Martina’s Costume Design

Yesterday evening there was a small party to launch a costume design 

of my friend Martina Trottmann in Soho, London.

Martina studied costume design at St. Martins and working for stage,

art event etc. hence, time to time I’ve been bumping her in many occasions.

And this time she is displaying her design on the Biddle Sawyer’s 

Silk Shop’s front window and this one is also a kinetic sculpture.

= She is breading !

But don’t expect her boobs up and down —– not such obvious move.

Pretty subtle. 😀

—– (Though, to create this effect, somebody said to have devised an air-pump

for 20 second on-off cycle using a computer — what ?   only to activate a pump on-off

in 20 second cycle, needed to use a computer ? —– It could be done with a 

30 pence 555 chip and few more components, all together about £1 :-D) = 

does the person knows electronics ??? )

These days, performance, stage play has been pushing its frontier 

to the limit, or becoming limitless, accordingly, the design of 

costume becoming pretty extravagant or rather bizarre.   

Typically like Ninagawa, regardless whether it is ancient Greek Tragedy or

Victorian play, actor, actress could appear in shiny Futuristic Si-fi gear.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Queen of Siva appeared on the stage 

wearing this Martina’s costume. 😀 

(So, I didn’t ask any question to her = Answer would be Why not  🙂 ).

It is a funny phenomena, supposed to be the most specific, definitive signal = 

visual signal can be freely improvised though the verbal signal = language has

to stay within a comprehensible context.

Costume could be any style, any design as long as it stays on a body, 

it works as a costume. Though, if it was a Victorian story, it got to be

in Victorian time and has to stay likewise a Victorian story.

—– yet still, Oliver Twist who is wearing kinky string costume could

appear with his Gandam look-a-like master. 😀

(Of cause, it’s depend on the director’s taste.  🙂 )

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Wayne’s world in [Misuse Exhibition]

 

After year of absence, I went to see my friend artist Wayne Chisnall on the opening

of an exhibition titled [Misuse : Creating Alternatives] at the Cass Bank Gallery

in Whitechapel. London.

In fact Wayne has been very busy exhibiting his work all over the country and I’ve been

receiving his invitation quite often though, he gave me the notice month ahead —– after

a while, I forgot. —– But this time, he gave me a reminder on the day.

“Oh, yah yah, it’s today in deed” = So, I went.

—– May be I’m getting lazier or may be busy with burning issue of “somebody else’s

burning bottom” = It’s a bad tendency of “If I were asked, just help it” Zennist’s policy.

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What so ever the excuse, to see the old friend and catch-up with what we been

doing, or get the news of other friends, is a pleasure.   So, we can find the

consistent core of the person, even under the changing situation of the life.

——– (Incidentally,  Right photo left is Dan, who created a coincidence of  me to start this Blog ! )

The exhibition was loosely themed in a context of how the artists interpret the existing object.

= some were converted the object to other use or made a thing with different material.

—– So, if I may bluntly say, many of them were a kind of boring second-class work.

= On a process of creation or design something new, the approach of [If Not] is

the easiest way, which in most of the case end up “Just a reverse of the same thing”

(others are well made — “So, I messed it up = this is my art”  kind of rubbish)

—– one of exhibit, a common concrete-mixer was churning sun cream. = Yah, obviously it is

doing something different from it was intended = So what ?   It’s a sign of a poor brain, not

mention rack of artistic inspiration. (Creativity tests, how freely, how far you can go 🙂 )

Or, [boring] was an ironical message to the people expecting to see good art ?  😀

If it was not sun cream but, say something a lots of empty bottles of cosmetic, manicure bottles

etc. the artist could made-up a brah, brah “Signify the waste and vanity of the consumerism etc”

—– (Though, could it mean sexism ? —– but now, even a man using cosmetics. 😀 )

Other work showing some fancy modification of alarm-clock, such as the one got many

additional hands, or heavily dented and broken. —– ? ? ? — where is a creativity ?

Unlike those, Wayne’s work consistently intrigued me as his imagination

always gone such far and his process of creation stays completely in enigma.

Utterly out of context, or I wonder, is there so-called context ever in his mind ?

