olympics

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Art Photography

A Daily Project by Tatsuya Tanaka Turns Everyday Goods into Quirky Miniatures

A scroll through Tatsuya Tanaka’s Instagram chronicles the everyday happenings of a cleverly designed world in miniature. The Japanese artist (previously) has spent the last decade reimaging life-sized objects like pencil sharpeners, sponges, and slippers as tiny sets for his cast of characters: a “P” key rests on a painter’s easel, bobsledders barrel through a bowl on a hot pepper, and ice skaters race across a white surgical mask.

Released daily as part of his ongoing Miniature Calendar project, the works often correspond with current events and cultural moments, including Tanaka’s recent scenarios referencing the Winter Olympic Games. “The theme of my work is ‘mitate’… to replace something around us with something similar or that looks like it. It is important to use something that everyone knows as a motif for my work,” he writes.

For a look behind-the-scenes, click through each day on Tanaka’s site, where he shares multiple perspectives of every work.

 

Dance

A Mesmerizing Dance Performance for the Paralympics Hand Off Ceremony Choreographed by Sadeck Waff

As part of a closing hand-off ceremony for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games and the 2024 games in Paris, choreographer Sadeck Waff worked with 128 performers in a dizzying performance focused on arms and hands. The French dancer and choreographer has become known for his limb-centric performances which you can watch more of on Instagram. Music by Woodkid. (via The Kid Should See This)

 

Photography

Dive Into a Never-Ending Sequence of Jumps and Tucks in an Olympic-Games Compilation

Although devotees of the Olympic games will have to wait until 2021 for the next round of competitions, Donato Sansone channels the same excitement, energy, and displays of strength into an extravagant new mashup. A second iteration of his previous video by the same name, Sansone’s latest motion sequence is comprised of short clips of athletes completing tucks, dives, and pikes. Each bit of footage seamlessly blends into the next, making the competitors appear to be joined in a single, nearly minute-long jump.

For more of Sansone’s Rube Goldberg-esque sequences, head to Tumblr and Vimeo.

 

Art Design

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Posters Feature a Wildly Diverse Blend of Artistic Styles

Lacking the traditional sport and tournament themes of previous years, the official posters for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games are taking a different approach to championing the celebrated contests. Organizers gathered work from Japanese and international artists with a range of styles and methods, from calligraphy to photography and manga to cubism, saying the posters are “regarded as the icons of their age.” Some pieces gesture toward the renowned competition more explicitly—“Olympic Cloud” by graphic designer Taku Satoh features rings in red, blue, yellow, green, and black that mimic those in the olympic logo—while others, like Tomoko Konoike’s “Wild Things – Hachilympic,” considers human subjectivity in an evolving world with a multicolor portrait that fills nearly the entire work.

If you’re in Tokyo, head to the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo before February 16 to view all 20 posters. You might also want to check out the cherry-blossom inspired torch that will mark the beginning of the 2020 games. (via Kottke)

Design

A Cherry Blossom-Inspired Torch Will Kick Off the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Yesterday, on the first day of spring, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch was revealed to the public at a press conference in the hosting city. The floral design is inspired by Japan’s cherry blossom, a flower celebrated in festivals across the country each March. Conceptualized by Tokujin Yoshioka, the torch features five petal-shaped cylinders that will each contain a flame, and is constructed from aluminum waste from temporary housing built after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

The materials and blossom concept are meant to reinforce the upcoming Olympic Torch Relay concept, “Hope lights our way,” delivering a message of support and unification as the torch is carried to the New National Stadium for the opening ceremonies. The official relay will be held for 121 days, beginning March 26, 2020, and be passed to 80-90 runners each day. Relay ambassadors for next year’s event include three-time judo Olympic gold medallist Tadahiro Nomura, three-time Paralympian Aki Taguchi, and actress Satomi Ishihara. You can see a 360-degree view of the cherry blossom design in the video below. (via Spoon & Tamago)

Art

JR Installs Giant Athletes Interacting With the City of Rio

French artist JR just unveiled two new works in Rio ahead of the 2016 Olympics that depict enormous athletes interacting with the city. The first depicts Cologne-based, Sudanese high jumper Mohamed Younes Idriss hurdling over a 25-story apartment complex in city’s center. “He missed out on qualification for the 2016 Rio Olympics but he is there somehow,” says JR. The second piece is an unidentified diver suspended above the water in Rio’s Barra neighborhood.

The installations utilize a new technique for JR that sees his signature use of photography printed on giant sheets of fabric attached to scaffolds. From comments on Instagram it sounds like we may get to see a few more of these over the next few days.