connecting the past to the present*

here are some beautiful japanese illustrations. if you have a moment, sit and observe them, see how tradition intertwines with modern design and illustration. let the drawings carry you away and imagine the scenery and nature, because this is exactly what illustrating japanese nature is - meditation on nature and life.

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illustrator yuko shimizu is new york based and multiply featured artist. there is a great article with her words in it that definitely offers some great food for thought.

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above is an   illustration of a chrysanthemum variety "nishiki no mihata" from the japanese book "a hundred chrysanthemums" by keikwa hasegawa.

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this is an illustration by young artist masayoshi mizuho. i find his art very contemplative, and the way he depicts nature reminds me a lot of gaming design techniques, and images from that time we spoke of locoroco.

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toshiyuki fukuda is another young illustrator. his work is magnificent in that it is also not the utter realism you often see or expect. he takes nature many steps further and ignites your imagination. if it was up to me to say, that is one of the best ways to do art!

japanese reads

i have developed a new passion...
japanese magazine hunting!
enjoy!

the mook.
it's not a book and not a magazine, it's something in between and this one is about design!

otherwise, traditional, japanese comic books.
on the inside they are supposed to be black and white, the images are divided horizontally and placed one under the other on the page. meaning, you normally read them from top to bottom.
we find it really interesting to study the images of the human body, especially facial expressions and the illustration of "natural" beings. every form and shape has a different meaning.

this is a japanese-english architecture magazine, unlike the mook that is entirely japanese.
it has great and influential history in its background.

there are various japanese craft magazines,
this one particularily stood out because it's devoted to paper.
japan has great history with the use of paper, not to mention that it is a natural material, with very high recycling potential which is also important, as the japanese culture is not one to waste any resourses.

architectural spotlite - shigeru ban

since i am a big fan of mr shigeru ban, i had prepared a small presentation on him, his theory and
some of his most known works.

layer house - hiroaki ohtani

architecture review on this blog
this is a great example of contemporary japanese architecture in today's contemporary city.

"it is what we call a "sandwich house", meaning a house built on a very narrow
site, quite a common thing in condensed japanese cities."

ishigami

japanese pavillion,venice architecture bienalle 2008.
πανω στο ηδη υπαρχον κτηριο προσκολλα μικρα σε κλιμακα 1:1 θερμοκηπια σαν παρασιτα σε αυτο.ειναι διαφανα με πολυ λεπτο σκελετο που μετα βιας στεκονται.η φυση αναριχαται σε αυτα και αρχιτεκτονημα και φυση γινονται ενα.εσωτερικα, δημιουργειται ενας χωρος βιωσιμος οπου συνυπαρχουν επιπλα και φυτα.μεσα στο παλιο κτηριο της bienalle σχεδιαστηκαν με μολυβι απευθειας στον τοιχο σχεδια και τοπογραφικα με φυσικα μοτιβα.

kotaro ide - shell house

karuizawa, japan.
σκελετος απο ενισχυμενο σκυροδεμα αναπαριστα - σχηματιζει ενα κοχυλι σε σχημα "J" που περιτριγυριζει ενα μεγαλο πευκο. εχει κατασκευαστει απο υλικα ανθεκτικα στις ακραιες καιρικες συνθηκες της περιοχης. ο αρχιτεκτονας επιθυμουσε να το ενταξει πληρς στο περιβαλλον διατηρωντας σεβασμο προς αυτο. τα μεγαλα γυαλινα ανοιγματα φτιαχτηκαν για να καδραρουν τη μοναδικη θεα στο δασος.