Such as his old piece, [Nails ball] = Yes I can see they are old nails and they were hit and

nailed in.     Though, the story ends here = our rational brain can see nothing other than

bunch of nails, but the piece appealing direct to our emotion (or hit straight to our fear ? )

I have no idea how this artist reached to here —– was that obsessive endless action, more

akin to a kind of neurological symptom ? —– as a mater of fact, most of the real artist is this

kind of maniac. = even without conscious and often without control, just keep doing it.

May be his love toward old nails started like a small child collecting the objects while believing

a kind of magic spell. 🙂 —– From there to create nail ball, is utterly out of normal

imagination, out of normal function or usage, still as it was driven by dark deep

urge, it started to show its own micro-cosmos, which strikes our emotion and

boggles our mind. —– Hence, it made a piece as an Art.

Above all, the end product is a piece worth keeping, and looks beautiful enough.

Wayne’s other and new work is on the same trail hence there are no explanation why it got such

shape or structure.  Surely it was made out of small wooden boxes etc. which showed his skill to

be an accomplished craftsman. —– yet again almost obsessive endless work with

perfect accuracy, has created totally new micro-cosmos, it’s quite a demonic.

—– In the small cavities or windows, a kind of object of magic spell   🙂

I wonder, whether the magic spell is in the objects or in his mind —– or in my mind ?

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—– Incidentally, after knowing him over ten years, I found from his lines on the palm, how

he is an emotional man, which he admitted it. = Despite his soft, smiley face, this artist

completely hiding his heavily emotional up and down of which most of his friends even noticed

(of cause, I haven’t interrogated his girl friend yet 🙂 )  still, able to keep himself away from

such as alcoholism or drug addiction is remarkable. (It’s an indication of good discipline in his

youth = good family back ground) 

Like the emotion in his dark chasm, his creativity and its source of inspiration

came from deep bottom of his subconscious though, something peculiar was

that he is letting the material to express its own soul or spell, not his emotion.

This is the Zen situation, the maker Wayne created the Piece, but in his selfless

state. —– Selfless ?  If so, who created this = The resonance of the universe did.

So, that is why, it was a micro-cosmos.  You need to hear this very Resonance.

He is a man born to be an artist, and he is communicating it in subconscious

channel, direct to your subconscious, not to your rational thinking brain.

(Your brain would only say “What a hell of this. I can’t make sens at all”—– Your brain is

too noisy to hear this almost inaudible resonance.

= Hence, you need to hear it, in your heart or in your subconsciousness.)

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—- As the exhibition goes on till 22^nd March, I recommend you to pay a visit to

the gallery and see and feel Resonance or the Spell of Wayne’s work by yourself.

The Gallery information = www.thecass.com 

The details of  Wayne Chisnall’s work.

[]

PS :

While talking with him, I just asked “When you conceived the Idea on the very

beginning, was that an image or a text ?” —– He explained me that it was

always a vague image and not necessary a final image.

– ( This is the sketch / Doodl of Wayne’s Orifice piece when he got the idea in very first instance

– —– it’s shows the stage of development and on the end, it came to the stage, rationally

– figure-out and listing up the material etc. = just an image alone couldn’t be built —– technical

– skill and good management of project is essential)

There are two kind of brain and the personalities.

The one, handling the information in the brain in Graphical way, the other

handle them in written notion or say, in text.

The former is good in remembering the face but not the name. The later can remember the

name well, but not the face.    (You know this very well   😀 )

My eldest brother was extremely good to remember the names, the words, its meanings etc.

anything written, though, utterly useless for the face. (So, he became a professor of linguistics,

teaching German, French and English)    I was born opposite.  Name will gone in two minuets

and spelling is hopeless, still even a face I had one glance, may stay after 30, 40 years  (able to

guess its ageing !)  and I still remember a scene of me looking up the temple

when I was 2 years old, like a photograph !

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I met many art students some of whom I gave photographic training.

Then, I noticed that a person who is good in drawing and has good graphical memory was

having trouble to compile their project-report explaining how it was conceived and developed.

But, the other who can explain well, how original idea came and then developed with other

reference etc. was very bad to draw sketch. (obviously no talent for art)

And, I realized that, this is the case again, it was a matter of the brain type.

A person who got artistic talent is not necessary good to explain it in text.

The other, who try to approach art from textual understanding has no skill

for graphical expression = Hence, become a so-called conceptual artists.

