙展がありました。あらゆる所からふすま絵、屏風絵、掛け軸、スケッチを集めた今でも忘れられない圧巻のもので、その時にこちらのふすま絵も見た覚えがあります。表書院では、ガラス障子越しにしか見ることができないので、あの時もっとしっかり見ておけば良かったと思いました。

また今年、瀬戸内芸術祭がありますね。島々のアートと共に、香川の美術に触れてみるのも良いと思いますよ。

一番上の写真は香川県庁。丹下健三作品のレセプションフロアに猪熊弦一郎の壁画があります。