Contemporary Art Center/Gallery, ART TOWER MITO

Mito Arts Foundation
1-6-8 Goken-cho, Mito-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 310-0063 Japan
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Phone: +81 29-227-8111 Facsimile: +81 29-227-8130
E-mail address: webstaff@arttowermito.or.jp


"Taku Satoh DESIGNS IN ORDINARY LIVES"
Oct. 21, 2006 (Sat) to Jan. 14, 2007 (Sun)
Closed Mondays (except Jan. 8), Dec. 27 (Wed) - Jan. 3 (Wed), Jan. 9 (Tues.)

The activities of the designer Taku Satoh span a broad variety of genres. Not only has he been responsible for the design of familiar products used by people in their daily lives in Japan, such as Asahi Breweries' Nikka Pure Malt whisky, Lotte's Xylitol Gum, and Meiji Dairies' "Oishii Gyunyu" (milk), he has also served as a planning member and art director for NHK Education's Japanese-language series, "Nihongo de Asobo (Let's Play with Japanese)," among many other projects.

Satoh's designs don't grab people's eye on account of being flashy or unusual, but rather emphasize aspects that are taken for granted in our everyday lives. No one can criticize him for "overdesign" or excessive self-expression, but yet, he has developed a distinctive design style that is uniquely his. In addition to his product-design work, Satoh is also energetically involved in various art projects, such as the "Anatomy of Design" and "Barbershop Sign" projects. His product designs and art projects help us to realize how the things we see everyday -- and thus hardly notice -- are in fact very interesting and appealing. In that respect, perhaps all of what he does can be described as "art."

The exhibition at Art Tower Mito encompasses almost all of Satoh's activities so far, and also introduces, for the first time ever, several individual and collaborative projects produced especially for the exhibition.

S&B FOODS INC.
SPICE & HERB series 		LOTTE Co., Ltd.
"Xylitol Gum" 		Taisho Seiyaku
"ZENA" 		Meiji Dairies Corporation
"Meiji Oishii Gyunyu"



NTT DoCoMo, Inc.
FOMA P701iD 		NHK EDUCATIONAL CORP.
"Nihon-go de Asobo" 		Taku Satoh CG work for
P701iD display




Exhibition Details

Name: Taku Satoh DESIGNS IN ORDINARY LIVES
Dates: Oct. 21, 2006 (Sat) to Jan. 14, 2007 (Sun)
Times: 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (no admission after 5:30 p.m.)
Closed: Mondays (except Jan. 8), Dec. 27 (Wed) - Jan. 3 (Wed), Jan. 9 (Tues.)
Venue: Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito (ATM)
Admission: ¥800 General
¥600 Advance Purchase
Groups (20 or more)
Free Students through 9th grade
Seniors 65 and older
Persons with certified disabilities
Ticket purchase: Ticket Counter, ATM Entrance Hall
JR East Midori-no-Madoguchi ticket windows
JR East View Plaza ticket offices

*One-year Free Pass: One-year passes are also available for purchase at the ATM Entrance Hall Ticket Counter. The H.T.P. (High-teen Pass) for young people aged 15 to 19 costs \1,000, and the Adult Pass for adults aged 20 to 64 can be bought for \2,500.

Organizer: Mito Arts Foundation
Sponsors: LOTTE Co., Ltd.
S&B FOODS INC.
Meiji Dairies Corporation
Nakagawa Chemical, Inc.
Asahi Breweries, Ltd.
Cooperation: NTT DoCoMo, Inc.
Kamejirushi., Inc.
Darumanatto Foods Inc.
NHK Educational Corporation
Panasonic Mobile Communications Co., Ltd.
SOUM Corporation
Curator: Toshihiro Asai (senior curator, ATM Contemporary Art Center)
Plan cooperations: Art Planning Rey Inc.
Hitomi Ishii (TAKU SATOH DESIGN OFFICE INC.)
Techno Pro Service Co., Ltd.
Special cooperation: TAKU SATOH DESIGN OFFICE INC.



Profile of Taku Satoh

1955 Born in Tokyo
1979 Graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, majoring in design
1981 Completed graduate program in the same university, and joined the Dentsu Inc. advertising agency
1984 Opened the TAKU SATOH DESIGN OFFICE INC.

