The illustration of Hiromi Sato resembles the cutest scrapbook you’ve ever seen. Full of textiles, buttons and wool, Sato layers patterns to create collage-like images with fairy tale themes. I love the sweet mori girl aesthetic of her work. Enjoy.
Mod Pop Punk: Contemporary Kimono by Modern Antenna
Modern Antenna creates amazing contemporary kimono designs. Their simple and bold graphic prints are incredibly versatile, and can be styled in fashions ranging from chic to cute. J-pop group SCANDAL rocked these Brit-punk inspired co-ordinates for their album SCANDAL SHOW.
Check out the official Modern Antenna site here (all Japanese unfortunately).
SCANDAL pics via Comtrya Sugoi.
Textile Landscapes: The Kimono of Itchiku Kubota
Itchiku Kubota is an artist recognised for his unique contributions to the art of kimono. A master of traditional decorative techniques, he attempted to recreate the lost tradition of tsujigahana. After decades of experimentation Kubota eventually merged modern innovations with ancient tradition to create his own unique decorative technique. Kubota’s planned masterpiece was a series of eighty kimono called the Symphony of Light, in which vast panoramas, flowed between kimono. While Kubota was unable to finish this work before his death, his son and daughter continue their father’s work today.
Doll Portraits: The Work of Emma Mount
Emma Mount‘s portraits of Blythe and Pullip dolls, walk the line between cute and scary. With bobble heads and big eyes, these dolls are definitely a matter of love or hate. Although plenty of enthusiasts have come to love their exaggerated proportions and quirky expressions.
A large part of these dolls’ appeal is their almost infinite customizability. Creator go to extraordinary lengths; re-rooting the hair, re-painting the lips, replacing the eyechips, repainting the skin, and sand-matting or spray finish matting the faces. The result are dolls that are truly unique, and serve as a form of self-expression for their owners. In this way Emma Mount’s works are not only a portrait of the dolls themselves, but a reflection of their creators.
Daicon IV Opening Animation
I was blown away when I recently watched the Daicon IV Opening Animation. Somehow I’d manage to miss this crucial piece of otaku history.
The Daicon III and IV animations were amateur works done for the 1981 and 1983 Nihon SF Taikai conventions. This group of amateur animators would go on to form Gainax, and the Daicon animations show the genesis of imagery that would be repeated in projects like Evangelion and FLCL.
As an animation it’s a testament to the beauty and visual power of traditional cel animation. There’s something timeless about these videos, and incredibly after almost thirty years they can still compete with some of the best animation being produced today. Unfortunately these works have never been officially released, and never will be, so watch it now.
Pics via Daicon and Daicon III and IV Opening Animations.
Doll-like Japanese Girls
Lately I’ve seen a lot of really cute doll-like Japanese girls in magazine spreads and make-up tutorials. The combination of circle lenses and fake eyelashes, pouting lips and long curling wigs is both surreal and beautiful. While some people are critical that these fashions are an attempt not to look “Japanese”, everyone has the right to dress how they like, and I think these girls look fantastic.
Unfortunately I don’t have links for each individual images, but most of these pics should be from Drop Dead Kawaii and Get Into Fashion.
Psychedelic Cute: HIME+YOU
The style of Japanese illustrator HIME+YOU is a sweet mixture of bright colors and cute, and slightly darker imagery. While I can see Junko Mizuno’s psychedelic influence, this is work that stands on its own. Absolutely adorable.
Classical Lolita: Victorian Maiden
Taken from the 2006 Victorian Maiden Spring and Summer Collection, these simple and relaxed co-ordinates shows the elegance and beauty of Classical Lolita. While I love the more elaborate Lolita fashions, these images are a breath of fresh air, and the rustic-romantic look seem to anticipate the mori girl style. Enjoy.
Washed Away: Seascapes by Kozyndan
In my previous post I introduced the work of Kozyndan, a talented couple that work together on art and illustration. While that post featured some of their more colorful and humorous work, there’s another, more serious, to these artists. Their recent exhibition Washed Away at Outré Gallery, focused on the themes of the sea and sea-life, as well as Japan’s ama, women divers famous for collecting pearls. Kozyndan were also inspired by Hokusai’s iconic wave, and these works hint at the power and violence of the sea. The result are images that are beautiful, mysterious and poetic.
Read more…
City Scenes by Kozyndan
Kozyndan is a unit, a couple that produces art and illustration under a shared name. They describe themselves as “mad scientists”, and their work is mad in a good way. At times veering schizophrenia-like between work that is bright and colorful, to elegant and poetic, it’s full of energy and creativity. This selection of work features works centred around the urban environment, like interiors and city scenes, including their panoramas. To get the full impact of these large-scale works be sure to click the image to look at it full size. You can look forward to a second post focusing on another side of this talented duo.