—– or may be Conceptual art was created for those people, in order to save a skin of

Art school. (at least they can grant a degree and justify hugely expensive tuition fee. 😀 )

Very interesting and very very funny.

[]

Plum (?) Flower

Well,  whether this one is Plum or Apricot is a difficult question.   Never the less, to my eyes,

this flower is the closest to the Japanese Ume 梅.    Cherry,  Plum,  Apricot,  Peach are all in the

same  Rosaseae family.  And as  Plum, Apricot, Peach belong to the same genus  Prunus, so they

are very close and easy to cross between.  Adding to this,  many more garden varieties exists.

So, here, I just call this flower as plum.  (Ume 梅 said to be called  Japanese Apricot  though  🙂 )

What makes this flower distinctive  (against  Cherry or Peach) is,  not only it blooms earliest

(in February) among the Prunus,  when flower opens,  the leaves starts to shoots as well. 

And something notable about  Ume is,  despite Cherry is the National flower,  when Japanese

select  Tree of Distinction,  they are 松,竹,梅 = Pine, Bamboo and Ume, Ume was regarded above  

Cherry. (I haven’t found the reason why)  In comparison to the Cherry,  Ume is giving rather

sombre impression,  so, if we say the Cherry is Yang,  Ume is Yin and influences where to plant.

Like Sakura (Cherry) spot,  there are many places to see Ume = Kitano Tenman-gu in Kyoto is

the most famous place to visit.  (In there,  Pink  variety as well, which called Kou-bai / 紅梅)

— (This close-up was taken by Canon Fish-eye Lens, while lens was held away from the mount)

Japanese makes Ume fruits to a notorious pickles = Ume-boshi (梅干し) which is only edible to

the Japanese because of its almost poisonously sour and salty taste．（I don’t miss it at all  😀 )

So that, if you put it in Onigiri (おにぎり = Sea-weed wrapped rice ball) it wouldn’t go bad for days. 

(I’m sure,  no germ could survive in such environment  😀 ) 

What I’m wondering more is,  why no genuine Ume was imported and planted in this country ?    

In comparison to have many types of Cherry here,  Ume-like tree is only this type. 

I don’t know why. —– So,  if  anybody knowledgeable there,  please let me know.

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Orchids Photos of Sing Lee

I received beautiful photos of Orchids from my friend,  Sing Lee of China.

Sing Lee  used to be a quite unique Chinese Blogger who showed impressive photos of

their Shang-tang mountain and many beautiful flowers there until his blog/ WordPress

altogether were blocked by their authority.

So, on behalf of him,  I put his photos here,  for the people of the world to see.

As he wrote before, those Orchids were found deep in the Shang-tang mountain,  and

brought to the city,  they could be very rare  new variety or even new species though, 

I don’t have the eyes to tell its name.  —– So,  just enjoy its beauty ! 

And I hope his well-being away from the suffocating air pollution. 

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Perpetual Cherry Flowers / Ultra Close-up by Fisheye Lens

—————- (In fact,  this photo is the same one = last in this post,  only cropped a bit. 

—————- And in here, the flower petals were actuary touching the lens surface.

—————  Fish-eye Lens isn’t too bad for Close-up.  We only need to extend the Lens for

—————  2~3 mm though, there is no way to do it but to loose it from the mount  🙂 )

If you’ve been reading this blog, you may rightly say  “Oh no, yet again Cherry flower ?”

I know, in fact I was rather bemused.  This Cherry tree is the same tree appeared here before,

and again in a post in the last Autumn as it showed the flower utterly out of season.

Since when I’ve put a post last November when the tree had orange colored Autumn leaves,

I’ve been visiting her time to time as she always having flowers.   = Hence, I came to a

conclusion that it was not caused by a confusing weather pattern but this tree is a new

variety who has the character, flowering all year round (well, half-year round at least  🙂 )

—  (Photo by Canon 5D MkIII / Zoom Fish-eye 8~15mm   at 15mm / Lens held off the Mount)

Without having macro lens with me, to take

close-up pictures,  I resorted to use my Fish-eye

Lens lifted up from the body (not fully mounted

= Lens was held not fully inserted to the body

leaving about 2mm gap !  😀 ) —– As the lens has

no connection to the camera’s electronics,

aperture is fully open and no focus indicator —–  seeing the focus and using

the same shutter speed (only + 1/3) still, picture can be taken.  (as you can see the result  😀 )

But, when the eye was concentrating the focus, the finger holding the lens couldn’t keep

the lens exactly in the center, the edge of  the image-circle got into the picture =

I needed to click few times  😀

[]

Photography is a very critical operation though, in the same time, it is a very loose

flexible funny art,  such as even pinhole photos are also the photos.  