Product Design
  • Nikka Pure Malt (whiskey)
  • Lotte's "Mint Gum" series
  • Lotte's "Xylitol Gum"
  • Taisho Pharmaceuticals' "Zena" (energy drink)
  • Meiji Dairies' "Oishii Gyunyu" (milk)
  • NTT DoCoMo's "P701iD" mobile handset (manufactured by Panasonic), etc.

    Visual Identity (VI) design
  • BS Asahi (satellite-based TV channel)
  • Kanazawa 21st Century Museum of Art
  • Tokyo Metropolitan University (TMU)
  • Issei Miyake Foundation, etc.

    Art direction, etc.
  • Planning member and art director for NHK Education's "Nihongo de Asobo (Let's Have Fun with Japanese)" program
  • Leader of the "Anatomy of Design" project, dissecting mass-produced consumer products from a design perspective.

    Selected Publications
  • "SKELETON" (Rikuyosha)
  • "Anatomy of Design" Vols. 1-4 (Bijutsu Shuppan-sha)
  • "Kujira wa Shio wo Fuite Ita. (The Whale Blew the Tide.)" (Trans Art)

    Previous exhibitions
  • 1990 "Neo-Ornamentalism" (Axis Gallery, Tokyo)
  • 2001 "Anatomy of Design" (Matsuya Ginza Design Gallery, Tokyo)
  • 2002 "The City's Hidden Light" (Art Gallery Kobo, Tokyo)
  • 2002 "Optimum Design" (Matsuya Ginza Exhibition Hall, Tokyo)
  • 2002 "Invisible Designer" (Toronto Japanese Culture Center, Canada)
  • 2002 "Anatomia do Design a obra de Taku Satoh" (Sao Paolo Japanese Culture Center, Brazil)
  • 2004 "Plasticity" (Ginza Graphic Gallery, Tokyo)

    Prizes and Awards
    Mainichi Design Award, Tokyo ADC Award, JAGDA New Designer Award, Tokyo TDC Bronze Prize, New York ADC Silver Prize, Japan Package Design Award Gold Prize, Good Design Gold Prize, etc.


    Layout of the Exhibition


    I. Works by the TAKU SATOH DESIGN OFFICE INC.
    This section employs special exhibitory methods to introduce the primary works of the TAKU SATOH DESIGN OFFICE INC., allowing visitors to experience them for themselves.
  • a. "Working Room"
    Objects, photographs, and explanatory panels introducing Satoh's main work over the past two decades.
  • b. "Graphic Works"
    Displays and accompanying explanations of examples of Satoh's graphic designs, including posters.
  • c. "Nihongo de Asobo (Let's Have Fun with Japanese)" Classroom
    Installation based on the studio setup for the educational television series, "Nihongo de Asobo (Let's Play in Japanese)," the planning for which Satoh participated in.


    II. Art Works
    This section introduces artworks and projects that Satoh has produced independently from his product design work.
  • a. Objets d'Art
    Displayed objects are based on products designed by Satoh, such as Lotte's Cool Mint Gum and Green Gum, S&B Spice Bottles, and Chidoriya's Tirolian biscuits.
  • b. "Anatomy of Design"
    A project that dissects mass-produced products from a design perspective. Four different products designed by Satoh are brought together: Lotte's "Xylitol" (gum), Fuji Photo Film's "Utsurundesu" (zoom disposable camera), Takara's Rica-chan (doll), and Meiji Dairies' "Oishii Gyunyu" (milk).
  • c. "Barbershop Sign Project"
    Although they are something we all know about, barbershop signs tend to get overlooked in our everyday bustle. This project takes a fresh look at objects that lurk in our ordinary lives, as well as their relationship with people.
  • d. "Umore-gi (Bogwood) Project"
    When sand was being dug from a pit, pieces of ancient wood emerged that were nearing the stage of fossilization. Satoh took this wood, cut it into pieces 70cm long, to create the art project displayed here.
  • e. "Language Museum"
    Satoh has elicited or extracted words or language from various things that have captured his fancy. He thereby explores the relation between things that appeal to our feelings as humans, on the one hand, and language, on the other.
  • f. "Surfing"
    One of Satoh's hobbies is surfing, and it has given him the opportunity to look at the relation between the natural environment and design. This section displays still and moving visual images that deal with the theme of surfing.


