Image: Issey Miyake
Christopher Forte: { Japan — An Ascetic Aesthetic }
There is a notion of modesty and subtlety, a respect for ceremony and procedure, an approach to duty and honor – that is unique to Japan. To the western eye these values are construed as anything from hopelessly anachronistic to downright obsessive – yet they contribute to a reverence for aesthetics that is utterly unique and exquisitely complex. This distinctive approach to all that appeals to the senses has, over centuries, imbued the Japanese with a veritable omnibus of terms that define everything from the simplest idea of placement (shibui: austerity of taste – not concealing the true nature of an object – a vase is a vase, a toaster is a toaster…) to the most esoteric concepts of shaping space (aji: where the incongruity of the object speaks of the congruity of the whole – the idea of sleeves filled with nothing, of space filled only with color…)
Andrea Zittel began creating Six Month Uniforms in 1991 as a response to the social dictate to wear an entirely different change of clothes every day. By wearing a single uniform for six months, she no only eliminated the stress of choosing a daily outfit , but also generated an alternative to the mandate of perpetual variety mandated consumer culture. More than seventy variations of the A-Z Personal Uniform now exist. …
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I’d be ok with wearing this one for 6 months.
Toby Christian
Scoop, 2010
Plaster, filler, emulsion
Site specific wall installation
Dimensions variable
(via 57577)
Ghost House by Jin Otagiri
via { DATAR }
In short, [the concept of] Fusuma describes the approach of embellishing sliding-door room separators with scenes of nature. The user is left with the impression that he/she is encircled by nature. The grooves were inspired by the adjacent mountains and city skylines that surround the building.
via { Minimalissimo }, on { AZB }.
![In short, [the concept of] Fusuma describes the approach of embellishing sliding-door room separators with scenes of nature. The user is left with the impression that he/she is encircled by nature. The grooves were inspired by the adjacent mountains and city skylines that surround the building.
via { Minimalissimo }, on { AZB }.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lg108lsukC1qa3q7lo1_500.jpg)
