Featured on Sankei News, Aug 3, 2014
チームラボ３６０°スタジオで「元気ハツラツ！」 体験参加型イベント開催
サイエンス、テクノロジー、アート、デザインなどのスペシャリストで構成するウルトラテクノロジスト集団「チームラボ」が新たに開発した「チームラボ３６０°スタジオ」を導入したイベントが東京・新宿で開催された。夏バテを吹き飛ばす「元気ハツラツ！」な体験参加型のインスタレーションだ。(Except from text)
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Featured on PSFK, Aug 1, 2014
Immersive Exhibition Brings Traditional Japanese Art and Mythology to Life
Ultra Subjective Space invites visitors to view the world from the perspective of the ancient JapaneseThe first US exhibition by Japanese Ultra-technologists teamLab takes visitors on a journey through space and time in seven digital screens. New York’s Pace Gallery is hosting the exhibition, which blurs the boundary between the virtual and the ancient world.The exhibition is based on the unique perspective of traditional Japanese painting. teamLab explains on the exhibition website:teamLab believes that traditional “flat” Japanese painting has a different spatial logic to that of western perspective. We call this logic Ultra Subjective Space.In seven large-scale screens, the teamLab translates this understanding of space into 3D narratives inspired by Japanese mythology.For example, Flower and Corpse Glitch Set of 12 is an animation of twelve stories that explore the age of myth and the legendary 8 headed creature Yamata no Orochi.To animate this narrative, teamLab constructed 3D objects in an artificial 3D space and then flattened the images to coincide with perspective in traditional Japanese art. During the animation, the viewer is given glimpses of the 3D space to show the creation process.Ever Blossoming Life – Gold uses the traditional Japanese painting style but the artwork itself is drawn in real time by a computer program. The live animation shows the life cycle of a flower.The website states:Flowers are born, grow, and blossom in profusion before the petals begin withering and flowers die and disappear. The cycle of birth and death repeats itself, continuing for eternity and never duplicating previous states. The image shown now cannot be viewed again.This is a live artwork that creates different images with every cycle, using a flower as a metaphor for the universal cycle of life and the uniqueness of every individual life.Cold Life recreates calligraphy in 3D:A calligraphic series of brushstrokes modelled in virtual 3D space forms the character 生(Japanese/Mandarin for ‘life’) which then metamorphoses into a tree. As time passes, various life forms begin emanating and growing from within the tree.As with ‘Flower and Corpse Glitch’, this work also reveals its process, letting the viewer see behind the computer-generated images to the wireframe models underneath.Universe of Water Particles is a cascade of hundreds of thousands of water particles flowing over a virtual rock, in five times the resolution of HD.It is inspired by the way water is represented in traditional Japanese paintings, as curvilinear lines that made it appear to be a living creature. The piece combines a modern understanding of water informed by physics with the spiritual idea of water held by the ancient Japanese.teamLab explains the intention of this work on the exhibition website:If one, drawn in by this universe of particles, feels as though they are immersed in the work and does not feel a barrier between them and the waterfall – such as one might feel when looking at a video recording of an actual waterfall – or maybe even feel one’s soul fusing with the lines of water/living energy, then perhaps they will be able to comprehend the connection between the ancient Japanese’s system of perception and their attitudes and behavior towards the world.Ultra Subjective Space, which runs until August 15, immerses viewers in the ancient world of the Japanese with a series of exquisitely detailed animations. It turns traditional paintings and mythology into movement and light, using futuristic technology to bring visitors closer to the past.
Featured on Art in America, Aug 1, 2014
teamLab at Pace, through Aug. 15 508 and 510 W. 25th St.
Spectacle is alive and well and garnering new fans in the digital age. That’s the clear message of this show of multi-screen videos by Japan’s teamLab, founded in 2001 by artist/designer Toshiyuki Inoko. The group, which is both large (with up to 300 come-and-go contributors) and diverse (attracting artists, mathematicians, engineers, programmers, etc.), focuses in this exhibition, titled “Ultra Subjective Space,” on the Eastern method of non-perspectival composition. Visual references—some explicit, some generalized—range from 17th-century Japanese art to the deep sea to the cosmos. Everything is colorful and everything is in motion, suggesting a world of pure perceptual vitality. Viewers who can’t get enough can look forward to another major installation this fall at New York’s Japan Society.