    III. Collaborative Works
    Projects designed especially for the exhibition, in collaboration with local people and organizations in Mito.
  • a. "New Souvenir Project"
    New kinds of sweets, developed by Satoh jointly with corporations in Mito, are put on sale with the aim of making them future "Mito specialties."
  • b. "Design Collection"
    In the spirit of an insect collection, this is a "design collection" of wrapping paper (i.e., design) thrown away on the street, and put into display cases. This project inspires us to take a fresh look at the future direction of design.


    Related Events

    Opening Talk
    Come hear Taku Satoh talk with the cultural anthropologist Shinichi Takemura.
    October 21 (Sat) 2:00-3:30 p.m. (doors open at 1:30 p.m.)
    Venue: Workshop, ATM Contemporary Art Gallery
    Capacity: 100 people (first-come, first-served)
    *Admission included in the exhibition entrance fee.

    Curator Talk
    The curator in charge of the Taku Satoh exhibition will deliver a talk.
    October 28 (Sat) 2:00-3:00 p.m.
    Venue: ATM Contemporary Art Gallery
    *Admission included in the exhibition entrance fee.

    Lecture by Taku Satoh
    Satoh speaks about his works in his own words.
    November 5 (Sun) 2:00-3:30 p.m. (doors open at 1:30 p.m.)
    Venue: Workshop, ATM Contemporary Art Gallery
    Capacity: 100 people (first-come, first-served)
    *Admission included in the exhibition entrance fee.

    Special Talk
    Come hear a dialogue between neuroscientist (also art and literature critic) Kenichi Mogi and Taku Satoh.
    December 2 (Sat) 4:00-5:30 p.m. (doors open at 3:30 p.m.)
    Venue: Workshop room, ATM Contemporary Art Gallery
    Capacity: 100 people (first-come, first-served)
    *Admission included in the exhibition entrance fee.

    "Nihongo de Asobo (Let's Have Fun with Japanese)" Karuta Tournament
    The word "karuta" comes from the Portuguese "carta," and means a special kind of card game played by Japanese, often at New Year's time. It involves two players trying to swiftly grab a "torifuda" card -- from among those spread out on the floor -- before their opponent can grab it. The player who ends up with the most cards after all have been taken wins the game. Cards used in the "iroha" form of karuta each contain one of the 50 hiragana characters, along with a picture representing a proverb that begins with that particular hiragana. Another person reads a "yomifuda" card with the entire proverb written on it, and the two "grabbers" then madly reach for the corresponding "torifuda" on the floor. The tournament at Art Tower Mito will use special "Let's Have Fun with Japanese" "iroha" cards.
    December 16, 2006 (Sat) 1:00-3:30 p.m.
    Venue: Workshop Room, ATM Contemporary Art Gallery
    Note: Further details will be announced later.



    CRITERIUM

    CRITERIUM 69: Taizo Mori
    Dates: Oct. 21, 2006 (Sat) to Jan. 14, 2007 (Sun)
    Venue: Room 9, Contemporary Art Gallery, ATM
    Planning coordinator: Tsukasa Mori (senior curator, Contemporary Art Center, ATM)
    Fee: Included in the price of admission to the current exhibition

    * The word "criterium" is the Latin word for the Greek "criterion," and means "standard." The Criterium Series at ATM Contemporary Art Gallery aims to introduce the new works of young artists in Japan, and the exhibitions are produced in collaboration with curators from the ATM Contemporary Art Center.


    ATM Contemporary Art Gallery's
    Pass for Adults
    © Hiroko Ichihara
    A pass has been designed for adults aged 20 and older, letting the holder make an unlimited number of visits to the Contemporary Art Gallery's exhibitions for one year from the date of purchase.
    The price is ¥2,500 The artwork on the pass has been designed by Hiroko Ichihara, an artist who incorporates words in her works. The logo on the pass reads: "Contemporary art -- as easy as pie." The pass is on sale at the ticket counter in Art Tower Mito.


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    Translated by Paul T. Narum
    (official names of exhibitions and artworks are furnished by the artists and planners themselves)

    Copyright ©2006 MITO ARTS FOUNDATION. All Rights Reserved. Created by TK.
    Mail to: webstaff@arttowermito.or.jp