COOL Vol.20 Special Issue NOW ON SALE!!!

　　

THE YES MEN“Fix the World”
Interview with Carmen Einfinger
Anish Kapoor“Memory”
The Full Scale of Tim Burton’s Works @ MoMA
CREAM International Festival for Arts and Media Yokohama
Special Feature Takashi TARUYA “TSUKUMOGAMI”
La Biennale di Venezia
The Worldwide Art Views (EU Edition)
Pickup Artist / Kyoko Okubo “Down the Rabbit-Hole”
ORIGAMI for Africa
Look Look Art books
Film Freaks Special“20 Things You Know About Movies That Relates To 20”
The Nomadic Artist Vol.5 “Reality of Nomadic Artist (Special Edition)”
Chinese Art Now Vol.8“Chinese printmaking and Japanese printmaking”
Hong Kong Dance Music Scene Entering the underground in the concrete jungle #002 “Heavy”

Palácio do Egipto

In 1755, Lisbon was struck by an earthquake. Marquis of Pombal, was the prime minister at that time and was instituted by decree 1st Count of Oeiras like reward by its action in the trial of reconstruction of Lisbon, the grid design ideia and oversawing　the rapid recovery of the whole city leading to the new city as it is now.

Two and a half century later, Isaltino Morais, who has been the Mayor of Oeiras for more than two decades, is continuing to develop both the design and art of the city under less catastrophic circunstances but with a vision and determination equivelent to his predecessor.

After a major renovation in the 18th Century, the building was given this name by its owner at the time, Rebelo de Andrade, as this Palace was located in a estate named “Quinta da Nossa Senhora do Egipto” (Holy Mary of Egipt).

At the entrance, visitors are welcomed by an “Azulejo”, a form of traditional Portuguese tin-glazed, ceramic tilework. The architectural structure was modeled after a wedding veil by Vaz do Carmo, a notable Portuguese architects. This romantic and remarkable image also receives the benefit of sunshine and the sound of the neighboring church’s bell’s ringing. The white wedding design surrounds visitors in a pleasant aura with a celebratory atmosphere. In addition, there is a mysterious sculpture on the outside wall which was discovered during the construction of the palace. The artist remains unknown.

The artist displayed at the opening of this museum is one of the most famous Spanish artists, Salvador Dali. There are 100 works, divided into 6 series, all from the private collection from Barcelona of Juan Javiel Bofill, a Spanish art collector and close friend of Dali.

Adding to the charm of the exhibit is that visitors can touch the original sculptures. Dali felt that if people could touch the art, they could feel more close to it. The main sculpture, Medo (“Fear”), expresses fear possibly inspired on Dali`s fear of death. You are invited to feel his fear of death through touching his works and not just by seeing them.

One of the most remarkable sculptures is‘Dragon-Cisne-Elefante’(1969 Bronze). When seen from the front, it looks like a swan. However, it changes to two other animals as the point of view changes. It looks like an elephant viewed upside down, and a dragon from the rear. One sculpture can have 3 different faces depending on the point of view with Dali’s unique vision. If you love Dali’s well known work of paintings you will be enraptured with a 3D approach of his realities.

The art exhibition will be changed about every 3 months. The collection of Dali will last until the 15th of September, 2009. On the last Friday of every month, visitors can enjoy a night at the museum, as it is opened until midnight. In addition to a free guided tour, it has various planned events, and 3 cafes where you can enjoy the original sweets of the city. In 2009, Oeiras is the best city to enjoy the sea, sunshine, and art.


(Text & Photo by Yuka Takao in Oeiras, Portugal)

COOL Vol.18-19, coming soon!

The opening page of the next issue features Karim Rashid who is worldly known as a product designer. For the first time as a curator, Karim participated in the planning of the exhibition, "Totally Rad": Karim Rashid Does Radiators. The exhibition was held at Museum of Art & Design, known as MAD, which had a re-opening last September. We asked him to talk about this exhibition that gave full play for his senses.

Mariko Mori is an active artist in New York. We had an exclusive interview at her studio in New York and asked about her large installation, "Plant Opal," which has been the talk of the town since its sudden emergence in Roppongi Hills.

As a featured article, we will report to you some hot, Academy awarded movies including "Departures" from New York's biggest film festival, "Tribeca Film Festival"

Also, following this edition, the next issue contains the last half of a long interview with Tadanori Yokoo. Our next number is scheduled to be released this fall as the special memorial 20th edition, and is full of fresh content that you cannot take your eyes off.


