Japanese Device Artist: Maywa Denki

After doing research and looking at all the different Japanese device artists, we have noticed a trend within Japanese device art. Process - After much exploration, our product ideas were synthesized from a number of sources. We looked at many aspects of Japanese traditional culture, device art, religion, and invention. A strong theme though all these things (in Japan specifiacally), was the fact that it did not matter what was created, as long as it was creative and entertaining. This is probably derived from the Shinto belief that nothing is without value, no matter how useless. Also, Shinto is very open to the idea of adopting all kinds of religious practice and belief into its own practice. In this way, Shinto is similar to post-modernism in that all ideas are seen as equally valuable or invaluable. Major inspiration in this theme was derived from a type of Japanese device art that is best described as "useless invention". These devices are needlessly complicated inventions, based on what seem like good ideas. Examples include toilet paper dispensers that are worn on the head, and noodle cooling fans that hang from chopsticks. These bizarre inventions also seem to reflect the Zen Buddhist tradition of the Koan, a type of poetry or riddle that is inherently paradoxical and or nonsensical. The purpose of these is to encourage a state of clarity and presence in the mind. The art of Sachiko Kodama seems to also be reflective of this tradition. The pulsating flow of the ferrofluid in her sculpture has a hypnotic and soothing effect, providing a point of focus for the mind.



At this point in our research, we started to recongnize that we could connect some of the ideas of nonsense inventions and Buddhist tradition. We were all fairly familiar with ritual practices of Buddhism and recognized the potential of some of the practices. The muyu (temple block) and suzu bowl (himalayan singing bowl) reminded us of the Knock Man Family toys made by Maywa Denki. However, recognizing that these were instruments connected to sacred practices, we did not want to treat them carelessly. The idea at this point, then, was to somehow connect these meditative devices to everyday life, in a way that also reflected the idea of the nonsense invention. We then tried to randomly connect everyday objects and activities with Buddhist symbolism and practice. The first connection made was enlightenment and light. The major symbol of enlightenment in Buddhism is the Lotus flower. Also, the word Buddha (or Bosatsu) translates to "one who seeks enlightenment". From this it seemed natural to attempt create a moment of enlightenment for the user. A light bulb within a lotus, containing a Buddha, opens as it turns on, giving the user a moment of reflection and meditative focus. All this simply by turning on the light. The next connection made was between the Muyu temple block and a cell phone ringing. Cell phone rings are annoying and distracting, whereas Muyu blocks have a clear and attention focusing sound. Cell phones remove our focus and distract us from our activities. The idea was to somehow make a cell phone ring into a clarifying and attention focusing sound. At the same time, we wanted the device to have character and nonsensical beauty, like Koan and nonsense invention. The idea, then, was to simply meld the Muyu block with a cell phone, making it more into a piece of art and meditative focus, rather than a useful phone. The final connection made was between wrist watch and clock alarms, and the Himalayan singing bowl. Similar to a cell phone ring, a watch alarm is distracting and annoying, removing focus from life. The singing bowl sound is clear and pure, meant for the user to meditate with by singing OM in harmony with the sound of the bowl. Our idea was to make an alarm into a meditative moment, rather than an alarming and annoying distraction. Again, we used the nonsense inventions as a source of inspiration. We simply miniaturized the meditation bowl and attached it to a watch. The result was an attractive little watch. The sound made by the alarm would not be annoying but should instead remind the wearer of OM and meditative practice. Our results in the end were a synthesis of device art, nonsense invention, Koan, Buddhist tradition, and Shinto/Post-modernist pastiche. Our hope was to design a collection of devices to encourage focus and presence in everyday life. We tried, in our designs, to give life and beauty to everyday things that are otherwise considered mundane or even annoying.