Featured on The Creators Project, Aug 1, 2014
Ignite Crystal Fireworks With Your Smartphone At This Light Installation
Today a new installation from Japanese art collective teamLab exploded to life in the form of a crystaline firework generator that’s smartphone controllable. Entitled, The Crystal Fireworks of Wishes, and on view at Future City Favore Favore Hall in Toyama, Japan through September 7th, the project carries on teamLab’s exploration of stunning light art, which we’ve seen in past work like the Universe of Water Particles series and their Ultra Subjective Space exhibition.The installation’s main structure is made of rows of hanging lights, which come together to form a giant cube. The lights burst into giant orbs of color when visitors use a special app created just for the artwork. Gallery visitors select the firework’s shape and color, hit the button on their phones, and then a tiny light trail ascends through the cube, flickers out, and then explodes into nearly pyrotechnic glory. Synchonized firework sound effect complete the interactive experience, almost creating a believable illusion of fireless fireworks. According to the description, visitors are encouraged to make a wish when they set off a firework—but honestly, when you’re launching a gorgeous digital explosive off at the touch of a button, what more can you wish for?
Featured on designboom, Jul 30, 2014
seven digital experiences by teamlab surround viewers at pace gallery image courtesy of pace gallery
seven digital experiences by teamlab surround viewers at pace gallery image courtesy of pace galleryteamlab: ultra subjective spacepace gallery, new yorknow through august 15, 2014for their first-ever exhibition in the united states, tokyo-based teamlab presents ‘ultra subjective space‘, a display of 7 immersive digital works at page gallery, new york. as a fusion of technology and art, the experiential atmosphere surrounds visitors on large-scale screens, projecting looped videos which investigate perspective, time and the distortion of space.for ‘cold life’, a calligraphic series of brushstrokes are modeled in a virtual 3D space, metamorphosing the japanese character ‘生’ (meaning ‘life’) into a tree. as time passes, various forms begin to grow from within the organic typologies. in computer graphics, similarly in this digital work, wireframe models with high levels of data are rendered into 3D objects. when the facades of these computer-generated images are peeled away, their mesh-like structures are revealed underneath. teamlab exemplifies rendering in its ‘stripped-down’ state while maintaining a complex and elaborate construction. projected in four times the resolution of full high definition, the technology allows for the communication of extremely intricate detail inherent in the work.in ‘crows are chased and the chasing crows are destined to be chased as well, division in perspective – light in dark’, the japanese mythical bird yatagarasu is rendered in light, flying around the space and leaving trails of color in its wake. the digital artwork uses the ‘itano circus’ technique pioneered by japanese animation, created by ichiro itano. the screen is packed with swarms of missiles that are drawn in a completely incorrect perspective, distorted so that the audience will feel a stronger sense of dynamic movement and impact. through ultra-high-speed camerawork, this approach creates an overwhelmingly beautiful image around the viewer.‘flower and corpse glitch set of 12′ consists of 12 film stories based on the themes of: civilization and nature, collision, circulation, symbiosis. the surface of flower and corpse glitch falls away to reveal the hidden underside of the animation.the image of ‘ever blossoming life – dark’ and ‘ever blossoming life – gold’ and created and drawn in real time by a computer program. the images are not pre-recorded nor are played back. flowers grow and blossom within the space, before withering away and disappearing. the cycle of birth and death repeats itself, continuing for eternity and never duplicating the previous states they were in. the artwork is created in two versions: one with gold background and another with dark background. each version is issued in an edition of 10 plus 2 a.p.s. ‘universe of water particles’ is set within a computer-simulated environment: a virtual rock is sculpted and hundreds of thousands of digital water particles are poured onto it. the screen calculates the movement of these particles to produce an accurate waterfall simulation that flows in accordance to physical laws. next, 0.1 percent of the particles are selected and lines are drawn in relation to them. the sinuousness of the lines depends on the overall interaction among the water particles, forming a cascade on screen.
