OUT OF JAPAN

my first set of articles on japanese fashion trends was published. the current issue of LINK contains street shots and trend report as well as an interview with Yasuhiro Mihara. next issue will be at the end of April and focus on some more traditional aspects and the connection to modern design.

a poem i wrote was also published as part of the trend report:

TOKYO FASHION DREAMS

green tea, temples
the sound
of crows playing
in the park

urban buzz
filling my ears
while i make my way
through

the busy, peaceful streets
of tokyo

fashion, everywhere
yet
hard to embrace

it is deep and
intertwined
with a culture
so deeply connected
with tradition
and modern dreams.

N AME picasonic : 7:03 PM | COMMENT (0)

RAIN or SHINE

a typical BLACK FOREST weather clock. it has a man and a woman inside and it can turn around like a merry go round. due to the sensitivity of the clock, the man or woman will be outside depending on the weather. so rain or shine, you will see either the man or the woman outside.

now, i am not too sure which one is supposed to be outside or inside when it rains etc... but i guess that is a lack of cultural knowledge that happens when you leave your own country at a young age. still it is fun and reminds me of my time growing up in the black forest with mountains and lots of trees.

N AME picasonic : 6:56 PM | COMMENT (0)

COLD AS ICE

winter is back ! a bit late and unexpected, we got snow after all. always a nice fresh and cool feeling. here in holland, no matter if it rains, snows or is windy, the bikers are out. the bike is a major means of transportation. don't quote me on that but i think i heard that the average dutch owns 2.2 bicycles. many people also have a "city/bar bike" and a nice bike. the city bike is usually an old bike that even when left unlocked wouldn't attract too many interested souls. the nice bikes are usually kept behind locked doors. i keep my nice bike in my apartment and the old one stands outside. i havent used the old one in a year, though. need to fix the flat tires etc...

the climate is strange, though. i grew up in germany and i remember when i was a child we used to have a few months of snow in the winter. in the past few years there have been winters where they even had no snow at all.

N AME picasonic : 6:05 PM | COMMENT (0)

ME, MYSELF AND I

self portrait i took a few days ago during my "cross-processing" technical research. to be honest, it feels kind of weird taking self-portraits and i have to say this was only the second time i did it. however, it can be quite refreshing to take a photo of someone where you don't really feel rushed since i "got all the time in the world" hahaha.

also i haven't really been out for a while. i mean, sure i go out but always to the same places since i am running around to get things done for my review at school on wednesday. this means that i am short of interesting images these days. actually, feeling a little stressed out but things are good. a lot of good potential projects for the future, so the motivation is great.

i did find this photo kind of fitting for my current mental state. i feel a bit claustrophobic these days. especially all the news you see and hear. i am always inbetween trying to ignore it and keeping my eyes and ears open. all the bad news in the world is becoming so abstract to me, i wonder how you all feel. 23 dead in iraq, 3 dead in israel, 20,000 more due to the tsunami etc.... how is it possible to even grasp these numbers. the worst thing is, it is SO not necessary !

BUSH IN DA HOUSE ... and i wonder, when will this nightmare end? i feel like watching a bad movie that is not about to end anytime soon and it is only getting worse. how can they get away with this? even thinking of having a kid in this day and age, i wonder, would i be doing my child a favor for even having it?

hmmm...so many thoughts...maybe because it is getting night again. should try and update my blog in the morning next time : ) ... on the other hand, i try to look at this as free writing. whatever comes to my mind, i write i down, whatever it may be !

back to work : ))))

N AME picasonic : 10:53 PM | COMMENT (0)

REFLECTION

in your reflection
the daily reality
looks less dramatic
than the daily
ramblings of
our o b j e c t i v e media

yeah right !^%#&^%
i say to myself

sink or swim !

my mind
is quick
in making
the right decision

... indirect vision

the best choice
of our time

visionary reflection
the savior
of my sanity.

N AME picasonic : 7:32 AM | COMMENT (0)

BUBBLE(S)

cross-processing (slide film --> negative) --- the hague outdoor skating rink

..........................
BUBBLE(S)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::

FLYING high
in the winds
of daily euphoria

closed off
to the rest
of the ever changing
materialistically saturated
w o r l d...

