Press Release
A' Design Award in Fine Arts and Art Installation Design Goes to Lightflakes for StarMicronics Installation Art by Yuji Okitsu
Yuji Okitsu recognized for fine arts and art installation design by the international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the A' Design Award in the Fine Arts and Art Installation Design category for Lightflakes for StarMicronics Installation Art by Yuji Okitsu. The award was conferred within the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the A' Design Award Means
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
About Lightflakes for StarMicronics Installation Art
Lightflakes is a light installation created for the entrance of a corporate headquarters in Shizuoka, Japan. The work is built from 53,900 small lenses, each 40 mm in diameter and 0.3 mm thick, made of recyclable PET and shaped by laser cutting. The lenses are precisely assembled into two large optical screens that gather and reconstruct light. The screens are light in weight, so the surface sways gently and reveals changing brilliance. The installation responds to natural daylight entering through the glass facade and expresses the idea of miniature technology creating an infinite world.
Award Record
This recognition makes Yuji Okitsu a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Fine Arts and Art Installation Design Award
The A' Fine-Art Design Award is an international fine-art design competition recognizing best fine-art works by leading fine-art artists and creators worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to artists, painters, sculptors and ceramicists from all countries. Entries typically include sculptures, paintings, installations, photographs, drawings and mixed media works. Awarded art designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/fine-art
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/106845
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/106845
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!106845
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/279208
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://www.yujiokitsu.com
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
###
Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Lightflakes for StarMicronics Installation Art
- Function
- Installation Art
- Category
- Fine Arts and Art Installation Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Arts
- Colors
- Dark Gray, Silver, Gainsboro, Lavender and Light Gray
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Yuji Okitsu
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2020 - 2021
- Design ID
- #106845
Credits
- Team
- Eri Yamazaki and MURAYAMA Inc.
- Image Credits
- Photographer Tomoko Yamane, Variations, 2020 Optional; Photographer Tomoko Yamane, 2020 Optional; Photographer YUJI OKITSU, 2020 Optional; Photographer Tomoko Yamane, 2020
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The installation consists of work of lens art named " lightflakes " and was designed with the concept of reconstructing light. By methodically assembling small and thin 53,900 lenses and picking up light finely to make large optical screens, the client's corporate statement "Miniature Technology, Infinite World" was embodied for the entrance of the headquarters of a precision parts global company based in Japan. It is the art project that enhances the value of the entrance by fusing the expression of the corporate statement with the characteristics of the artwork and embodying it.
- Inspiration
- The installation's base art, " lightflakes " was first presented at Milano Salone Satellite 2017 and has since developed into a series of collaborations with the projects. This concept is the reconstruction of light. Light objects of any size and shape are possible to create by means of delicate lens parts. Our client is a global Japanese company that manufactures precision components with high technology and has worldwide operations. With the dynamic installation of light, we aimed to embody in the spirit of a global company that shines on the world stage with small precision parts.
- Research
- Two optical screen-like objects constructed with " lightflakes " quietly change the atmosphere of the entrance while linking with the natural light entering from the glass facade that changes over time. " lightflakes " is an art that uses natural light as a clue to raise awareness of the environment, and also has a design aspect that enables it to be formed for a variety of projects. It is artwork born from the architectural thinking of solving the conditions and at the same time paying attention to the environment and reflecting it in the design to create the one and only space.
- Challenge
- YUJI OKITSU presents art from our background of architectural thinking. By developing the series of " lightflakes " while maintaining the concept and details of art, we are thinking about the theme, form, and size of the object according to each project. This art, which has a flexible system and also has design elements, and the fusion of the conditions required for the project continue to increase the value of both parties and explore their possibilities.
- Realization and Technology
- The " lightflakes " are 40 mm in diameter and 0.3 mm thin, with parts that are able to be assembled with each other by precision finishing the lenses. The lenses used to consist the installation needed fine detail, and we had to choose a material that was easy to process. The PET selected as the material is recyclable, has excellent light reflection and transparency, can be finely processed by laser cutting, and low environmental burden. This installation is constructed by precisely assembling the 53,900 lenses, and because it is light, the object sways and brings out the brilliance of light.
- Operation and Interaction
- The entrance of the corporate headquarters, where the installation was requested is a space where natural light shines from the glass facade, and where there is also the light on the wall at the front of entrance where the picture is projected. By fusing the our client's corporate statement with the characteristics of the conceptual our art piece, which is the reconstruction of light in this space, and giving it shape as the optical object, we have created the one and only scene and experience at the entrance.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project for this installation started in June 2019 and after a design and production period, it was completed in February 2020 at the headquarters entrance of Star Micronics Co., Ltd. in Shizuoka, Japan.
- Specifications
- DIMENTION w7755mm x d110mm x h3000mm, w2680mm x d110mm x h3000mm
- Keywords
- art, installation, design, architecture, light, lens, office, entrance, lobby