Featured on artdiary.org, Jul 28, 2014
Exhibition of Japanese collaborative digital artists, teamLab, opens at Pace New York
NEW YORK, NY.- Pace Gallery presents Ultra Subjective Space, the first U.S. exhibition of Japanese collaborative digital artists, teamLab, at 508 and 510 West 25th Street from July 17 through August 15, 2014. The two-venue exhibition will include five large-scale digital monitor pieces and the immersive, digital installation, Crows are chased and the chasing crows are destined to be chased as well, Division in Perspective – Light in Dark, 2014. An e-catalogue will accompany the exhibition with an introduction by art historian Charles Merewether and an interview between teamLab founder, Toshiyuki Inoko, and esteemed art historian and professor at Meiji Gakuin University, Yuji Yamashita. Rooted in the tradition of seventeenth-century Japanese Art and contemporary forms of anime, teamLab navigates the confluence of art, technology, and design. Founded in 2001 by Toshiyuki Inoko and a group of his university friends, teamLab has exhibited extensively in Asia and is currently on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo. This fall, the Japan Society in New York will mount Garden of Unearthly Delights: Works by Ikeda, Tenmyouya & teamLab, marking teamLab’s first inclusion in a stateside museum exhibition. Working as a collective creative force, their work celebrates the vitality of nature and simultaneously strives to expand our understanding of human perception. The exhibition’s title, Ultra Subjective Space, refers to the distinctly Japanese sense of spatial recognition. The exhibition draws a comparison between representation of space in western Renaissance “perspective,” which depicts a linear system with objects receding in space, and that of traditional Japanese compositions. In traditional Japanese composition, from Ukiyo-e prints from the Edo period to current Manga illustrations, figures and objects exist on a single plane of depth focusing on vertical and horizontal relationships to portray dimensionality. The viewer does not hold a dominant perspective over the subject matter and, instead, is merged into a comprehensive experience. The implication of this alternative vantage point, neither subordinate nor superior to western perspective, raises questions regarding how different cultures perceive the construction of space today. Charles Merewether writes in his introduction to the exhibition’s catalogue: “Digital media art, in the hands of such artists as teamLab, succeed as an art of participatory installation and part of our everyday contemporary lives.”The digital monitor and projection installations presented in this exhibition, reflect the construction of Japanese spatial awareness by creating a flattened three-dimensional world. The exhibition’s centerpiece, Crows are chased and the chasing crows are destined to be chased as well, Division in Perspective – Light in Dark, 2014, will play vivid animation across seven staggered screens, setting the viewer in an all-encompassing experience of spatial perception. Using the Japanese animation technique of “Itano Circus,” created by renowned animator Ichiro Itano who coined the term for his distinct style of animated flight choreography, a mythological three-legged crow, Yatagarasu, shoots into space to envelope the viewer’s field of vision. Following in the tradition of Japanese spatial rendering, swarms of crows are drawn in a distorted perspective, conveying a strong sense of dynamism and vibrancy. Fully immersed in the installation, the viewer and subject are integrated in a participatory environment characteristic of teamLab’s groundbreaking initiatives on digital platforms.Ultra Subjective Space will also include three single-channel monitor works and two multi-channel monitor works. Flower and Corpse Glitch Set of 12, 2012, utilizes high definition monitors to tell a mythological tale about Japanese civilization, natural disaster, war, and eventual rebirth. Universe of Water Particles, 2013, creates a dynamic sense of a waterfall cascading down five vertically stacked monitors. Two versions of Ever Blossoming Life – Gold and Dark, 2014 present images of flowers blooming, withering, and dispersing their petals in accordance to a computer program written by teamLab. The animation never repeats itself and the work effectively creates itself in any given moment. In Cold Life, 2014, a series of brushstrokes – created by calligrapher, Sisyu, and modeled in 3D space – form the Chinese character meaning “life.” The brushstrokes then transform and grow into a tree that, as time passes, gives rise to other life forms. Presented alongside the large scale digital installation, this exhibition at Pace provides unique insight into teamLab’s creative mission and innovative imagination.teamLab (f. 2001, Tokyo, Japan) is an interdisciplinary creative group that brings together professionals from various fields in the information age: artists, editors, programmers, engineers, mathematicians, architects, web and print graphic designers, and CG animators, who attempt to achieve a balance between technology, art, commerce, and creativity. Their creative range encompasses animation, sound, performance, Internet, fashion, design, and even medical science.teamLab’s work explores new values that govern individual behaviors in the information era, while also revealing possible futures for societal development. The audience is led to explore extremes of creativity and diversity when technology and art are combined and brought into play. In an era of blurring boundaries between technology and art, interdisciplinary collaboration has become a sign of the times. teamLab fosters collective ingenuity and reveals diverse possibilities for a new era of artistic development.teamLab has been the subject of numerous exhibitions in Asia and abroad. In 2011, teamLab presented LIVE! at the Takashi Murakami’s Kaikai Kiki Gallery in Taipei. Other recent solo exhibitions include teamLab: We are the Future, 2012, at the Digital Arts Creativity and Resource Center at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung; and teamLab and Saga Merry-go-round Exhibition, 2014, at the Saga Prefectural Art Museum, The Saga Prefectural Space & Science Museum, Kyushu Ceramic Museum, and Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum, Saga, Japan.Over the past two years, teamLab has mounted five public installations in Japan including digital works at KITTE, Tokyo, Kunisaki Art Project, Oita and Canal City Hakara, Fukuoka, as well as Vortex of Water Particles, 2014, and What a Loving and Beautiful World, 2011, an interactive animation installation, at Narita International Airport, Chiba.