BOUNCING
in all directions
on the cobblestones
of unavoidable
obstacles

DOCKING
on to others
with the same
constellation

PROVIDING
shelter to
me, my dreams, my fears

until one day
when it is ok
to wander
out of its shell

...

only time will tell.

N AME picasonic : 4:08 PM | COMMENT (0)

NEGATIVE ENERGY

cross-processing (slide film --> negative)

fascinating topic but when experienced in life it really doesn't feel good. a few times in my life it has happened to me, more so in the past 10 years than before, though. i call it NEGATIVE ENERGY.

sometimes it can happen that when i meet someone it just doesnt feel right. i feel heavy, depressed, anxious, aggressive etc... in short, i feel terrible. many times this passes as you get to know someone when you realize that their outer facade doesn't represent their inner personality. however, sometimes it just remains.

in my school i have a teacher like that. i don't have anything against him, i even respect him for trying hard, being an interesting artist etc... but somehow when i come close to him or pass by him i get such a negative feeling. it is really a shame when that happens.

on the other hand i find such an occurence very fascinating because it really explains (at least to me) how we are all made up of only energy. we are confronted with this phenomenon day in day out. an interesting book also has this as a basis, it is called CELESTINE PROPHECY by James Redfield. Whoever hasn't read this book I would highly recommend it. He also wrote sequels to it but this one of course is a good one to start.

N AME picasonic : 11:06 PM | COMMENT (0)

HERE but not HERE

having moved around a lot and living in different countries and cultures can be a blessing or a curse. the problem is, once you have experienced it, there is no going back.

i find it a great blessing to have had the chance to experience so many cultures, meet different people, eat different foods and get an insight into the emotions of the most diverse societies. to really get the most out of this smorgasboard of cultures, an OPEN MIND is a definite must. the ability to adapt naturally goes hand in hand with it. however, in my opinion or in my case, the ability to adapt is so strong that i have also lost my identity. in my own bubble i wonder around, no matter where i am.

during my 11 years in the New York, I never thought that i would leave again. i was part of the local environment, accepted as one of theirs and also felt at home. still to this day watching a US show or movie transports me right back to that life. i instantly leave the place where i am and am beamed to the U.S.. i also have this with many other places....

i am particularly fond of japanese culture and it probably resembles the culture i feel the most at home, the most comfortable. it goes without saying that i often think about my life in japan and have images of it in my head. no wonder that i often don't feel a part of european or dutch culture since i have so many vivid images of lives in other places in my head. it is a blessing to be full of vivid images and dreams but at the same time our society calls for something more rational. irrational feelings and thoughts are often detrimental in moving on.

as part of an art project i made a so-called "view box". it is a box in which i created a certain life. in this case i created "japan as seen through my eyes". i then brought this box to the photo studio and took photos of it with different lighting, from different angles etc.... this is one of them.

ENJOY MY WORLD !

N AME picasonic : 7:21 PM | COMMENT (0)

ARTIST EXCHANGE

watched a local tv program about an artist exchange between chinese artists and dutch artists. a group of chinese came here to holland to collaborate and meet their artistis counterparts in holland. one thing i found interesting is the simultaneous painting on the same canvas. Two, sometimes 3 artists were painting on the same canvas at the same time. This way a conversation without words took place. Most of the chinese didn't speak english so the only way to communicate was through art. interesting, still, communication without words can be a very frustrating experience.

one of the chinese artists mentioned that the main goal of this exchange for them was to learn something from their visit to holland since they thought dutch/european art was more sophisticated. however, they felt a bit disappointed since their expectations of a more sophisticated artistic environment didn't hold true. i ask myself: "How can art be sophisticated ?" Did they mean the tools or techniques? I don't think art can be sophisticated, only the approach can be different. the approach is directly influenced by the cultural environment and individual experiences.

