飯川雄大『デコレータークラブ』       Book Design：高見清史 (view from above)     発行：赤々舎、せんだいメディアテーク     Size： H303mm × W225mm   Page：218 pages   Binding：Hardcover (with cushion material in the cover)   Language：Japanese, English   表紙2種類（中身同一）   2 types of covers（Same Contents）     Published in March 2024    ISBN：978-4-86541-183-6	¥ 5,000＋tax  国内送料無料！ 【国内／Domestic Shipping】 A B   お支払い方法は、銀行振込、郵便振替、 クレジットカード支払い、PayPal、PayPay よりお選び頂けます。 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 【海外／International Shipping】 Cover Image A B    　　　 Book + Asia shipping ¥8,850 JPY Book + World shipping ¥11,600 JPY Please choose a cover image, and shipping area.

DECORATOR CRAB 

Iikawa Takahiro 

"It's not that I want to make big things." Work was moving forward on a plan to install one of the artist likawa Takehiro's key works, Decorator Crab - Mr. Kobayashi the Pink Cat, in a park in Sendai. Measuring 26 meters high, 28 meters wide, and four meters deep, the piece was equivalent in size to a normal eight-story building. Behind the superficial catchiness of the gigantic, pink, eye-catching work was a scheme to change our way of seeing and acting without us noticing. However, despite a variety of adjustments to many different aspects of the work and high expectations around its completion, the work was ultimately never realized.

In addition to attempting to understand things like the con- cept behind the Decorator Crab series, and the conditions necessary to complete these works, through images and essays, this book sets out to document a case in which a process proved impossible to execute, leading an art project to remain unrealized.

The first half of the book contains images of works based on the Decorator Crab concept that likawa launched in 2007, as well as essays by learned individuals. These deal with subjects such as how likawa's awareness of issues like vision and perception are reflected in his works, and how he came to make works that are premised on involving the viewer.

The second half traces likawa's Sendai project from the be- ginning, and the Mr. Kobayashi the Pink Cat proposal from conception until abandonment, through photographs and documents. It also sheds light on the conditions surrounding the work, which like a real cat was willful and did not behave as expected, by addressing questions such as why likawa conceived of a work of such immense size, and why it proved impossible to realize, from the perspective of both the artist and the management.

The book is intended as a collection of likawa Takehiro's works until this time and also a reference source focusing on the case of an art project designed for a public space. It is our hope that many artists and people who are considering working with artists will read it.

Sendai Art Node Project

(sendai mediatheque)

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"Contemporary public sculptures that are rooted in these conditions provoke actions in real spaces, stimulate discussion, and make an impact on viewers in virtual spaces as in the physical world."

── Kimura Eriko（Curator / Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Art）

《Can Sculpture Camouflage Itself in Public Spaces? 》

"Still, as discussed earlier, the artist's expression of "Kawaii" is more complex than that. This somewhat aligns with the notion that Kawaii is not so much a plain form of art in the actual sense." 

── Lee Areum（Aesthetics Researcher, Co-director of YPC SPACE [Seoul, South Korea]）

《Rise of the Kawaii Monster -- Meeting Mr. Kobayashi the Pink Cat》 

"Reactions to artists' seemingly preposterous ideas may serve as a barometer of a city's tolerance and vibrancy." 

── Igarashi Taro（Architectural historian and critic）

《Transforming Landscape Through the Power of Imagination》 

"For Iikawa and the Decorator Crab strategy of catalyzing "unforeseen encounters," impact isn't limited to the mental"massage" of viewers' immediate reactions of confusion or delight, like "How cute!" "But it's impossible to get the whole thing in one photo!" The work's appeal could also spark administrative efforts toward its materialization."  

── Kai Kenji（Artistic Director, Sendai Mediatheque）

Roundtable Discussion 《Toward a Sendai Edition of Mr. Kobayashi the Pink Cat》