Cool Hunting
CuteXdoom is a mod for the PC game Unreal Tournament 2003 that explores society's obsession with fabricated characters and all things cute, or kawaii. The goal of CuteXdoom is to become a member of the toy worshipping Yumi-Co cult and gain access to their temple by collecting enough toys to present as an offering to the robotic panda guru. (This sort of exploration of society's addiction to cuteness reminds me of Satoshi Kon's compelling anime series Paranoia Agent, which can be seen in the U.S. on [adult swim].) Anyway anime referencing aside, CuteXdoom was created by Yumi-Co, a collective of game designers, illustrators, sound artists and coders that was founded by Anita Fontaine. She worked as the art director and designer for this project and currently works for the Mobile Digital Commons Network in Canada. She is also participating in the Toytakeova exhibit this fall in Australia. I really could go on and on, but I'll end it with this last plug: also check out some of the locative media projects she's worked on: Ghost Garden and Global Heart Rate.
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Craftsman Takeji Nakagawa, aka "Take-G," doesn't simply make "toys." Rather, he creates tributes to childhood, nature and the future. The artisan crafts things like animals and futuristic robots out of four types of wood: keyaki (a Japanese tree of the genus Zelkova), teak, walnut and white ash. These four types of wood are joined through a traditional handicraft process called yosegi-mokuzougan (joined wooden block...
What is it about cute things being naughty? I'm in love with these Kozik bunnies. Okay, so the one on the left is the Kozik Smoking Bunny, which is available at Toy Tokyo for about $60. If you're unwilling to throw down that amount of money, check out the Smorkin Labbits (right) at Kidrobot. I think I'm gonna build a small army....
Ohayo Gozaimasu! Good Morning! You know that feeling you get when you know you're on to something? Or better yet, just plain right? It rules. Well, avid readers may recall that I attended the Manga, Anime and Japanese Culture in America this past Monday. Also Anime News Network recently reported that Time Warner and Itochu Corp. will jointly produce new Anime to be broadcasted...
Somehow I missed this when it went around in the beginning of the year. Regardless, it's fantastic. BallDroppings, by Josh Nimoy, is a highly addictive musical play toy based on the simple principles of the original computer game, Pong. By drawing lines you manipulate where dropping balls bounce, and with every bounce a musical note is played. Be sure to check out jtnimoy.com for...
Mandala, a Sanskrit word of Hindu origin, most often refers to a symmetrical detailed pattern representing the universe and the unconscious self. In some religions it serves as an aid in meditation or to establish a sacred space as well. For Japanese artist Mario Tauchi, who illustrated 108 black-and-white versions of Mandalas for Trolley Book's "Mario Mandala." the motif plays a slightly different role....
Believe in the power of bread. That was the idea behind Japanese artist Tatsumi Orimoto's "Bread Man" performance art series in the '90s. Meant as a unifying symbol of communication, he made his name with the body of work which involved global travel to places like Nepal and Germany with loaves of bread tied around his head while a puzzled public looked or laughed...
The Pharos Project
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Neon Shoes
Radio Village Nomade
Ghostly Swim: Interview with Sam Valenti
Creative Index
Interview with Maarten Baas
A Paper Tiger
Von Totebags and T-Shirts