N AME picasonic : 10:27 PM | COMMENT (0)

TO BLOG or NOT TO BLOG ...

weblogs have been becoming very popular over the past few years and since i have been following quite a few blogs i often see similar things happening.

when someone first starts a blog, one can feel the enthusiasm, the ability to communicate with the world. sooner or later this enthusiasm evaporates and is being replaced by disappointment. often they realize (in the absence of any comments) that communicating with the world is theoretically possible through the internet but one can be happy to reach 5 people. then they realize that to keep those 5 people, they need to update day in day out - becoming slaves of web statistics, the number of visitors to their site. maybe they catch a cold or go on vacation, unable to update their weblog and upon return realize that noone is coming by anymore. their global tool of communication has died silently in their absence.

not too long ago a friend of mine told me: "you used to come by my blog and write comments but you haven't written in a while !" ... well, that is exactly what i mean, the innocent tool of "blogging" has turned into somewhat of an unsatisfying daily addiction.

then you see others, who rank high on blogging charts but DAMN, look at their weblogs, they are like full-fledge portal sites looking more like yahoo or cnn. they seem to dedicate 90 percent of their daily life to the virtual realm of communication.

it seems to be one or the other, be on top and COMMUNICATE, dedicating most of your time to it or be part of the twilight zone, blogging away without connecting.

i had my own blog a few years ago and i stopped because i felt disappointed at not being able to communicate. now, though, being part of this small international blogging group, i feel comfortable. even if noone reads it, i am structuring my thoughts, keeping a log of my mind wanderings and activities to check whenever i want. i can honestly say that it clears my head and if anyone decides to pass by, it is a welcomed surprise : )

N AME picasonic : 9:31 PM | COMMENT (0)

BEYOND SUSHI

free creative exercise. i am working on a photo book about japan which is called BEYOND SUSHI. the reason for the title is that outside of japan most people still have a stereotypical view of what japan and japanese are like. i am always amazed at how unknown the culture of the second biggest economy of the world is. the most surprising thing is that even very educated people seem to think of japan as a mountain of sushi. therefore, BEYOND SUSHI !

i have been thinking what to do for the cover of the book. maybe a collage would be nice. anyway, this is just a free creative exercise for myself to eventually arrive at an interesting cover.

seeya !!

N AME picasonic : 9:55 PM | COMMENT (0)

PASSING ME BY

my scarf flying
in the wind

my hair
standing

my mind
screaming quietly

as you are
passing me by ...

N AME picasonic : 9:56 PM | COMMENT (0)

GOT MILK ???

the other day when i was on the tram i was looking out of the window and saw an orange cow standing on the corner. i was wondering who put it there or what the purpose is. then the next day when i was in the city again, i saw one more cow, then another, and another ... all with different designs. turns out that there is some sort of exhibition of these cows, all painted by different artists. i think it is an initiative by and for european artists. every cow/painting is sponsored by a different organization.

kind of funny i guess...

N AME picasonic : 7:56 PM | COMMENT (0)

TOUGH CHOICE

i assume most of us buy pet food according to the cutest cat/dog/... on the package. second stage will be the actual taste test of your pet - will it look at you with big loving eyes and licking its mouth after devouring all of it or will it sniff it and walk away in disgust (like filou, the "gourmet cat" often does).

on this package you see "kip/kalf (chicken/veal)". like any of us will ever know what is really in there. i wonder how many "people" have actually tasted pet food. my nephew ben actually tried filou's dry food before and he liked it a lot.

hmmmm... maybe i should check sometime

N AME picasonic : 9:13 PM | COMMENT (0)

WHITE RUSSIAN

today my russian friend kolja and I were hanging out at silly's in the hague. he is a very talented hair stylist/designer from st. petersburg (leningrad) in russia. always fun to spend time together and talk about some interesting ideas and life in holland as a foreigner : ) ... both of us are foreigners here but been here for quite some time. we talk a lot about hair design, fashion, design in general, people and life. he is quite an interesting guy since he knows a lot about classical dance and music as well. he studied opera singing at the conservatory in st. petersburg.

right now we are planning on making a fashion/hair series russian style for a japanese hair magazine but still waiting to hear from the editor in tokyo.

actually he is very interested in japan and japanese (hair) design. he told me that during world wide competitions, russian and japanese hair stylists are usually the ones who make the final round and, therefore, are eachother's biggest competition.

