Creative
60 Years On Innovation
I got a call from a friend who works for O`Neill Australia asking to share some resources for one night only art event coming to Tokyo. The exhibiton was celebrating 60 years of the O`Neill brand, with the focus being various artists (some professional/some amateurs) to make their own unique, self styled portrait on the legendary Jack O`Neill.
The artwork was really amazing and lucky for me also I managed to negotiate a good price with a Japanese artist (not the one in the photo).
You can see the two previous events and follow the progress as it travels around the globe here
It`s FREE
Getting lots of mails asking the price of admission for the Spring/Summer launch party tomorrow night. Well, it costs nothing. Here is Artminds business card flyer they have been distributing which proves it……..
Insane
Old skate graphics not only fill me with nostalgia, but also makes me think how individual and inspiring the skate industry was in the 80`s/90`s. Each team had it`s own style of artwork and skateboard magazines were the only resource to see your world and to belong to the worldwide scene (and a location hunter for where skateshops and spots were outside your town)
Many UK companies came and went due to low funding, unable to gain market share and generally nearly all “big” pro skaters were from the US hence the market share and money went to those companies. One of my favourite labels during the early 90`s was a brand from Camden, London called Insane. Featuring the artwork of Ged Wells this label had really original artwork for it`s time and a really different feel to it. I used to love their adverts, have a look for yourself.
Sound Advice
Having shot ourselves in the foot many times due to design stagnation, quality imperfections, money and our constant drive for new inspiration, it sometimes feels like we should have made these mistakes already and moved on. It is almost like we want it to take longer, just for us and the anticipation of the unknown.
Well, the launch is coming so you see on the 24th March.
Spring/ Summer 2012
BW are proudly having a launch party to showcase our first full season for the Spring & Summer 2012. Come on down and show your support.
Artmind
Those nice people over at Artmind are gonna step up to provide the artistic entertainment for the upcoming Spring/Summer launch party. Tokyo artists should get in contact with these guys……
Forged Steel no. 15
I received a present today in the form of much needed bike tools to blow away my fixies winter blues. Upon closer look, it was a another Japanese illusion. Immaculate chocolate replicas!! Happy Valentines!!
The Style Snip
Tokyo based photographer Matin Holtkamp is involved in documenting the ever changing fashions styles from around four epicentres of the fashion world. With Tokyo, Paris, New York and London each with their own photographer, it`s an interesting medium in which to see a vast array from ever changing scenes.
Take a visit from here
I Cloud You
Gallery Grown Guest artist and designer of “LaHorse” embarked on a new concept for an art show in his native Spain. Check a web video of the show
I CLOUD YOU from FAW on Vimeo.
The world is a blank canvas
Some people look at things differently. Natural landscapes can blow you away with its raw beauty, man-made landscapes can alter your perceptions to your architectural environment that make you walk around in a dream world. An old skater friend of mind talked to me recently about how he still looks at skate spots, constantly, as in its an everyday normal occurrence. It`s only when someone you`re with points it out your unconscious behavioural patterns that you realise you`re doing it. Walking back to check the run up, could you turn fast enough to get on it frontside or if theres a crack that might send you flying.
Creating pure street art must be like must be like looking at a blank canvas waiting to be painted. I wish every city had street artists like French street artist, OakoAk. We would all walk around smiling.
“HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM NEW YORK!!!”
Gallery Grown guest artist Lorenzo sends his love from his new home to welcome in “The Year Of The Dragon”. The big apple gets a taste of the Tokyo Nights sunglasses.
Post apocalyptic Tokyo
After seeing the eclipse late Saturday night, it made me think about the ease in which mother nature can change our lives. Japan is the epi-centre of earthquakes and Tokyo is due a big one within the next two years. Tokyogenso had this thought and used some of Tokyo`s landmarks to bring to life a post apocalyptic world devoid of human life where upon nature has laid it`s seeds over the sparsity of this sprawling metropolis.
Don`t ask why
Was he thinking of the consequence, or just pure attack? Probably not the same pain awaiting but every skateboarder has felt an instant feeling of dread like this one.
Gallery Grown “LaHorse”
Gallery Grown is proud to announce it”s Guest Artist series. “LaHorse” designed by Lorenzo Sanjuan and available in black/red and modern pink/blue will be available from Saturday 19th at Output in Naka Meguro.
