Japanese print

I've always liked the shapes and colours, such as deep blue, blood red, mustard and forest green, present in Japanese print. I think embellishing the subway carriages with it is a cute idea- wonder whether Singapore would be willing to do the same for its MRT? Then again, Singapore is such a sanitized place and decorated carriages might be construed as an eyesore to the cityscape. I recall that me and my art classmates wanted to do a graffiti wall in the school once but were rejected. I doubt that the school administrators gave the proposal serious thought. It's highly amusing yet tragic that a school can only have graffiti when it's been converted into an art space, like the new extension building of the Singapore Art Museum. By the way, the third image is by American photographer William Eggleston, whose work I really like. You can expect to see more of his photos on this blog subsequently.

I picked up a book in the library showcasing Japanese design products, but had to let it go because I'd used up my borrowing quota. It was an interesting read though. I was especially fascinated and tickled by the photos of 'sleep pod'-like hotel rooms, rooms that are transparent and consist only of a bed. Then I thought, why not install such pods in offices so that employees can take a nap in comfort? I believe it's been suggested before, and I don't think it's a bad idea at all as studies suggest that naps improve one's work performance and efficiency. You've got to give it to the Japanese for generating all kinds of wacky ideas. If you consider it, the most brilliant ideas and solutions are often those that are considered crazy in the initial stages, those that people scorn or laugh at. Then again, what defines craziness? For this, I think Paulo Coelho's book Veronika decides to die offers an eloquent interpretation. That will be the topic of my next post- what does it mean to be crazy?