N AME picasonic : 10:49 PM | COMMENT (0)

ANALYZE THIS !

nice weather you might think ! hahaha. this photo was NOT taken today but was taken last summer but I found it fitting for what I have been thinking about A LOT lately: WHAT IS A GOOD PHOTO ? yes, what on earth makes a photo better than another, which piece of art is more powerful than another, who is better, what is the best etc..... a deadly spiral. A spiral in which at least I get lost day after day. I have many ideas but because I feel so caught in this spiral i feel so blocked in my execution. i often even wonder what the purpose is of carrying out creative ideas ... don't get me wrong, I LOVE ART and it makes me feel very good if i see something i like but THE SPIRAL I talked about above really catches me almost every time. at least until recently...

Before this thought becomes too general, let's get down to specifics ! is this a good photo or not ? i think it is ... i just LIKE it, it appeals to me because i am a dreamer and its unrealistic colors and retro look make it unrealistic, therefore, ...... dreamlike. will anyone else like it? hmmm not sure. some will, some won't but what does it really matter? it seems to matter a lot at art school and i find it absolutely horrendous how art is judged in so called PROFESSIONAL circles. sure, one can analyze any image according to readability, form, contrast, moment etc... but the big question always remains, does it affect YOU ???

if it does, it works for you and that is great. if not, then, well, it is great too. however, i often frown upon the harsh critics of art school professors or "professionals" because when you really ask them why it doesn't work for them, they seem to all of a sudden be short of words.

not so much for myself but i see so many talented kids being discouraged because of this type of artistic reasoning and analysis. what happened to pure emotion? let us be more open minded and be guided by our emotion - less by our egos. let us be EMOTIONALLY TOUCHED by people's work, let us be open minded. no need to judge! i find that since i started to become a little bit more free of the judgemental habit of society, my ideas are less afraid to come out of the closet.

i love to see work where i feel the artist is not concerned with good or bad but just being guided by her or his emotion. a little over a month ago i had the opportunity to present my work to a class of graphic design students in Tokyo. all were between 18 and 20. they also brought some of their favorite photos to class. some of them VERY EMOTIONAL in content but to my surprise quite many of them seemed not to be aware of it. when asked why they took it, some said, "well, because i had my camera with me" or "because the weather was nice". then again it proves what i just talked about. they let their inside emotion guide them without really thinking too much. it resulted in something which really represented THEM and that made it powerful.

EMOTION IS A ONE WAY STREET
TO HEAVEN

FEAR IS A DEAD END

N AME picasonic : 9:18 PM | COMMENT (0)

ARMED AND DANGEROUS !

can you believe it? our cat filou hunted a crow yesterday. wow, i was so surprised. when my mom told me that all of a sudden he showed up in the house with a full size crow, i was shocked. i have to say, dutch crows are about HALF the size of japanese crows. he brought it in, carrying it by its neck, still alive and unharmed. after he let it go, it flew around the house until my mom finally managed to open a window and let it out. the crow was fine and could FLY ON !

sometimes hard to understand for us humans that a cute cat can also hunt but it is their instinct and of course, filou was very proud ! maybe he wanted to say thank you to my mom that she stayed with him the whole time while he was afraid of the new year fireworks. he also catches frogs in the summer. however, he doesnt hurt them at all. he brings them in the house, then drops them and touches them with his paw waiting for them to jump around and entertain him.

of course he is NOT armed and dangerous and a big part of our family : )))

N AME picasonic : 5:34 AM | COMMENT (0)

FIRESTORM

still wobbly on my knees, bit of a headache left and dizzy i was behind our window at home trying to get a look at the new year fireworks. at first it seemed kind of little but then more and more went up. still seems to be a bit less than usual. i have never been to fond of fireworks to be honest but many people seem to enjoy it, i always wonder why...

talked to my mom and our cat filou has been hiding under the sofa, bed, table, etc... just like every year. he gets so nervous and scared. well, tomorrow he can go out again.

usually kids start with fireworks almost a week before new year. it is not allowed but they do it secretly here and there, especially at night. then of course on new years eve and the next day they try to pick up fireworks on the street that didn't go off the night before.

well, hopefully everyone can have a peaceful and healthy 2005 ! let's hope that there will be less bad news in the world in the coming year.

N AME picasonic : 8:56 AM | COMMENT (0)