Silas & Maria
We missed a private 2012 Spring Exhibition showing for Silas recently but we were lucky enough to check the new Shaniqwa Jarvis photography project in the Studio Bee gallery in Daikanyama. A very personal exhibition”This Charming Man” shows various portrait shots of people that have influenced her life in a positive and influential way. Have a look if you can or check out photos on their website, Silas&Maria.
サイラスの2012SSコレクションを残念ながら見逃してしまったけれど、代官山にあるStudio Beeギャラリーで催されていたShaniqwa Jarvisの写真展はチェックできた。とてもパーソナルなエキシビションで、”This Charming Man”ではShaniqwa Jarvis自身の人生にポジティブに影響を与えた人たちのポートレートを展示している。是非とも足を運んでみては、もしくはSilas&Mariaのリンクでいくつかの写真をチェック。
New stickers & badges
Brilliant World and Gallery Grown accessories coming to a store near you……
Brilliant WorldそしてGallery Grownの特製バッジ＆ステッカーがもうすぐ皆様のもとへ……
Muju World
Brilliant World photographer Uchujin made a short timelapse video for a UK based clothing label Muju World. With a strong belief in eco-friendly products (all the tee`s sent to Tokyo were made from climate neutral organic cotton) they look like they are following the right path in their ideals and designs, check out their stuffed toys and artwork too.
Muju World Promo – Tokyo Dreams from Uchujin on Vimeo.
Eric Elms Exhibition “Wish You Were Here”
Never having the ego of being a big artist, Eric Elms is midway through a showing in Common Gallery in Harajuku. Have a peek if you can, otherwise check some photos I was most fortunate to be allowed to take.
Eric Elms – “I don’t like drawing on a computer and I don’t have the patience for it. I don’t like how it looks, even if it looks the same, something about it is weird.”
A Child Of The Jago
A friend asked me to do a swap on my visit to London with a guy called “Barnzley” who had recently came to visit Tokyo. He had failed to mention he was one of the co-founders of the amazing A Child Of The Jago London based label. Originality and style are hard to find but this is one label who adopts it effortlessly. The shop interior has an old London dockers feel to it complete with archways and old wooden beams and is actually an amazing old circular Victorian era building that stands on Great Eastern Street.
They gave my friend a few garms including an amazing silk scarf that I really should have got for myself (the guys did give me a shirt so I shouldn`t complain) If you are in London or planning a UK trip, definately stop in you won`t be disappointed.
You can check their Spring/Summer Collection 2012 here
Gallery Grown Guest Artist
Barcelona native, now Tokyo resident via many years in NYC, Gallery Grown is proud to announce their 1st guest artist, Lorenzo Sanjuan. In the States he has designed, manufactured and hand made various tee`s and has been holding back with one that will be released under the new gallery Grown project in the next few weeks.
Right now, he has an art show showing in the Kawasaki International Centre until the 23rd September. Below is a sneak preview, go along and see for yourself.
バルセロナ・ネイティヴで、長年過ごしたＮＹＣでの時を経て現在東京に拠点を置くGallery Grownが、満を持して紹介する１人目のアーティストが、Lorenzo Sanjuan。アメリカでは、様々なTシャツをデザインし手作業で製作している彼が、Gallery Grownプロジェクトの一環としてひとつ作品を発表する模様。
9月23日まで、川崎インターナショナルセンターでアートショーを開催しているので、興味のある方は是非足を運んでみては？
That kids got POP!!!
Since the UK and finding things long since forgotten, two of my favourite old skool skaters have been gathering a thought or two. These two in particular were a big influence on my early skating days. Paulo for his forward thinking approach and Kien Liei for his barge attack.
Paulo Diaz – massive pop, switch skills and originality in abundance. Always seems to skate like his video part music sounds.
The Donger – The og ollie champ with wu tang braids makes hopping over things look like skating back to it`s roots. His co. Dynasty was rad too…..
Treasure in the Attic
Going through the attic led me to many memories and treasures I had long lost forgotten. Old VHS sk8 vids, number plates from cars we toured in, old skate decks (a vintage Blockhead deck given to my by a neighbour when I first started skating), old New Deal catalogues, old moth eaten sk8 tee`s, music tapes, some old school posters and magazine cut outs of favourite skaters when I was a kid, some vintage nikes and one of my favourite artists original prints. Andy Howell of New Deal fame. Have a peek…..
