Minoware (Mino-yaki) is a Japanese pottery style.
It has a long history of 1300 years, and I’m trying to add something new to the tradition.
Traditionally, these dishes do not venture away from cherry and plum blossom patterns, but I chose to feature Ranunculus and other graphic designs.
The boldest addition to these plates is that they are AR active!
Just point your smartphone and view the plates thru artivive app, and the animation and music will start playing!
ARが楽しめる美濃焼きプレートデザイン
1300年もの歴史のある美濃焼きに新しさを加えるべく、ARで楽しめるものにしました。また、花の模様は梅や桜がモチーフとして用いられるのが一般的ですが、あえてランキュラスをチョイスしモダンなグラフィックパターンを加え、現代風にアレンジしました。
The artisans of Gifu prefecture are a direct lineage of a 1300-year-old tradition. These generational pottery makers have sustained their craftsmanship as family businesses. However, the challenge of mass production has dwindled small companies because of the market dominated by mass-produced, poor-quality commodities with lower prices. The market is saturated with cheap goods, but the trade-offs are quality and life spans that lead to environmental waste.
Moreover, many of the young makers choose not to inherit the company. Instead, they move to the cities because various media outlets constantly bombard them with messages saying living in the city is better. The young workforce perpetually gets absorbed by big corporations such as Amazon because, ironically, they can afford to pay higher salaries and are located in the city.
Over the years of seeing this cycle perpetuated, I have become passionate about preserving the product quality and life span driven by craftsmanship and tradition.
I designed these plates in hopes of adding new excitement and values and reviving them in modern society.
長い歴史を持つ美濃焼きですが、他の伝統工芸品の多くもそうであるように、後継者問題に悩まされている工房も少なくありません。比べものにならない規模の従業員数で安価なものを大量生産する国外の製造会社には太刀打ちできず、高品質であっても価格競争に勝てず途絶えてしまう伝統工芸品があまりにも多く、それらをデザインの力で改善したいというプロジェクトの一環としてこのお皿の制作に至りました。今後も日本の伝統工芸品のリデザインに積極的に取り組んでいきたいと考えています。
The bonus to this unique, beautiful plate is its augmented reality(AR) feature!
When you view the plate thru your phone using the Artivive App, the animation and the music starts playing! The app's founder is Sergiu, who was my mentor during an art competition held by MIT.
Both of the audio tracks featured in the AR are composed by Isaku Kageyama.
Isaku Kageyama is a taiko artist and music producer who has performed at Carnegie Hall, recorded for video games including Ghost of Tsushima and toured the world with organizations such as The Japan Foundation. Isaku expressed his honor to work with Mieko Murao on the Mino Ware Flower Plates AR experience.
"It has been a pleasure to write two pieces of music for the Mino Ware Flower Plates AR experience, Bloom and Rejuvenation. Bloom (pink plate) represents the triumphant blossoming of a flower, while Rejuvenation (blue plate) depicts the living, breathing ecosystem that is the cycle of life. I used Japanese taiko drums in both pieces of music, but you won't hear thunderous booms. Instead, you'll notice the murmur of wind and waves, the glow of sunlight, the busy work of insects, and the energy of the soil beneath your feet (hopefully!). These sounds are generated from recordings of taiko that have been stretched, looped, filtered, and molded into the soundscapes you hear. Much like taiko drums, Mino Ware is a centuries-old craft presented in an entirely new way through the Flower Plates AR experience. By applying modern production techniques to taiko, I wanted the music to reflect the blurred boundary between old and new. I hope you enjoy the music just as much as the plates!"
ユニークなデザインに加えて、ARフィーチャーを施しました。Artiviveのアプリを使ってスマフォをかざすとグラフィックが動き出し、音楽が流れます。（ちなみにArtiviveの創立者であるSergiuは、私がMIT大学院在学中に参加したアートコンペティションのメンターでした）
AR再生中に流れる音楽は色違いで2パターンあります。太鼓奏者、音楽プロデューサーであり、カーネギーホールでの演奏経験やゴーストオブツシマの楽曲提供を行うなど日米で活躍する、友人の影山伊作が楽曲を担当しました。
”今回のプロジェクトに参加出来て光栄です。ピンクのお皿用の楽曲はBloom, 花が咲く様子を描き、ブルーのお皿用はRejuvenation, 生き物が呼吸して存在している様子を表しています。両楽曲とも太鼓の音を使用していますが、直接太鼓の音として聞こえず、太陽の光やささやく風の音のように聞こえます。これらは録音した太鼓の音を伸ばしたり、ループさせたり、フィルターをかけることで作られています。太鼓も美濃焼きも長い歴史を持っていて、このプロジェクトを通しさらに新しい捉え方ができるものなんだと感じて頂けたら嬉しいです。太鼓の音にに現代の加工を施すことによって過去と未来の境界線がような感覚を届けられたら幸いです。是非、音もプレートに描かれているアートと一緒に堪能ください！”
