March 21
If you don't know, for example, how many seconds you need to complete the 100-meter dash, you have no idea what time to aim for, and what kind of training it takes to achieve that. In short, you are without any concrete "next step". Boasting that it takes you "just a little extra effort to do the 100 meters in under 10 seconds" without even knowing your personal best time makes you untrustworthy, and above that, it’s totally uncool. For some reason, this was our topic when I went for a drink (in fact several drinks) with "Nylon"/"Dazed" editor Togawa-san after work. Precisely speaking, it was one of our topics, and somehow everything we talked about went straight to my heart. Never be lazy in your thinking - that’s one thing I learned. If you think more than everybody else, that'll surely give you certainty about your own will, and ultimately confidence in yourself.
March 28
I visit the Undercover exhibition, and am very pleased to be able to see footage of the show that I missed when it was officially screened. "+81" vol.38, a fashion culture special with a cover designed by Undercover’s Takahashi "Jonio" Jun, was an occasion for me to encounter fashion designers and their enthusiasm and aspiration as indispensable factors for creative work. That experience is for me a great treasure. Every time I see a garment that materializes ideas and images I would never come up with but in a way that I can relate to, I get totally moved without any particular reason. I'd really like to do another interview with Jonio in the near future, as I'm very interested in hearing more of what he has to say.
The full-page Undercover ads in all issues of our magazine since vol. 36 (except vol. 39), by the way, were designed by Jonio. There'll be another one in vol. 40.
March 29
Snowboarding at daytime, drinking and dancing around a bonfire in the evening, and frolicking in the snow at night: that’s the SupeRb Session snow event in Ozetokura. Around this time of year, the snow is rather crunchy, but with yakisoba and beer, huge bowls and pipes, and lots of happy fellows around, it’s so much fun that I dig out my juvenile mind and stop caring about the snow. During the night program I tell my neighbor, artist Que, not to let the fire go out, while I devote myself to another round of dance-like-mad. That’s how I said goodbye to this year’s snow, and I'm really thankful to organizer Daigo that he invited me again this year!
March 31
Graphic designer Yorgo Tloupas published the "Intersection" magazine after moving from Paris to London. Somewhat a mixture of maps and diagrams, his graphic design is wonderfully playful but without superfluous ornamentation, and I like a lot how he combines functionality with beauty. Above that, as a fellow snowboarder I feel some kind of affinity also on a personal level (not that he'd asked me for that), so I really wanted to meet him while in London recently. But as a publisher, editor and art director of a monthly magazine, he must be busy as hell, so unfortunately the meeting did not take place. Nevertheless, today I find some of his comments on my questions in my email, and as there’s something special I sense in his frank way of speaking, I forget that I'm actually quite tired and begin to translate. This truly interesting interview will be published in vol. 40 of "+81".
April 3
As you might have already heard or read, Stanley Donwood, who was featured in "+81" Vol.37,is in Japan for his first solo exhibition here in the country. He’s flying back tomorrow, so today is my last chance to meet and interview him at Tokyo Gallery. His works consistently seem to exude a rather melancholic air, but once I stand in front of the real thing, I realize the bottomless power these works are charged with. Donwood produces different series of works on different themes and with different techniques. For his newest, the "Suffer" series, he chose the medium of painting. All items share a pop feeling in terms of colors, while the central motif of an inhaler for asthma patients is rather odd. He was reportedly suffering from asthma himself as a child, and explains in the interview, "I felt that the inhaler was the thing that was keeping me alive, so it was even more important to me than god at the time." This reminds me of a comment from a friend, an asthma patient who once told me that most shamans had asthma when they were young. I have no experience with asthma so I can't comprehend the pain, but it doesn't appear too far-fetched to me that the experience of braving such paralyzing pain with the fragile body of a little child ultimately shapes a person with extraordinary abilities.
April 7
The cover artwork for he upcoming vol. 40 of "+81" is by Rob Brearley, who also appears inside the magazine. We tried to tell him in our awkward English that we wanted a cover that reflects this and that theme and this and that experience me made during our London trip, and as a result, he came up with a truly strong and striking artwork! He had several ideas even after he sent it along, so thanks to his patience and ardor, we're going to have a really nice cover this time!