Project developed within the association Particule 14

 

Exhibition / Le lieu du Design / Paris - 2012

 

«It must be modest but not tacky, cheap but not fragile. Above all, the Mingei objects have to avoid being dishonest, pernicious and luxurious, Being natural, sincere, safe and simple are the fundamental features of the Mingei » Soetsu Yanagi, 1933.

 

Three-stage process for this nomadic domestic landscape :

- A solid industrial brick.

- A hollow or an incision to create the function.

- A colored enamel covering this hollow to make it smooth. The base of the brick is also enamelled for a seamless contact. The brick is domesticated.

 

Uses : A tidy, an ashtray, a spoonrest, pens grooves, a fruit display stand…..

So many daily uses made possible by this carved enamelled brick, its sheer weight of an everyday object  honestly and beautifully.

Each brick can be used on standalone or put together with some others for a new function. These bricks, robust but sophisticated, humble but durable, are collusive of the Mingei spirit.

 

« The Mingei will have to grow towards present time objects » wrote Soetsu Yanagi and future ones too