Thursday, November 18, 2010

chihiro art museum

i so want hiroshi naito to design my future home.

who is this naito fella?
he's the talented architect who designed the beautiful chihiro art museum in azumino. i loved the open planned design, the use of wood and steel, and the overall relaxed feel i got when walking around the exhibits.







before visiting the chihiro art museum i wasn't really a "fan" fan of chihiro but i really enjoyed reading about her short, yet well-lived life, and having a close-up look at her art.


* image: 「おふろでちゃぷちゃぷ」 1970 (ofuro de chapu chapu : i love bathing)

for those of you who don't know, chihiro iwasaki (岩崎 知弘) was a talented artist who won numerous awards for her work both locally and internationally. her life was cut short by cancer at the young age of 55 back in 1974.

apart from chihiro's work, there was a collection of children's picture books from around the world which really fascinated me. each country's art had a real distinct feel to it; especially liked the picture books from iran, the czech republic, poland, turkey and korea.
i suddenly have the urge to pull out all my old picture books from my childhood. hope my mum has boxed them up and put them away somewhere.
i'm sure she has; she was an ex-librarian!





info:
chihiro art museum azumino
3358-24 nishihara
matsukawa-mura kita-azumi-gun
nagano 399-8501

ちひろ美術館・安曇野
〒399-8501
長野県北安曇郡松川村西原3358-24

check out this site for more details.
* there is also a chihiro art museum in tokyo.







9 comments:

Lavender Playground said...

I got to see an exhibit of her art when I was ib Taiwan, it was so beautiful that I wanted to cry

Mary said...

i love the idea of a picture book library :)

Kenny Mah said...

Love, love this post.

I had just read about Chihiro Iwasaki some months back when I first read the English translation of Totto-Chan (The Little Girl at the Window), written by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi who was allowed to use selected illustrations by Iwasaki (by her family, I believe as this was after her passing).

Via Wiki/Google, I found out she had a museum dedicated to her work, and wondered what sort of museum would house such innocent, ethereal art that reminds all of us of childhood... and here you go with this post.

I love all the wood; it's very Japanese and very beautiful. :)

pascale said...

you do know what is good to our eyes :)
great selection!

world of sekimachihato said...

* Lavender Playground
her art is very touching; something special about it; it's very unique don't you think?

world of sekimachihato said...

* Mary
yup; it's a great idea for kids and adults alike.
could spend hours in there with a coffee and a stack of books!

world of sekimachihato said...

* Life for Beginners
well well well, i would have never had guessed that this post would have a special meaning for you.
you will have to check out this museum next time you're in japan. i'm sure you will love it!
how was the book toto-chan?
i'm not getting through my current book so keeping an eye out for my next read.

world of sekimachihato said...

* pascale
hehehe, i try *wink wink*

Kenny Mah said...

Totto-chan was beautiful and a little (surprisingly) heartbreaking towards the end. If I ever had kids, I would want them to attend a beautiful, loving, embracing school like this one (from the story, based on fact).

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