Malls as modern museums

TOKYO — Fifty years ago, having art installations and design exhibits in a commercial space was unheard of. “No respectable curator or art collector would want to lend valued works to a ‘lowly’ mall or department store,” recalls Tsuji Takashi who worked at Seibu Department Store in the 1960s.

According to him, it took time and a lot of convincing for the first department store-based exhibit to commence. He had to assure curators and collectors that the works would be protected while being viewed by the public.

Though Takashi was an art lover, his main motive at that time was business- driven. He ingeniously placed art exhibits on the top floor so customers would pass through all the floors and hopefully buy something along the way. From that one small project, Takashi facilitated the marriage of art, design and commerce in Japan from straightforward exhibits in department stores to corporate sponsorship of artists.

Companies like Louis Vuitton and UBS heartily support the arts, and malls have become sought-after spaces to showcase design. Many galleries are now housed in malls and exhibits have become commonplace.

With all that’s going on, is it legitimate to call the malls a modern museum? Quite possibly, and a prime example is a recent design event in Tokyo.

Earlier this month, Tokyo Designers Week (TDW) — the most important event in the Japanese design calendar — celebrated its 24th year. TDW brings creators together and celebrates good design through competitions, workshops and exhibits. Organizers involve the public by tying up with department stores and brands to introduce ingenious Japanese design to a wider audience.

One of the main venues for Tokyo Designers Week was the elegant Tokyo Midtown mall. The Tokyo Midtown Design Touch event was held in conjunction with interior design boutiques, kitchen goods stores and lifestyle brands within the mall.

Tenants earmarked award-winning products in their stores and held various activities ranging from mini workshops such as Muji’s Paper Lego lesson to collaborations between Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki and design shop Time and Style.

Tokyo Midtown also housed two main public exhibits. A special space was dedicated to the company IDEO, the design and innovation consulting firm, whose work portfolio includes the first Apple mouse (1980) and the dashboard of Ford’s latest hybrid car (2009).

The main feature of the exhibit centered on newer creations responding to topics like exercise and saving. One product, “Active Labels,” specifies how much activity you have to do to burn calories. For example, it equates a 159 kcal serving of cereal to a two-mile walk. Another interesting creation was an application that shows how much work we need to do in order to buy the things we desire. That should surely dampen any impulsive shopping.

The other exhibit was called Good Design, focusing on designs that are part of our daily life. On display were various products such as robots, massage chairs and paper plates, all of which show the talent of product designers.

Highlights include the iconic Dyson vacuum cleaner as well as the Cup Noodle packaging that makes it stand out from the shelves.

Kawaii items from animal rubber bands to Gum earphones were part of the exhibit and also for sale. A decade-by-decade take on Japanese product design was also provided.

Surely it can only be a positive thing that art and design exhibits are branching out from the traditional and sometimes stuffy confines of the museum to malls. Exhibits such as these have the effect of enlightening consumers to the creative effort that goes into every vacuum cleaner, tweezers, and soy sauce dispenser we purchase.

It highlights the relevance of design to daily life and allows us to appreciate the design process.