Theo Jansen

[Julianna]

Theo Jansen's work is going to be at Hibiya Park in Tokyo from mid-Jan to mid-April next year....

And I'm going!
http://blog.juliannayau.com/2008/11/...ulianna-japan/
http://sculpture.juliannayau.com/news/20081130

I can't really afford it, but I haven't gone anywhere in ages and the thought of seeing Jansen's creatures roaming a park in Japan is exhilarating.

Any suggestions for camcorders and/or places to visit in Tokyo are welcome. I did some more pricing for the trip, and found a hotel + flight combination just under 2k. I'm sitting on it for a few days before I book.

[Ries]

there is actually a tokyo thread here with recommendations of various things.

http://www.sculpture.net/community/s...ighlight=tokyo


as I said there, I would highly recommend staying in the Yanaka neighborhood of Oeno, or at the andon in Minowa.
http://www.andon.co.jp/index.html
Minowa is more of a working type neighborhood, farther from the excitement, but the hotel is modern, hip, and quite fun.

Or-this is a great hotel- a ryokan style place, with tatami mats, in a modern building, in a charming little old fashioned tokyo neighborhood, 2 blocks from a subway stop, a short walk from all the art museums in Ueno..

http://www.katsutaro.com/annex_index.html

this neighborhood is so soothing to come home to after an exciting and challenging Tokyo day- the neighborhood shops, like the lady who cooks a skewer of chicken for 100 yen, or the little corner stand that sells plastic boxes of to go food very cheaply, the walking streets, and virtually no tourists.

Have fun- I am jealous.
At the fair we were exhibiting at in Miami this week, the neighboring booth was from Tokyo, and they are opening the SAME work in Tokyo tommorow night. Crazy.

[evaldart]

Damn Julianna thats awesome. Lucky girl (and props to you for making it happen). Jannsen, the trip, the whole damn thing. Injections such as these are better than just fuel because they are forays into the irregular and the unexpected...and its good to be be in that company now and then.

And Theo...well, I've seen his work a few times but not in motion (except video). I like him because he makes me feel, once again, like a doltish student - and I only ever paid attention back-then to someone who could AMAZE me. As it should be.

So go get amazed.

[wolff]

I`ve lived just outside of Tokyo for four years, and commuted to my studio in Ueno almost every day during that time.

Here are two links you should bookmark and check as you make your plans:
is the best clearing house for what is showing currently and how to find it.

and www.hyperdia.com is the best way to locate the distance between two stations along with directions, cost and time.

Which station is closest to the hotel that you`re holding?

Ries is right on when he says that the place to stay is Ueno (Yanaka, Sendagi, Nezu, Ikenohata). Especially in the spring. Collectively known as the shitamachi (old town), It`s a great area for walking around and experiencing "old Tokyo". It is one of the few areas that didn`t burn during the firebombing; and is often known as "Yanaka temple town". It is non-touristy, and filled with great stuff (and a number of small stone carving shops).

Here is my recommendation for Ryokan: www.sawanoya.com

I walked past today and picked up a brochure (it`s between Nezu station and my studio)...rooms as low as 5000 yen/night.

Katsutaro is near Sendagi, right? I think I recognize the facade, but I`m not sure.

Whether you take one of these recommendations or not, bear in mind that you`ll use two train systems, and that you want to be near both JR (surface trains) and the subway. Around Sendagi/Yanaka the Chiyoda line is always close and you can get to JR at Nippori or Nishi Nippori by either a short tranfer or walk, depending on the specific location.

Tokyo has (very roughly) three art centers: Ueno, which has tradition and many of the big, old museums. They`re all walking distance from the Sawanoya or Katsutaro.

The Roppongi area has two major contemporary museums, including the Mori Tower (which you should go to), and a lot of money (and most of the embassies). The Chiyoda line runs directly from Ueno to Roppongi (at Nogizaka station).

Ginza is Madison Ave, and it is also the main commercial gallery district. It is relatively close to Hibiya, and is one very easy transfer off of the Chiyoda line.

Finally, if you are in Tokyo in the last week of February, you should plan on seeing my (third) graduation show. All five of the art universities in Tokyo exhibit together, and it is a madhouse at most of the venues. The one exception is the grad sculptor students at Geidai proper (myself included). We get a big empty studio in the sculpture building. One person, one room. In any case, it`s a great chance to see a cross section all in one place.

Feel free to PM me with questions if you like.

Bill
www.billwolff.net

[suburbanartists]

Have a great time, I'm jealous. Love theo's walking giants.

[EJB]

[QUOTE=Julianna

I can't really afford it, but I haven't gone anywhere in ages and the thought of seeing Jansen's creatures roaming a park in Japan is exhilarating.