When I was young,  before I got Macro-lens ,  lifting the lens,  even the lens was held

in an angle (hence giving pan-focus effect) or held reversed,  such technique was my

favorite improvisation.  (No close-up lens or extension ring = hence, cost nothing, 

still able to create more or less the same,  or even better results.  😀  )

The matter is not the equipment but the Mind = Just try,  just DO it. 

It could be successful —— if not = keep mouth shut  😀 )

[]

Ugandan Gathering

London is a strange place.  You may not know the nationality of the person sitting

next to you, let alone to know what the person is.

Years ago, I happened to became a friend of an Afghan Mojahedine, a brother of

Ahmad Shah Masud who became the Defense Minister of the Afghan Government. 

After the victory against Russia, my friend Walli became the Charge-d-affair and

moved from a small room in Wimbledon to the Afgan Embassy.  (I’ve acted as a

go-between to Japanese media and a technical, electronic helper to them  🙂 )

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A black guy, I acquainted, was happen to be an Ugandan Politician, who is organizing

a movement of the Ugandan expatriates for Democratize their home country.

–—- from those activists, next leader of their country might be born.

Expatriates (he calls Diaspora) here consists the refugee from Idi Amin’s suppression

to all sorts of immigrants, and their mission is “Reclaim and Free Uganda Now” though,

I leave the matter to talk about their issue, to my friend and his web-site.

So, I just show the portraits of the people I met in there gathering.

—– ( Click the photo to enlarge and click again even larger  🙂 )

Their National Anthem.

Among their supporters, many of Doctors, Proffesors as well as the business people —–.

When it’s came to the matter of their lost Mother Land, it is an emotional matter.

—– (The Green and Red-cast of those photos above showed erratic response of the Canon

—– 5D Mk3’s AWB = its color balance changes frame to frame —– what a nightmare  😦  )

—– Young talented singer sang the Anthem for Uganda ~ ~ ~ Uganda ! 

—– (In fact all those images were cropped out small part of the original photo  🙂 )

—– ( I know, fish-eye lens is not suit for a portrait  😀 ) 

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM  😀

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Growing Ideas Exhibition

There is a small exhibition titled  [Growing Ideas]  at  272 High Holborn WC1V , LONDON

(it’s  UAL building) which will run until 4th April.

It is a nice place to pop in and take a rest  🙂    And PV will be 14th Feb’ evening = to have a

drink or two served in a edible sugar Glass (or Cup ?)

(I guess, the slower you drink, it’s taste becoming the sweeter  🙂 )

Exhibited works are mostly salable Product Designs and “Make things” video, ETC and

“Interactive Communicative Telephone” (I think this was what Telephone designed for  🙂 )

(I modified the Phone to work with computer system for the artist Francesco Pastori )

(I suppose to download their flier and post here but what was copied was only those two lines)                                                         

“The evening includes free cocktails served in Sugar Glasses by exhibitor Fernando Laposse

and music by exhibitor BeatWoven.”

—– So, come and have a fun on their party.  🙂

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Capricorns Ball

Last night, there was a party [Capricorns Ball] held in a Pub in Brixton.  In fact this party

started as a birthday party of the Capricorn people among the staffs or ex-staffs of the

Fridge Night Club,  and as a regular I was invited every year —– in the past 15 years or so !

May be an excuse to get together and get drank or annual reunion of the people who had

their youth in the Club  (I mean, while working —– I was only dancing though)   😀

And all the photos here were intended for the guest to download and copy,  if they want.

It’s nice to see the old faces, even though everybody is getting a bit older and having

different kind of life. (It’s really amazing, I acquainted many of them 20 years ago ! ! ! )

As a party in a pub,  Pub-quiz is in a menu—– this time, about the Capricorns  🙂

( I didn’t know our Emperor, I mean Japanese, is also Capricorns.)