===== COOL Vol.18-19 Summer Issue Contents =====

*Karim Rashid "Totally Rad" :Karim Rashid Does Radiators
*Exclusive Interview with Mariko Mori "Plant Opal"
*Interview with Hajime Sorayama
*The Third Mind : American Artists Contemplate Asia 1860-1989
Opening Report & Interview with Alexandra Munroe
*NYC Art Fairs
*Special Interview with Tadanori Yokoo (sequel)
*Big Apple Entertainment Stage 3
*The Worldwide Art Views
Yayoi Kusama - New York
The Murder of Crows - Berlin
Ring - Switzerland
Martin Kippenberger: The Problem Perspective - New York
Louis Vuitton: A Passion for Creation - Hong Kong
NY Collection - New York
Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy - New York
"Making Worlds" Venice Biennial 2009 - Italy
MoMA Atlantic - New York
Francis Bacon: A Centenary Retrospective - New York
*The Nomadic "decob" in New York
*Hong Kong Dance Music SceneEntering the underground in the concrete jungle
*Pick up Artist / Kaeko Mizukoshi
*Look! Look! Art Books
*Chinese Art Now Vol. 7
*Film Freaks Scene12
*J-POP ART NEWS (3)
*The Diary of A Nomadic Artist Vol. 4
*NY Style Vol.7
*Toronto Art Report #9

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COOL Next Issue

-COOL Vol.18-19 Summer Issue Contents-

The opening page of the next issue features Karim Rashid who is worldly known as a product designer. For the first time as a curator, Karim participated in the planning of the exhibition, ‘“Totally Rad”: Karim Rashid Does Radiators.’” The exhibition was held at Museum of Art & Design, known as MAD, which had a re-opening last September. We asked him to talk about this exhibition that gave full play for his senses.

Mariko Mori is an active artist in New York. We had an exclusive interview at her studio in New York and asked about her large installation, “Plant Opal,” which has been the talk of the town since its sudden emergence in Roppongi Hills.

As a featured article, we will report to you some hot, Academy awarded movies including “Departures” from New York’s biggest film festival, “Tribeca Film Festival”

Also, following this edition, the next issue contains the last half of a long interview with Tadanori Yokoo. Our next number is scheduled to be released this fall as the special memorial 20th edition, and is full of fresh content that you cannot take your eyes off.

The next issue will be published in the middle of July.

Subscribe COOL NOW !

LIFE IN ART Vol.1 by arisa itami

"ART WALK" ４/２５−５/２２/２００９　
24 artists used 17 units of 4 condos to exhibit their works.
At the opening reception, 10 filmmakers’ works were shown at the public screening space in one of the buildings.
Number of customers at the opening reception: 650


"SAKURA EXHIBITION" ５/７−６/２１/２００９　
An art group called “Sakura Exhibition,” consisted of 139 graphic designers from Tokyo, used 10 units of the condo “ISHI” to showcase 202 art pieces. The architectural design of the condo was inspired by that of apartments in Tokyo. At the opening reception, there were Taiko drum performance as well as Japanese traditional dance performance.
Number of customers at the opening reception: 250


These two underground projects took place in Brooklyn NY. They were the beginning of a new form of art exhibitions that reflected the economy crisis of the US. I joined the projects as the curator, and the first thing I realized was that art is becoming a bigger part of our everyday life. Today in this downward economy, top colleges like Harvard University are being questioned by the media. They are accused that their education focused on just the numbers as the essence of business, and not details. I cannot help but think art is the savior of this world’s future.

The projects were about improving the condition of a poor area in Brooklyn. To make the town more lively and distinctive, beautiful condos that look like modern galleries are being constructed. We used the space inside of the condos for art exhibitions, which attracted people’s interest to the area. If they purchase the condo, they can buy the art works and the furniture as well. Visit of many people would lead to the vitalization of the town and improvement of economy. The town residents and local artists worry that the area might become more expensive to live in. After hearing our opinion, however, those artists joined the project. Everyone is hesitant to accept something new. I wonder what we can do now for it to be a win-win situation for both the old and new residents of the town. I feel that this project itself is an art. This is a new style of art, and also a mission, produced by this era.



Arisa Itami
Arisa Itami spreads love to the world through music and art. Arisa is a Japanese artist who is a Jazz singer, an actress, and a curator. She works mainly in Brooklyn NY.
In 2008, she visited Africa to teach origami art to children in Nigeria. To make art a part of daily life and to change the world with art, she started “Zank and Mars organization.” She operates an art gallery called Ouchi Gallery in Brooklyn where modern art was born during the art revolution in 1970s. As an artist, she was a part of the mural painting team for the Atlanta Coca Cola museum in 2007. Arisa started a movement called “min-gei”, which is a fruition of her concept “LIFE IN ART.” The purpose of “min-gei” is to regenerate the Japanese folk art movement called "Mingei," which developed in the late 1920s, as a new style in the modern time. The theory of Mingei was to discover beauty in everyday objects created by nameless craftsmen and introduce it to the world. "min-gei" restores the movement in present time with a new theory: making art a part of our every day life. Arisa introduces “min(everyone’s)-gei(art)” so instead of seeing art as special and intangible thing, everyone would consider art as something familiar and intimate with our lives, just like our every day objects.


【Links】
www.min-gei.com
www.arisawork.wordpress.com
www.helloliving.com
http://www.sakura-ex.info/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlYcs5O__C4