{"id":2861,"date":"2018-04-25T20:59:59","date_gmt":"2018-04-25T11:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2018-04-25\/2861"},"modified":"2018-04-25T20:59:59","modified_gmt":"2018-04-25T11:59:59","slug":"the-miniature-life-work-of-tatsuya-tanaka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2018-04-25\/2861","title":{"rendered":"The Miniature-Life work of Tatsuya Tanaka"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 1800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLong Walk Home<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nForehand<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 2200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSomewhat “<\/span>Spongy”<\/span> Court<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I recently went to an amazing art exhibition at the Takashimaya department store in Kyoto. It's now moved<\/span> on from Kyoto,\ncurrently showing in Yokohama<\/a> for a couple<\/span> of weeks.\nHighly recommended for kids and adults alike. Fumie had brought Anthony earlier in the week, and loved it so much that they'd\nrecommended it to me.<\/p>\n\n

It's a selection of the prolific art by Tatsuya Tanaka<\/a>,\nthe guy behind the 2,500 works at Miniature Calendar<\/a>,\nworks which are amazing both for their simplicity (we all could have<\/i> thought of that),\nand for their level of wit, which (in my case) are better than I could<\/span> have thought of.<\/p>\n\n

At the exhibition I attended, some works were there live, and some only as photos....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>50 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 640 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCalm Broccoli World<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nDetail<\/span>\nmundane, but somehow interesting\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 1100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRoute<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n“<\/span>Let Me Check My Phone”<\/span><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMy Photo<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nmy photo of\nHis Photo<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Photography and social-media sharing were both encouraged, but it was not a situation<\/span> where one could make good photos... I had no<\/span> tripod, and it was crowded, so anything more than a few<\/span>-seconds pause to take a photo<\/span> would have been unsociable.<\/p>\n\n

Also, the lighting for the displays was not well thought out (or, were perhaps the best that could be done with what was available). The lighting<\/span> for the physical display of the large “<\/span>Calm Broccoli World”<\/span> seen above consisted of harsh spotlights directly above\neach broccoli tree, meaning that the actual points of interest (the people) were all in dark shadow\nmaking photography of them by exhibit visitors fairly meaningless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 4500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Time and time again I was struck by the wit of his creations, all just a little<\/span> better than I could<\/span> have come up with,\nyet, as a photographer,<\/span> I couldn't<\/span> help but lament at some of his photos.<\/p>\n\n

For example, consider this work that combines a motherboard<\/span> and rice planters:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSoldering On With the Rice Planting<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

His photo<\/a> of this work looks very much like the one above, and the first thought\nthat comes to my mind when I see<\/span> it is “<\/span>he didn't use a polarizing<\/span> filter”<\/span>. (I've written about polarizers many times,\nsuch as “<\/span>The Effect of a Polarization<\/span> Filter on Wet Rocks, Etc.<\/a>”<\/span>.)<\/p>\n\n

So, I put on a polarizer for a few shots, to get more of the deep blue of the motherboard...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 7200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWide View<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n(Too-)Close View<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

These pictures are still no good, but in a controlled<\/span> environment I thought<\/span> they could have been very nice.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 10000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 9000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nVictory<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 50mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 4000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRace<\/span>\nmy photo of the display photo\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Here's one that has an aspect that was totally lost on me until Damien pointed it out.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 50mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 4000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAs Presented<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

As presented, my eye first went to the right half, which I now<\/span> realize is a “<\/span>making of”<\/span> kind of photo,\nwith the left half being the final product. But because<\/span> I didn't<\/span> see it in the correct order, I didn't<\/span>\nreally pay attention that the edges of the books were meant to impart a sense<\/span> of speed.... I just saw<\/span>\nbooks being used as a road.<\/span> I hope my<\/span> presentation here lets you get the full effect.<\/p>\n\n

The “<\/span>Victory”<\/span> figurine is in the lower-left of the frame.<\/p>\n\n

This work demonstrates another thing about his art: they have English titles, but all\nthe wit is in the Japanese titles. The English<\/span> title for this\nwork<\/a> is simply “<\/span>Spurt”<\/span>, which like most of the English titles are a simple<\/span> factual\nword or two, devoid of wit or pun.<\/p>\n\n

