eishi takaoka · Giant Robot NEWS · Giant Robot store · giant robot time · goods · gr store · gr time · GR2 · News · May 11, 2012

Giant Robot Time: 5.11.12 – New work by Eishi Takaoka now available!

I AM FINE

EISHI TAKAOKA SOLO EXHIBITION

MAY 5 – MAY 30, 2012

Eishi Takaoka’s work is coming back. Although the sculptures of Eishi Takaoka all portray the same serene expression, their outwardly calm façade belies a world of bottled-up emotions. With nowhere to go, these intense feelings manifest themselves in outlandish formations that sprout out of the top of each figure’s head. The uniquely sculpted heads of Takaoka are rooted in a personal fantasy world that is fueled by the emotional ups and downs of daily life in lower-middle class Japan. He instills his frustration with life in Kagoshima and feelings of isolation into each of the pieces, which are comprised of carved wood painted with raw mineral pigments placed atop empty glass medicine bottles.

Takaoka’s pieces have been seen in group shows in Tokyo and New York, one-person exhibitions at Giant Robot New York and GR2 in Los Angeles, and on the cover of novelist Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore. For this exhibition, Takaoka will create 34 sculptures at Giant Robot 2 in Los Angeles. See the exhibit.


AARTING – BLANKIE DESIGNER SERIES 1 FIGURE Blankie is a great new blind box figure series from aarting. 12 different figures designed by artists from around the world. Artists include, Matucha, Miss Shelby, Cvele, Atomic1970, and more.		SHINZI KATOH SERENO HELLOTOTE Shinzi Katoh creates some of the cutest products around. Four leaf clovers are extra lucky when gifted by your crush. Sprouting flowers and clovers on back side. Made of a durable canvas material.


MINI TAPE ROLL ROBOTS Add this robot pattern to your mundane taping tasks. It’s sure to make your craft projects cooler.		P+G DESIGN POCHI PANDA POUCH Are the contents of your purse not cute enough? Now it is! What a cute Panda Bear face on this silicone pouch.


YOSHITOMO NARA LITTLE WANDERER FIGURE Drag the Little Wanderer back a bit, let it go, and it propels itself across whatever flat surface you like. Beautiful, classy design which is what to expect from Yoshitomo Nara products.		TAKASHI MURAKAMI MINI TOWEL Superb mini hand towels from world renowned Supeflat artist Takashi Murakami. Made of soft terry cloth material.


MOLESKINE SKETCHBOOK The cover is plain black, the blue stripe is just a piece of paper. Interior pages are heavy paper.		EGGLING PETUNIA Grow your own flowers in this nature inspired planter. Just crack open and water.

LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL

MAY 10 – MAY 20, 2012

Surrogate Valentine: 5/12; Surrogate Valentine 2: 5/12, 5/13; Tormented: 5/12; Dragon: 5/14

PHOTOGRAPHS OF TōHOKU

By MICHAEL ARIAS

As previously posted on GR, I made several trips to the northern countryside of Japan in the days and weeks following the disaster of 3/11. And, though the intent of these ragtag “missions,” was primarily humanitarian, I took many photos along the way, posting them with my reports on these pages. I recently culled the most evocative of those shots for display at the 12th incarnation of the always delightful Nippon Connection Japanese Film Festival, held last week in Frankfurt.

MOTHERFUCKERLAND: INSTALLMENT 17

By ED LIN

Read author Ed Lin’s new serial novel, Motherfuckerland. New installments will be released weekly. Lin, who is of Taiwanese and Chinese descent, is the first author to win three Asian American Literary Awards. His latest book, One Red Bastard, has been recently published by Minotaur in April 2012. >>

OFF! RECORD RELEASE PARTY W/ FIDLAR AND SPIDER FEVER [...]

By MARTIN WONG

What can I say about OFF! The same way that the Whisky encapsulates a lot of what’s rad about L.A., so does the current project of Keith Morris (Circle Jerks, Black Flag), Dimitri Coats (Burning Brides), Steven McDonald (Redd Kross), and Mario Rubalcaba (Hot Snakes, 411, Spider Fever). It has punk, metal, and the pure darkness, aggression, vitriol, and smarts that seep through every Pettibon illustration or Chandler novel. Still blasting songs at roughly a minute each with huge amounts of chops and pent-up energy, there’s no room for the falseness that outsiders associate with L.A. >>

PHOTOGRAPHS OF TōHOKU

By MICHAEL ARIAS

EISHI TAKAOKA OPENING RECEPTION PHOTOS

By GIANT ROBOT NEWS

What’s a gallery supposed to do when an artist can’t make it? We’ve had that issue in the past but this time, we did something creative with it. Eishi Takaoka isn’t the most talkative but across the world at his house in Kagoshima, Japan, he joined his solo effort at Giant Robot 2 – I Am Fine. He spoke to visitors as if he was there using Skype video with HD cams. He answered questions with some translation help from Google Translator, our friends Kio and Shihori. >>