FLOWER METHOD: AZUMA MAKOTO

A bonsai in space... why not? Dogs and chimpanzees have been sacrificed for the cause before, why not plants? Especially plants that have been trained to conform to the most exacting standards that can be imposed to please the aesthetic standards of their masters. At least a plant that is restricted in its growth to the size of a miniature is not as drastic as a woman's foot. (Apologies for the species discrimination.) In this era of eco-tourism, eco-food packaging  and eco-love, Azuma Makoto has produced eco-art. in his publication Flower Method, there are photographs of Botanical Installations and Botanical Sculptures, a Botanical Lady Dior and a Global Green display for Isetan. There are House Visions, a Lego Pine and a decoration for Roppongi Hills 10th anniversary. In case people feel the artist is getting carried away there are examples of sublime humour in this rarified atmosphere such as the Botanical Ashtray and Hello Moss Kitty!

YAMASHITA KYOSHI: HADAKA TAISHO (LIFE OF A VAGABOND)

TAMA had twenty years together creating their anarchic folk music. These days Chiku and drummer Ichikawa perform with a band called Pascals whilst the other members, Takimoto and Yanagihara, have their own solo careers. Part of TAMA's charm was in their rejection of the cute, manufactured J Pop appearance and sound. Instead they embraced a more primitive or naïve style. In particular, drummer Ichikawa Kohji adopted a casual dress sense based on the artist Yamashita Kyoshi, a legendary figure with Downs syndrome who wandered Japan, often without a shirt, painting. Known as the Japanese Van Gogh, he died in 1971 at the age of 49. It was during the war when he ran away and began living the life of a vagrant painting as he went. He had to beg for his own food and was once arrested for vagrancy. His style of painting is described as being 'mosaic'. Clearly his pictures have also influenced the painting style of film director Kitano Takeshi. There is a clear similarity between the pictures of Yamashita Kyoshi and the artwork that is featured in Takeshi's film Hanabi.