Featured on COMPLEX, Jul 26, 2014
It May Sound Totally Trippy, But teamLab's "Ultra Subjective Space" Show at Pace Gallery is All About Perspective and Space
When is the last time you thought about perspective and space? The representation of space in paintings… seems superfluous right? Not according to Japanese art collective teamLab, who is putting on a show dedicated to this abstract notion of spacial representation. Brought to you by the same guys who made an exhibit of color-changing balls, “Ultra Subjective Space” is a two-venue show that will include five large-scale digital monitor pieces and an immersive digital installation Crows are chased and Division in Perspective — Light in Dark. It’s teamLab’s first exhibition in the United States.Basically, the show challenges us to consider the way different cultures portray space. You may recall from whatever art history classes you’ve taken that Western Renaissance paintings involves a lot of perspective. In old Western paintings, objects recede in space, and viewers see depth. In Japanese art—from Vincent van Gogh’s beloved, Ukiyo-e prints to Japanese manga—objects and figures are depicted on a single plane of depth. Pretty interesting, right?All of this is displayed across five staggered monitors in vivid animations that literally force you to view these pieces with a different perspective—or lack of perspective, to be more precise. “Ultra Subjective Space” will be on view at Pace Gallery from July 17-Aug. 15, 2014. If the images are any indication, the show seems like it’ll be pretty mind-blowing.
Featured on Sankei News, Jul 22, 2014
「ウォーターフロント・フェス」 高松港沖で８月８日まで
水と光と音楽の祭典「香川ウォーターフロント・フェスティバル」が、高松市のサンポート高松の階段式護岸「せとシーパレット」を会場に開催されている。瀬戸内海国立公園の指定８０周年記念事業の一環で、香川県などが主催。８月８日まで。（Excerpt from text）
Featured on The Creators Project, Jul 21, 2014
Mythological Japanese Imagery Comes Alive In These Animated, Digital Paintings
Innovative digital art collective teamLab has produced a multitude of forward-thinking projects in today’s Japanese art ecosystem, including such eye-widening works as a projection mapped water simulations and a world of glowing, musical orbs. Recently, the group has begun to reach across the Pacific and establish a foothold among US art aficionados. That foothold has manifested in an show at the 25th Street Pace Gallery called Ultra Subjective Space—teamLab’s first ever exhibition within the United States. The exciting debu is full to the brim with flowing digital water, Edo period-inspired animated digital paintings, and serenely morphing abstract plants. The Creators Project visited Pace Gallery to check out the work in person, and it was rather spectacular to behold. Each image dominated the wall it hung on, endlessly looping, yet never seeming repetitive. One of the pieces, Flower and Corpse Glitch, is a set of 12 interconnected digital frames drawing upon the Japanese Edo period ‘super flat’ aesthetic.The European standard of linear perspective is absent from these compositions, allowing viewers to place themselves anywhere inside the scene, rather than being limited to a single point of view. The moving images of Flower and Corpse Glitch only enhance this effect, which teamLab likes to call ‘Ultra Subjective Space.’ Each frame captures a “film stor[y] based on the themes of: civilization and nature, collision, circulation, symbiosis,” according to teamLab’s website.The Pace Gallery space includes four other works from teamLab’s repertoire: Crows are Chased and the Chasing Crows are Destined to be Chased as Well – Light in Dark, 2014; Ever Blossoming Life, 2014; Cold Life, 2014; and Universe of Water Particles – 2013. They each capture a celebratory perspective on nature, effortlessly combined with the sleek, clean, hi-tech texture intrinsic in their medium.Ultra Subjective Space opened on July 17 and will be open to the public until August 15. In October, the Japan Society will host teamLab’s second ever U.S. exhibition entitled, Garden of Unearthly Delights: Works by Ikeda, Tenmyouya & teamLab, which will feature some of their cutting edge interactive pieces.To see more of teamLab’s work, visit the Pace Gallery before August 15, or check out teamLab’s online sampling of the exhibition here and their website here.
Featured on The Creators Project, Jul 19, 2014
Digital Waterfall Projected On A Satellite Gives The Illusion Of Weightlessness
Japanese studio teamLab is examining the beauty of outer space right here on Earth—more specifically in the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo. The exhibit, entitled Universe of Water Particles Under Satellite’s Gravity, consists of two parts: a giant model of the ALOS-2 satellite and a stunning projection-mapped waterfall rendered in ridiculous detail.teamLab constructed the physical ALOS-2 model to rest in the museum, but they also created a meticulous representation of the satellite in digital space, even down to the gravitational mass the satellite possesses. Once they had that rendered, the team stuck the satellite in a simulation of absolute zero gravity and added about one waterfall’s worth of H20 into their simulation. Their finely tuned physics engine calculates the rest, beautifully simulating how the water would cascade toward the satellite, since it’s the only source of gravity around. Back in the Museum of Contemporary art, the image of the waterfall is projected over the physical satellite, creating the wonderful illusion of weightlessness.The creators compare the effect to traditional Japanese painting, writing that, “In traditional Japanese painting, oceans, rivers and bodies of water are expressed as a curvilinear series of lines. These lines give the impression of life, as though water itself were a living creature.” All the same, if Katsushika Hokusai saw this thing, he’d probably wet himself on the spot.Universe of Water is the most recent in a teamLab series exploring aquatic aesthetic. You can see the others, including Vortex of Water Particles and The Waterfall of Saga Castle on the teamLab website.