KOME: The Art of Rice, exhibit by Taku Satoh
Japanese designer Taku Satoh was interested in the cultural impact of something as small as a grain of rice. A question evolved into a project, which became an exhibition: this month, Satoh presents 35 design pieces created by a number of Japanese artists in “KOME: The Art of Rice,” at 21_21 Design Sight in Tokyo.
Mr. Satoh of Taku Satoh Design Office is a Graphis Master and consistent Graphis winner. His “PLEATS PLEASE ISSEY MIYAKE Sushi series” won a Platinum award in the
Poster Annual 2010. He was featured in an interview with Anders Kornestedt of Finnish happy F&B in Brochures 5 and in Issue 344 for his design philosophy in an article by Maggie Kinser Hohle.
Designer: Taku Satoh | Design Firm: Taku Satoh Design
The exhibition, a collaboration between Mr. Satoh and anthropologist Shinichi Takemura, delves into the history of the rice culture.
“If we dig deeply in our everydayness,” Rafael A. Balboa and Ilze Paklone wrote in a Domus article, “we will realize that culture sprouts from the smallest things.” A single grain of rice, they note, can evolve not only into a staple food, but the spiritual source of a culture.
The exhibition invites viewers to see the the role rice plays in the environmental, social and economic elements of Japanese culture, and grapples with the question as to how the food staple will play a part in the turbulence of a new generation.
The exhibition is currently open to the public, through June 15th.
Taku Satoh Additional Japanese Designers that have contributed to the Graphis archive include Takahiro Shima, Mitsuo Katsui, AN Kiyoung, Tetsuro Minorikawa,
Yasuhiko Kida, Takashi Akiyama, Takenobu Igarashi, Tamotsu Yagi, Singo Fujiwaki, as well as Issey Miyake, Shin Matsunaga, Makoto Saito and Ikko Tanaka.
