21_21 DOCUMENTS

In celebrating the "Irving Penn and Issey Miyake: Visual Dialogue" exhibition starting September 16, leading creators from all walks of art speak to us of their fascination with Irving Penn photos.

Unwavering "strength"
The extraordinary power of Penn's photos

──You were at Miyake Design Studio exactly when the collections introduced in this exhibition were created. Are there any episodes you can share with us regarding those times?

Tokujin Yoshioka (from hereon,Yoshioka):
I came to know Mr. Penn's creations through Issey-san. Issey-san showed me Mr. Penn's photos and Ms. Midori Kitamura told me stories of the photo session. Penn photographed hats which I was in charge of design for the Paris collection. I purchased those cuts and have treasured them ever since. Also, Issey-san once told me, "Go and see New York" and so, I visited Penn's studio during the visit. Unfortunately, I could not see a photo session but I sat in a meeting to review the clothes. I have an impression of him as being a gentle and silent man.

──What is your impression of Penn's photos?

Yoshioka: There is a famous episode, though about someone else's hat. Once, there was a hat designed using bread but the bread had molded during shipping. However, when that hat arrived at Mr. Penn's doors, he marveled that the "mold was beautiful" and took the photo of the hat with the mold still on it. I think that episode is very symbolic of Mr. Penn.

Mr. Penn's photos are not just beautiful but they seek out the beauty in "raw moments" of destruction at times and other times decay. This form of expression also contains overwhelming power. I've never met a photographer that takes such powerful photos.

The number of people who have seen his photo sessions are only a few but I've heard from a model that he photographed in very dark rooms. The shutter speed was slow so the model had to keep still and I've heard that was quite some work.

──What have you learned from Penn's photos?

Yoshioka: Strength. I believe this is the most difficult task of all and I am impressed by works that exhibit strength just by being there and making the entire creative process seem effortless. This is what I aspire to achieve.

──Please tell us about your recent work.

Yoshioka: The Orsay Museum was renovated in 2011 and "Water block" are installed in the impressionist gallery for this renovation project. The pieces sit in a gallery that houses impressionist masters such as Manet, Renoir, Degas, and Cezanne and you can actually sit on them when looking at the paintings. Please stop by if you have a chance to visit Paris.

(interviewer: Keiko Kamijo)

Tokujin Yoshioka

Designer
Born in 1967. Established Tokujin Yoshioka Inc. in 2000. His works, which transcend the boundaries of product design, architecture, and exhibition installation, are highly evaluated also as art.
Many of his works are displayed as a part of permanent collections in the world's well-known museums, including Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, and Musee d'Orsay, Paris.
He received prizes such as "Design Miami, Designer of the Year, 2007", and "A&W Architektur & Wohnen/Designer of the Year 2011".
Appeared in television broadcaster TBS's documentary program, "Jonetsu Tairiku" and selected by the Japanese edition of Newsweek as one of the "100 most respected Japanese by the world."
www.tokujin.com

List view of "Irving Penn and Me"