屋根裏部屋には、ずっと忘れていた思い出や宝物が眠ってた。昔の古いVHSテープだったり、当時乗ってた車のナンバープレート、スケートボード（始めたばかりの頃近所のひとに貰ったビンテージのBlockheadデッキ）、古いNew Dealカタログ、虫に喰われたTシャツ、カセットテープ、子供の頃好きだったスケーターのポスターや切り抜きの数々、ビンテージのナイキ、そして好きだったアーティストのオリジナル画。New Dealで評判の良かったAndy Howell。ご覧あれ……
Osaka Daggers
Something cool about their name and “gang” feel them. I stumbled across this little videologue of their trip to London, definately a skate to have fun attitude and the guy at the end attempting to drop the London tube escalator, even from that height, it`s just super gnarly. Thrashin` baby!!
Shibuya Baby
Got back last week, went to Shibuya to check out the Hip Hop festival. Pretty good, dancing was cool, dj spinning all the classics fun day.
Walking back I came across these giant bearbricks. Been collecting bearbricks and kubricks for a number of years and have been since been contemplating how I could possibly get my hands on one of these. I Imagine a big garden, trees and bushes in the corners with these guys hiding amongst the trees…….
Steve Mason
Mentioned previously, Steve Mason was the frontman of the Beta Band who refused to change his vision or intergrity for money. This video sums it all up. Shot in one of my old stomping grounds, Bath.
English Festivals
The UK has an abundance of music festivals ranging from local folk festivals and all night clubbing parties through to possibly the greatest music festival in the world, Glastonbury. Didn`t have much of a chance to do a big one but the new applecart festival was in its second year showcasing in London`s Victoria Park. Ex Beta Band frontman Steve Mason was a highlight, as was the Funki Dred himself, Jazzie B from Soul II Soul. Peter Wolf rocked the crowd and Aussie Tim Minchin was really, really entertaining.
Definate highlights included an impromptu group reggae dance whilst the girls were checking comedy and a spanking stall run by some serious dominatrix girls and a monkey…….
(ps.Jazzie B actually ran his own clothing line back in the day, I bought one when I was 12. 30 pounds for a shirt when your 12 was a lot of money!)
London
Black cabs, cobbled streets, tourists, suits, adidas trainers, tailored jackets, pissing on the streets, cockneys, rude shopkeepers, individualism, free art galleries, grey skies, thieves, trees, real punks, pool comps, cyclist friendly, unfriendly train staff, no high rise buildings, drinking, derelict buildings, friends, 1001 different accents, riots, drunk angry men, live music, horse and carts, old buildings, dog mess, dirty pint glasses, Victorian doorways, expensive tobacco, markets, oldest subway in the world, litter, combat trousers, rich history, bacon and eggs, theatre, harsh sk8 spots, vintage clothes, graffiti, straw hats, double decker buses, clear blue skies, kebabs, culture, bobbies on the beat, rip off tube fares, ducks, cemeteries, sarcasm, afternoon tea…….
I LOVE LONDON.
3 sparklers in my cocktail please
Had a little catch up trip with some friends to the Algarve in Southern Portugal. Apart from the old town being over run by groups of young twenty-somethings enjoying hardcore Euro pop whilst drinking cocktails holding so many sparklers it would have put any fireworks festival to shame. Close your eyes and dive in I guess……Beautiful beaches, fresh seafood, warm sea and more olives that we could eat. Good times…..
A bar we would lovingly be acquainted with was a bar called Merlins, halfway up the town from the beach which kept the sun shining into the evening as we watched the world drift by. It was there that the miracle shot happened. Playing darts whilst a tropical storm hit one afternoon, I was aiming for number 9 and missed, hitting just to the side. Tried again and the dart flew into the back of the previous one which split the flight and stayed there motionless as we all burst out laughing! Seriously unbeliveable, but I guess you would have had to have been there to see it. Luckily for me, a few friends and a family were also watching. Their kids were in absolute awe…….