Good idea! I'm jealous too. Send us some pics.

[Julianna]

Wow. Thanks for all the hotel suggestions! They're definitely better than the box-hotels suggested by Expedia. And the price for Sawanoya almost seems to be too good to be true...less than $70CAD a night? I might stay more than the 5 days originally planned!

evaldart, the irregularity and unexpectedness is exactly why I'm going. I've been long overdue for getting shaken out of my little cocoon

Bill, I won't be able to make it there for the end of February. I have some things I need to deliver to clients for the end of Feb, and I won't be able to finish them before then. I'm looking at leaving on either March 20 or 27 and staying for a week. I've been told to get a JR pass for a week. Does that cover the travel on both the JR and subway, or is the subway fare separate?

And I'll be bringing back more than just photos! I just bought a camcorder yesterday, and will be taking my EeePC with me to blog about the trip!

[wolff]

The JR pass covers just JR trains...I think. You can only get one with a short term visa, so I`m not 100% sure, but I believe this is true. The subway is separate and so are other private lines like the Keisei (from Narita), for example.

If you`re going to take a long trip outside of Tokyo (via shinkansen to Kyoto, Hiroshima, etc..), the JR pass is worth it. If you`re going to take two or more (or just ride the shinkansen all day-not a bad way to take in the landscape...), it`s a very good deal. If you`re just staying in and around Tokyo, you`ll wind up spending about $10 a day on the train, maybe a little more including trips to Yokohama, etc; less if you`re staying in the city center, or if you rent a bicycle, or walk everyplace. Which makes the JR pass overpriced, I think.

The end of March is cherry blossom season. Very nice time to be in Japan...and windy, which I assume is good for Theo.

Bill
www.billwolff.net

[Julianna]

Okay, kiddies. I now have a plane ticket for the last week of March and have sent a reservation request to the Katsutaro Annex.

Now to figure out attractions and local transportation. And, uh, learn some basic conversational Japanese in three months.

[GlennT]

Originally Posted by Julianna

Now to figure out attractions and local transportation. And, uh, learn some basic conversational Japanese in three months.

I highly recommend the book, Dave Barry Does Japan.

[Julianna]

Thanks, Glenn.

[wolff]

Spoiler alert! Sorry! I`m on vacation and it`s close by!

I went to the Jansen show today; it`s adjacent to Hibiya Park in an annex space called Hibiya Patio. Initially, I was a little disappointed that the show was inside, and it was pricey; about $15 US (though I found a 100 yen coupon on the Japanese website). That is about the same as special admission to a museum here for say, a Hokusai or Vermeer show. In no way do I want to detract from his artistic vision or diminish his acheivement (the work IS very cool). But aside from his commentary on the work, the show read more like a science fair or advanced classroom mechanical engineering project than the very fancy art show I expected. Blame the venue, not the artist.

Most of the work was stationary, though often accompanied by video of the same or similar forms in action on a windy beach, and sometimes by large photographs or computer rendered images. There were a large number of hands-on mini-exhibits; like a crankshaft part or a spine-like part that you could pick up and see very clearly how it was made and how it moved. I was suprised at how basic the joinery is; cable ties, nylon cord and tape, mostly. Shaping/welding done with a heat gun. Same thing with the wooden forms; they are put together with drywall screws and home-depot hinges (which is ok; anything above essential is artifice anyways, but I was surprised). The wings are made of clear tape, layered over itself; where mass was needed, styrofoam peanuts are held together in a taped cocoon.

The highlight, perhaps, was a figure that you could walk back and forth (see picture). This is a variation of the form used in the BMW commercial, I believe. It felt like pushing a shopping cart, and the electrical conduit makes an odd squeaky sound. The whole form sags slightly; and he wrote about rigidity being an engineering challenge, especially with larger pieces. He also made it a point to say that the works were developed in an organic fashion (my words) as if one were creating a new organism, as opposed to engineering a problem.

Though being able to pick up parts and move them around was thought provoking, I wish more work moved during the show, and seeing the huge forms mounted inside was especially disappointing on a sunny, windy day. I walked out the doors feeling like I`d been bilked out of about $10, but with a great class project for a 3d design class in mind. Blame the venue, not the artist, I thought, and with more time than I`d thought I`d have, decided to wander around the immediate area, and immediately came across a large, bronze Gojira (you can see part of the patio in the background of the rear view; and Gojira is what the large characters on the plaque say in phonetic Japanese). My faith in art in Japan has been first smote and then restored.

Bill
www.billwolff.net

[Julianna]

Thanks for the head's up, Bill. I saw your post and responded to it on my blog. It's very disappointing that they didn't do more with his work. It's definitely not a true exhibition of his work.