Yanagi Sōri

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Yanagi Sōri

Yanagi Sōri ( Japanese 柳 宗 理 ; born June 29, 1915 in Tokyo , Japan ; † December 25, 2011 ibid) was a Japanese designer specializing in industrial design and internationally known for his seating furniture . His real name was Yanagi Munemichi, the Japanese reading of 宗 理 , instead of the Sino-Japanese Sōri.

biography

Yanagi Sōri attended the Tokyo Art Academy from 1933 to 1938 . From 1940 he worked for the architecture firm Sakakura Junzō . From 1949 to 1942 he worked as an assistant to Charlotte Perriand , who at the time had an assignment to advise the Japanese Ministry of Commerce in Tokyo on arts and crafts.

In 1947, Yanagi taught as a designer at the Bunka Gaguin Institute . In 1952 he founded the Yanagi Industrial Design Institute . In 1953 he worked as a teacher at the women's art school in Tokyo. In 1951 he won first prize in the Japan Industrial Design Contest and in 1957 the gold medal at the Triennale in Milan .

In 1954, Yanagi designed the famous Butterfly stool , which consists of two curved, deformed plywood elements that are held together by a metal rod. In its curved, almost graceful shape, it is not only reminiscent of a butterfly, but also of a Japanese character. In the same year the Elephant Stool was also created , also a simple but elegant stool made of fiberglass-reinforced polyester resin . Both chairs were originally made by the Japanese company Tendo Mokko , now the stools are produced by Vitra . In 1964, the Butterfly stool and other works by Sori Yanagi were exhibited at documenta III in Kassel in the Industrial Design department . From 1960 to 1961 Sori Yanagi was visiting lecturer at the Staatliche Werkkunstschule in Kassel for two semesters .

In 1977, Yanagi became director of the Japanese Museum of Folk Art in Tokyo. In 1982 he took part in the Contemporary Vessels: How to Pour exhibition held in Tokyo at the National Museum of Western Art . Sori Yanagi also designed subway stations in Japan, as well as cars and motorcycles. In his design work, the special Japanese sensitivity and aesthetics are combined with western manufacturing techniques and modern materials to create a harmonious design with a special character.

family

Yanagi's father was Yanagi Muneyoshi ( 柳 宗 悦 , also Yanagi Sōetsu), a philosopher and father of the Mingei movement ("folk art") of the 1920s and 1930s. His grandfather Yanagi Narayoshi ( 柳 楢 悦 ) was a naval officer, surveyor, mathematician and member of the manor. Yanagi's mother was the singer Yanagi Kaneko .

Literature and Sources

  • documenta III. International exhibition ; Catalog: Volume 1: Painting and Sculpture; Volume 2: Hand Drawings; Volume 3: Industrial Design, Graphics; Kassel / Cologne 1964

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. 柳 宗 理 . Yanagi Design Office, 2013, accessed December 12, 2016 (Japanese).