The Japanese title, as you can see in the phtoo, is \u201c\u672c\u201d\u6c17\u306e\u8d70\u308a<\/b>, which might be translated\nas the boring “<\/span>earnest riding”<\/span>. The pun is<\/span> that the first character of the word for “<\/span>earnest”<\/span> also happens to be\nthe character used for “<\/span>book”<\/span>, so with the quotes around that character it might give the sense of “<\/span>feels like\nriding on a book<\/span>”<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

This was probably not the best example because this pun is so corny. Let's try another:<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 32mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 2500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 56mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 1800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Here's the title card for it:<\/p>\n\n

\nTroubled Waters\n\n\u98df\u5668<\/span>\u30f3\u30b0\u306a\u4e8b\u6545<\/span><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The Japanese title is a multi-lingual pun. It's nonsensical<\/span> on the face of it, but it combines\nthe word for “<\/span>dish\/tableware”<\/span> with some seemingly-nonsensical sounds to make something that sounds\nlike the English word “<\/span>Shocking”<\/span>, all followed by “<\/span>Accident”<\/span>. Perhaps the wit is lost in the need\nfor an explanation, but it's a fun<\/span> title to look at and figure it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 1400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAnother Pun<\/span>\n

The word “<\/span>foundation”<\/span> is rewritten to start with the golf-exclamation “<\/span>Four!”<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 29mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 7200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSurfing<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 60mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n“<\/span>Ride The Wave While It's Fresh”<\/span><\/span>\n\u65b0\u9bae\u306a\u3046\u3061\u306b\u6ce2\u306b\u4e57\u308c\uff01\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 50mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 1100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPlay Me Some Memories...<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nThis Guy's in Trebel<\/span>\nbut the Allegations are Baseless\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 48mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 1800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 35mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 3600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nStaple NYC<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 2800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 1250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n“<\/span>New Bread Line”<\/span><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The title for this one, \u65b0\u30d1\u30f3\u7dda (shinpansen<\/i>, “<\/span>new bread line”<\/span>) is a play<\/span> off the word\nfor bullet train, \u65b0\u5e79\u7dda<\/span> (shinkansen<\/i>, “<\/span>new trunk line”<\/span>).<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 48mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 2500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWhich Title is Better?<\/span>\nEnglish: “<\/span>Toilet”<\/span>\nJapanese: “<\/span>Going for a new<\/span> length record”<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 2000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLibrary<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 4000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nDifference<\/span>\nbetween the live installation and the photo\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

There was often a difference between the live instillation and the photo of record for the work,\nwith many differences likely because of how the parts are arranged during setup. In the case<\/span> above, though,\nthe long distance between the bride\/father and the groom\/priest makes it all the more funny, but\nsuch a distance<\/span> can't easily be accommodated in a close<\/span>-up photo, so they're much closer for the photo of record.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 38mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHarvest<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Anyone in Japan recognizes this as a rice<\/span> harvest, complete with\npost-harvest field stubble<\/a>,\nand rice plants hanging to dry like this<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 12800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

There must have been 100 different works on display. It was thoroughly<\/span> enjoyable.<\/p>\n\n

The exhibit exits to a gift-shop kind of area where you can buy all kinds of miniature things,\nand the artist's three books.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 450 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I was disappointed to find that two of the three books had only English titles (they're both available on Amazon US, here<\/a> and here<\/a>). Since the\nJapanese titles add so much, I bought<\/span> the only one that actually had them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently went to an amazing art exhibition at the Takashimaya department store in Kyoto. It's now moved on from Kyoto, currently showing in Yokohama for a couple of weeks. Highly recommended for kids and adults alike. Fumie had brought Anthony earlier in the week, and loved it so much that they'd recommended it to me.<\/p>

It's a selection of the prolific art by Tatsuya Tanaka, the guy behind the 2,500 works at Miniature Calendar, works which are amazing both for their simplicity (we all could have thought of that), and for their level of wit, which (in my case) [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2861"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2861\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}