21_21 DESIGN SIGHT

Filmmaker/photographer Hishikawa was appointed as the director for this exhibition to expressive ability of "motion" and to understand how each motion was created. Visitors enjoyed learning the mechanics of creating motion through simple structures, optical illusions, or even cutting-edge programing technology and how movement touches one's curiosity and emotion.
Date: June 19 - September 27, 2015

In "motion," the theme of this Exhibition, we infused imagination into the phenomena of "gravity," "inertia," and "wavelength," which are not-yet completely understood even in the digital society. We hope that, in this modern age overflowing with information, the Exhibition will become an opportunity to rethink, in a cross-sectional manner from a perspective of "motion," even human activities such as culture and economy instead of just natural science.

I planned this Exhibition in the hope of making it a place where children and students, who are the designers and artists of the future, can come to see the works of older people and play with them, like a drawing and manual arts room in school. By opening up the flow of production including how works are made and their mechanisms instead of just having visitors view them, we are striving so an impulse of "I can do it, too" or "I'll try doing it myself" is created.

Making things is certainly not a "black box." I hope that it starts to flow with various people participating as a team and the awareness that it is a single "movement" spreads. I would like to portray this not only to children who come to see the exhibit, but students to think their future and adults as well.

Today, a variety of information and knowledge is available in an instant via the Internet. But how we manipulate it to make something new is more important than just the information itself. To do that, the impulse of "wanting to try to make something," not knowing if it will be useful, is more important than difficult theories or job titles. In other words, we need to stir the heart. To me, the feeling of interest in something simply turning while making clanging sounds is surely connected to the moving feeling we will likely gain when the makeup of the universe comes into view in the future. This I firmly believe.

In addition to the works themselves, the Exhibition offers workshops and the gallery tours. So please come to the event, to perceive the passion of creators who cross the boundary between art and design.

Seiichi Hishikawa