It's been a vaguely exciting month over at Néojaponisme. We've debuted the first English review of Kawakami Mieko's 138th Akutagawa Prize-winning text Chichi to Ran (『乳と卵』, “Breasts and Eggs”), a questionable graphic novella I did years ago in Japanese, a retro review of an even more questionable Japanese submarine action thriller, talked about the northern islands ceded to Russia by Japan following World War II, dropped bootleg Cornelius radio broadcasts galore, some crappy type design, and an enquiry into Japan's attempt to reform its visual language.

There is much, much in store in the next year: limited edition clothing with a certain clothing giant and more...

If you are in LA and are vaguely interested in things Nihonesque, make sure to check out Néojaponisme Editor-in-chief W.  David Marx speaking at J-Wave at UCLA TOMORROW. A more crucial, engaging, and enlightening presentation on global fashion is going to be difficult to find.

Above: the non-LP b-side image that didn't accompany the Murakami review.

World premiere on VLU:

My new book, Parallel Strokes, is available now via the book website. It isn't officially being released for a  week, but I figured VLU readers should have the first pick.  

About Parallel Strokes:

Parallel Strokes is a collection of interviews with twenty-plus contemporary typeface designers, graffiti writers, and lettering artists around the world. The book is introduced with a comprehensive essay charting the history of graffiti, its relation to type design, and how the two practices relate in the wider context of lettering.

Interviews within include conversations with pan-European type design collecitve Underware, Japanese type designer Akira Kobayashi, American graffiti writer and fine artist Barry McGee/Twist, German graffiti writers Daim and Seak, American lettering artist, graphic designer and design eductor Ed Fella, among others. Parallel Strokes is an enquiry into the history, context, and development of lettering today, both culturally approved and illicit.

Full list of interviewees:

Akira Kobayashi
Underware
Ed Fella
Delta
Jerry Inscoe/Joker
Jens Gehlhaar
Daim
Seak
Jonas Williamsson
Handselecta
Tauba Auerbach
Lady Pink
She One
Eklips AWR/MSK
Eskae
Renos
Mike Giant
Chaz Bojorquez
Barry McGee/Twist

 

The result of a six years of research in the combined arts of lettering, graffiti, and typeface design, Parallel Strokes is a collection of interviews some of the best letterform creators in the world today.

Chaz Bojorquez talks about the origins of barrio graffiti in Los Angeles and the evolution of the craft. Fellow Angeleno, vernacular graphic designer Ed Fella, speaks about his history in lettering and how he earned the title “The King of Zing” in Detroit design and illustration circles. Famed Japanese type designer Akira Kobayashi discusses Roman and Japanese letterforms while showcasing a lifetime of type design work. European graffiti writers Daim, Seak, and Delta share their thoughts on dimensional graffiti lettering while American graffiti writer Mike Giant talks about vernacular lettering, typeface design, and the evolution of graffiti handstyles.

 
Parallel Strokes is richly illustrated throughout, featuring copious previously unpublished work by the interviewed artists, as well as supplementary illustrations and photographs detailing contemporary and historical trends in graffiti and type design.

The first 100 orders come with a two color 17" × 20" Parallel Strokes poster printed using recycled paper and soy inks at Portland, Oregon's Pinball Publishing.

 
Parallel Strokes is 244 pages thick and available for $25 with free shipping worldwide. 

A ton of new (and/or recontextualized) content up on Néojaponisme from Mumbleboy, E*Rock, Jean Snow, Eiko Nagase (AQ/Tokyo Art Beat), Audrey Fodecave Tsujimura (OK Fred Magazine), Nobuo Ikeda, Matt Treyvaud, and David Marx. Includes an article about a weird 80s skiing movie from Japan (with video); the removal of rum, sodomy and the lash from Japan's production of the musical Hair; intense illustrations; Japan's infatuation with raw concrete architecture; and inspired collages.

The official announcement of the launch of this new site:

PingMag MAKE is the sister site to PingMag.
We use an interview format to put the spotlight on a wide range of
people active in rural areas. We document the voices of these
unknown heroes and broadcast them to the world. It's the
Japan-based magazine about people and making things,
coming out once a week. We're passing on the passion,
ideas, skills, and life stories of people who are building today
and exploring tomorrow: craftsmen, engineers, entrepreneurs, and inventors.

The unofficial announcement from my end:

This is a really great idea- there are so many small cottage industries from "days gone by" that produce amazing handmade goods that could benefit from a bit of exposure and hopefully some fresh clientel. The site opens with a visit to a custom umbrella maker (folks use umbrellas here regularly, mind you) and a prosthetics shop.

Rather than bemoan the slow pace of redevelopment in the Ninth Ward, Mr. Pitt said he decided to address the problem directly by teaming with William McDonough, the green design expert; Graft, a Los Angeles architecture firm; and Cherokee, an investment firm based in Raleigh, N.C., that specializes in sustainable redevelopment. John Williams of New Orleans is the executive architect for the project.

Click to read more ...

Mark Owens will be discussing graphic design, synthpop, & béton brut
Sunday 18 November 2007, 9pm

MANDRAKE 2692 S La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(Between Venice Blvd & Washington Blvd)

Mono caught my interest for their effortless writing and style. I am also interested in them as a thriving studio making things I like outside on NY, LA and London. We are thinking a lot about these towns that creatives tend to be able to exist in and live a normal life. Probably because my wife is 4 months pregnant and you begin to think of everything entirely different. In music Radiohead did it again and the new video from Battles with art direction from United Visual Artists shot in a northern Wales slate pile rocks. Bought this (above) type tote that Brian designed for the Liars it came so fast. Been using google reader religiously, I really recommend that. Here is my shared items list. I also downloaded every picture on the Art Department's site, what a great resource. LA a is burning again right now. Looking at this 5-9 thing, thanks for sending me that. New shirt someone sent me is cool, but I don't need the airside logo on the arm. My friend Carter's aunt Bunny Williams has a neat article on her in the NY Times, Can Taste Be Taught. Parting shot...

Really comprehensive site on the new buildings going up at the World Trade Center.

Long overdue, Neojaponisme launches with an initial manifesto, outlining the magazine's strategy for broadcasting cutural criticism, design writing, historical essays, music, and original artwork from Japan to the world.

Go deep. (Thanks, Birch!)

 

Existing to encourage the heroic experiments of the gracefully over-ambitious, Machine Project presents workshops, events, installations and performances on a semi-regular basis. For more information check out the mission statement. (taken from http://www.machineproject.com) Call in sick for work and take some workshops.

In the rad category, the Zaha Hadid retrospective in London's Design Museum is breathtaking!

Via Pentagram blog. The Times Square district gained its latest sign as the logo of the New York Times was installed on the Eighth Avenue facade of its new Renzo Piano-designed headquarters tower.
Production of the sign in Portland, Oregon.

Each resulting piece was then made into a three dimensional form that could be fitted over the building’s ceramic sunscreen rods. A number of shapes were considered; Pentagram’s designers ultimately decided on something they called a “beak,” which added an additional two inches of projection to enhance the sign’s street level visibility. The result is a sign that is dramatically legible from outside, but that can barely be seen from the inside. It at once satisfies the area’s signage requirements, while integrating perfectly with the structure’s distinctive facade.

OMA.

Get site crawler ready, Germany's Form Magazine Archives await.