Japanese Young Artists' Books Fair, Part 2

Thanks for stopping by today!

I chanced upon an inspiring book show called the Japanese Young Artists' Book Fair in Manhattan's Kinokuniya Bookstore.

A small section of the store had all these books on display. They can be flipped through and even purchased. These are the work of Japanese contemporary artists.

Here is a write-up about the exhibit:

With the development of digital technology and machinery, bookmaking has become unthinkably easy compared to the past. The genre of artists' books, primarily made by young artists, is spreading globally. This project focuses on artists who are taking the book, a conventionally public medium, and turning into a private one. Today, the book form is an important communication medium for artists and it is possible for artists to produce multiple books of interest in small editions. This shift signifies the possible transformation of bookmaking from the realm of publicity, which privileged circulation figures to a private medium that emphasizes personal expression.

Hooray, books are here to stay! Don't you agree that self-publishing and self-expression are TADA!?

Here are my favorites:

The "Hakoneko" series by Yohiyuki Maeda. "Hako" means box and "Neko" means cat.

This particular one is interactive, allowing you to make a family of cats!

This "Cooler Hakoneko" tells the story of a cooler {the covers are made from Styrofoam} and its life in the fish market.

This "Carton Hakoneko" is about the life of a shipping box. Notice that the cover is made of cardboard with mailing labels like "fragile" on it.

This one's cover is made of aluminum, just like the "Savings Hakoneko", a piggy bank.

This book by Chihiro Tanaka, made of felt, is just right for little kids. I'm now thinking of turning scraps of felt from blah to TADA! this way. 

Suzumi Arimura's "Sign Book" Series is a collection of sketches on cardboard, laminated, and bound together. It doesn't have words in it, perhaps encouraging the reader to interpret it in their own way. 

Here is one of the pages, where blah objects like a soda can tab and a silica gel package are elevated to some importance. That or it could remind you of evidence from a crime scene {yikes!}.

This is Fumiha Tanaka's "Little Drawer".

Inside are colorful square-shaped cards that teach the alphabet.

Yuriko Katori keeps it old school with handwritten notes on folded paper.  I have certainly made one of these in the past.

How's that for book ideas? Whether you're making a travel journal, a collection of your kids' artwork, or a memoir, may the book you author be the next TADA!

Enjoy the rest of the week!