And a birthday cake  🙂

The top two Quiz winner received Trophy = they are ecstatic with a joy  😀 

The each candle on the cake was blown by each Capricorns one by one.

Then, live gig. (Not necessary my kind of music —– still it’s OK )

I think it’s a nice photo !  (or, at least they think I’m a nice man. —– mind you, the camera

was only 10″  away from their faces)

The Capricorn Short cake was made by a young lady and the piece here said to be an

art installation created by another young lady = happen to be a Japanese though, too

young to know what the Fridge Club was  😀

This is not intended for a self portrait but a demonstration of how the lighting of those

photos were done. (Hand aimed bounce lighting).  By the way, something hang  from my

neck is one of my Disco Pendant = Sound-activated Flashing Pendant, I made 20 years ago

and been used in the Club almost every week. (I’ll talk about this design, in here soon)

Then, let’s dance  🙂

Despite the London having quite a snow and pretty cold though, number of people turned up. 

And it was a fabulous joyful night. 

Thanks to the Ex-Fridge Capricorns, work hard to organize this.

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Sushi Party

Me and the Artists friends, who also being involved in education, training program to the

disadvantaged people had a Sushi Party at a flat where those two are living.  I prepared some

in my place and brought up to their flat. —– I used to have a Sushi party in my place though,

my flat runs out of the space to receive the guests  😀 —– Preparation for Temaki Sushi is just

cut the material to a stick shape, other than the shoppings  🙂  —– So, cutting is very easy, but

the hardest part I always found was = to get the best Avocado, = matured still not too soft  😀

(So, all the ingredients were prepared and cut into a stick shape for roll-up.

Photo left = Cucumber, Seafood Stick and the front three were  Cooked Kombu (Kelp seaweed),

Cooked fried Tofu ( Soybean Curd) and Cooked Shiitake mushroom = those three were

boiled together in one hour or so, then Soy-sauce, a bit of sugar, vinegar were added = they

were the improvisation and the substitute  of cooked Japanese Kanpyo (Dried Marlow) = as

Kombu and the Shiitake act as Dashi (taste base) no other Dashi was needed.

Photo middle = Salmon and front left was a substitute of Shime Saba (marinated Mackerel)

= Herring Rollmop and dark colored one was Tuna.

Photo right = Avocado, Cucumber and the front = Flied Egg and the Cheddar Cheese. )

So, I did some cooking and brought those to their flat in a big logistic operation and 

I made famous Miso soup as well.  😉

To cook Sushi-rice to ideal condition is the most tricky part of Sushi making = Rice had to be

washed and soaked in the water over-night though, bring a big pan with soaked rice in water is

too awkward = so, next day, I drained the water and measured its amount ( for five or six people

I put 3 cups ( 1 cup = 250 ml ) of rice into a pan, and after washed, the water was completely

drained, then I put 4 cups of water for over-night soaking.    Next day the water I drained was 

3.5  cup = so, I added back the same amount of water in their kitchen,  then put it on fire.

= When the rice started to boil vigorously,  put the fire down to very small, and made it to

shimmer another 10 minutes. 

Then change the cooked rice to a big bowl and let it cool down, and to add the Vinegar and

Sugar though this time I mixed the rice with Sushi Powder.  (Sushi powder was made with

dried vinegar hence it prevent the rice become soggy —– but I found, it was a bit too sweet) 

Photo middle was prepared Prawn for Nigiri Sushi (My friend Alberto was very keen to it  🙂 )

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Temaki Sushi is, to take some amount of rice on a piece of  Nori (1/4 cut of the Nori sheet) then

put any ingredient(S) which was dripped in the Soy-sorce with Wasabi — then role it and eat  🙂

—–Every body try to use chop-stick  (it was not obligatory though  😀 ) some were well

managed but some were not.  As sushi has been well adapted in the west, the matter to cook it

by ourself is, where to get material or how improvised. = Instead to stick with traditional

ingredients, such as use of Avocado was  invented in California — may be use Herring Rollmop

was my invention still they quite liked it   🙂 

The party was a good success as everybody eat to the full or even over   😀

(Second round was requested )

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Happy New Year 2013

Happy New Year to all those who is visiting and supported my blog. 

I hope it would inspire and cause more active and fulfilling life

on the 2013 and ahead for you. 🙂 

Yoshizen  aka  Kinetorori

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