Google with Jeff Koons

Google with Jeff Koons
Originally uploaded by nofrills

http://www.google.co.jp/intl/ja/help/ig/artist2008/jeff-koons.html

Jimi stencil

jimi stencil
Originally uploaded by nofrills

Evil man make you kill me ...

Evil man make you kill me ...
Originally uploaded by nofrills

Tokyo, Japan.

... Even though we are only families apart

... Even though we are only families apart
Originally uploaded by nofrills

Machine gun,
tearin' my body all apart.
Machine gun, yeah,
tearin' my body all apart.
Evil man make me kill you.
Evil man make you kill me.
Evil man make me kill you,
even though were only famlies apart.
Well, I pick up my axe and fight like a farmer,
You know what I mean?
-- Jimi Hendrix, Machine Gun

Tokyo, Japan.

Let Me Stand Next To Your Fire

Let Me Stand Next To Your Fire
Originally uploaded by nofrills

Tokyo, Japan

Let Jimi Take Over

Let Jimi Take Over
Originally uploaded by nofrills

Tokyo, Japan.

A guy with an umbrella and three pieces of "street art"

A guy with an umbrella and three pieces of "street art"
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

Tokyo local goverment's idea of "Street Art" in reality. Ishihara declares the wall is a canvas, and he means this.

Roppongi, Tokyo

Something "real"?

Something "real"?
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

A close-up shot of this piece. I believe someone put a finishing touch on it to make it look "real". *grin, grin*

Roppongi, Tokyo

I like this. *grin*

I like this. *grin*
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

I think I got the artist's idea, and this makes me grin.

The same wall as this and this, that is, a part of Tokyo's official "Street Art Programme".

Roppongi. Tokyo

To zip or not to zip?

To zip or not to zip?
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

The same wall as this and this, that is, a part of Tokyo's official "Street Art Programme".

Roppongi. Tokyo

This is Ishihara's "Street Painting Programme"

This is Ishihara's "Street Painting Programme"
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

Tokyo local goverment's idea of "Street Art" in reality. Ishihara declares the wall is a canvas, and he means this.

Roppongi, Tokyo

His Idea of Street Art

His Idea of Street Art
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

I'm not going to give a lecture about the Governer of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara. All you need to know is 1) He is a right-wing hardliner, 2) He wanted to be an artist (visual art) when he was young (himself being a novelist/author as well as a politician). He used to paint (or draw, I'm not so sure), and one of his sons is an artist (well, sort of). In a word, Ishihara is interested in art. But it seems that in his eyes and mind, there is a clear border between "authorised art" and "un-authorised/anti-authorisation art". Thus, he prohibits "graffitti" while he encourage "street painting" (He's using the words, see the note).

Next to a new museum (the New National Museum of Art, or I should think it's the New National Gallery of Art. The archtecture of the museum/gallery is by the late Kisho Kurokawa, by the way).

Roppongi, Tokyo.

*Click on the photo and read tags.

Da Vinci

Da Vinci
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

There is a Da Vinci exhibit in Ueno, from 20 March to 17 June. For more information, see:
www.tnm.jp/jp/servlet/Con?pageId=A01...

wall on wall

wall on wall
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

A mural inside Hibiya Metro Station.

A wall with an artistic touch

A wall with an artistic touch
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

I never know why this is here, and what this is (except that this is a wall). Ginza Metro Station, Tokyo.

DaVinci Mode

DaVinci Mode
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

I forgot where I took this one, but I think this is Sekaido (a notable art supply store) in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Minton Tile Booklet

Minton Tile Booklet
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

A set of booklet and postcard from a special exhibition in Tokyo.

These minton tiles, some of which were most probably designed by AWN Pugin, were used for a 1896 building by a British architect, Josiah Conder (1852 - 1920).

[a picture for my blog]
nofrills.seesaa.net/article/26779652.html

It's a Sony

It's a Sony
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

At the front yard gallery (?) of Hara Museum of Contemporary Art.

An old SONY Trinitron Colour TV. Probably from the 1980s. We have almost forgot this type of TV. We even don't remember how to switch this on. Only after I thought for a while, I remembered I used to pull and push the knob. (I'm stupid the knob is out of the frame.)

This was placed just behind the Pink Telephone. While a pay phone was usually put outside a building, an outside TV is unusual.

Pink

Pink
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

At the front yard gallery (?) of Hara Museum of Contemporary Art.

This kind of public telephone (Pink Telephone) has now long gone... 20 years or so. Basically the artist put these "useless" objects there, probably to remind people of their "long-gone" recent past.

Of this kind of feeling, we use the word なつかしい [na-tsu-ka-shi-i].

And this "piece of art" looks very ironic to me. A なつかしい telephone from the 1970s or 1980s that doesn't work any more and has retired can make "a piece of art" in a museum's front yard. Not so on the street, but after seeing this at the museum, you'd feel somewhat different when you see this pink pay-phone on the street. This is how art can make a difference, I suppose...

The arts start here

The arts start here
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

In front of Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan.

Apparently an artist named Ken drew this. And the shadow is, it's a friend of mine there.