The legendary Christmas crooner himself, Sir Cliff Richard lived locally and had his own wine!!! Tastes of Christians and goodwill probably……Feeling the vibes from above, late one night we decided to climb up into a window of an old abandoned church up on the hill. The first floor was boarded up so we had to scale crumbling walls to get up a second floor window, pretty sketchy considering all afternoon we had been telling ghost stories and re-living scary moments in movies. We stumbled upon a small corridor going back down into the dark depths where we couldn`t see our hands let alone each other. The only light was to take photos and see back through the camera, not the best plan after what had been filling our minds all day. We came across a room with a bundle in the corner with a proper blair witch feel to it. I took a photo, thought I saw someone there and tried my best to tell my friends under my breath. A lot of of “are you serious”, more “just better if we links arms” and more thoughts of realisation that if there is someone there, they have the upper hand!! Putting all our freak outs aside we entered and found a serious squatters set up which looks like it would be full of 10 raging homeless drunks any moment, we decided to leave. Above ground again we were fine and took more shots of the crumbling ruins only my friend to delete his memory card along with 2 years worth of his memories. Oh well, it`s the experiences that count.
The Blind leading the…….
Blind changed skateboarding in a big way. A little company shook up the big boys (Santa Cruz and Powell Peralta mainly) and gave attitude and humour to the skate world. The Gonz still rips and Jason Lee should have a trademark on the 360 flip!
The South West
Spent a few days down at the nerve of BW media office in Totnes and Falmouth deep down in Devon and Cornwall. Totnes is how most people suscribe to the very idea of being English that doesn`t really exist for 99% of UK folk. Toffee shops, cheese shops, guitar college etc. A very beautiful town with a massive hippy community, rich retirees and English eccentrics. Falmouth is down at the end of England being a fishing town foremost and now full of cornish pasty shops for the tourists. Had to get involved though, nothing beats a good cornish pasty!!
Do not feed the pigeons
Left Tokyo for a whirlwind tour of the old and new haunts in the UK, with Bristol in the South West the first city stop. Home to Trip Hop, boasting a wide range of artists from Massive Attack and Portishead to Roni Size and the Aspects, Bristol has deep roots in music, skating, hip hop and of course, street art. Home to the infamous Banksy the streets are literally covered with amazing legal/illegal art everywhere you turn. Considering Bristol is an old city with some beautiful architecture this creates a special aura that most English cities lack.
東京を離れ、イギリスの新旧通い慣れた場所巡りのあわただしい旅に出た。まず最初の都市はイギリス南西部のブリストル。ここブリストルは音楽的ルーツが根深く生き、Massive AttackやPortishead、Roni SizeにAspectsといったアーティストを輩出しているし、スケートだったりヒップホップ文化なんかも根強い。もちろんストリートアートだって。悪名高いストリートアーティストBanksyの合法／違法アートは街の至る所で目にできる。ブリストルは古くて美しい建造物が立ち並ぶ、歴史のある街だけど、こういったカルチャー要素がイギリスの他の都市が欠いている独特な街のオーラをつくり出しているんだと思う。
Is there more??
The Banksy “documentary” is finally getting released to much hype! When is the Banksy street art in Tokyo comin…..
Adidas Chopsticks, the Devil and early mornings
Got these from a launch party a while ago but I opened them by a mistake!!
On a recent shoot for a vintage American loving Japanese brand called Blacksign, came across these bizarre props. Original Guiness playing cards from the 50`s, a French bible in it`s original cover of turtle shell with stars branded in white, a 1950`s original German Devil ashtray, a Breitling, a vintage French watch and the pinnacle for me, a 1943 German playing card ashtray with the devil melting into it!!
Is there possibly a safer place to sleep than on a train in Tokyo. Too tired to go home, just keep riding that train till u wake up!!
25 top skate sections of the 90`s
Not sure I agree with the author but definately some bangers in there. Kareem Campbell and Gino`s parts are just pure art.
http://www.complex.com/sports/2011/04/the-25-best-skate-video-parts-of-the-1990s#gallery
Alice in Wonderland Restaurant
Ginza opened it`s doors recently to a new style of restaurant which has girls literally running from all sides of Tokyo to bask in the wacky Lewis Carroll styled world.
風変わりな、ルイス・キャロル（＊不思議の国のアリスの作者）の世界に迷いこんだような女の子たちがせわしなく働いているレストランが、つい最近銀座にオープンした。
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