SALONE NEWS 2007 in Milan vol.10
The Japanese Corps
It reminds me of the groups of travelers that were seen everywhere in Europe. Many Italian designers seem to welcome this festive fuss saying, ”Č Oh, I think this is good liquor.”É The liquors exhibited there together with the huge miniature of Tokyo made by Mori Building are the center of people”Ēs attention.
Wondering where on earth ”Ędesign”Ē is gone, I looked for some elements of it. What I found are jostling objects placed on each of small exhibition-board of the size of £±£²£°£°”ߣ±£²£°£°. You can guess what kind of crowds there if you know that each of these exhibits has someone related with it. If I try to see each of these exhibits carefully, I may find good ones there. The way of their being exhibited, however, cannot help making them the confusion of miscellaneous items. The group of designers Mr. Motomi Kawakami selected has a certain degree of quality but it”Ēs absolutely impossible for all of them to have an identical concept in their design works. Naturally I cannot see any consistent assertion expressed by them as a whole, which, I believe, is a quite expected impression.
This condition is similar to that of houses for sale in the suburbs of Tokyo. Each house is shown for sale on a finely divided land, that is, in other word, its exhibition space. Those items there are nothing other than the products created by ”Ędevelopers”Ē.
I don”Ēt think each designer can express his or her own assertion on the divided land like this.
I wanted to feel something consistent which dies hard through the history of Satellite.””I sincerely wished something Japanese designers assert to the world were found there.
What I felt there, looking at these small items was, disappointedly only sadness.
