Sori Yanagi

Sori Yanagi (Japanese柳 宗 理; born June 29, 1915 in Tokyo, Japan, † December 25, 2011 ) was a Japanese designer who specializes in industrial design and internationally known for his chairs. His real name was Yanagi Munemichi, the purely Japanese reading of宗 理, instead of the Sino- Japanese zori.

Biography

Sori Yanagi attended from 1933 to 1938 the Academy of Art Tokyo. From 1940 he worked for the architectural firm Junzo Sakakura. From 1949 to 1942 he worked as an assistant to Charlotte Perriand, which then had a contract to advise the Japanese Trade Ministry in Tokyo comes to art and crafts.

In 1947, Yanagi taught as a designer at the Institute Bunka Gaguin. In 1952 he founded the Yanagi Industrial Design Institute. In 1953 he worked as a teacher at the Women 's Art School in Tokyo. In 1951 he won first prize in the Japan Industrial Design Contest in 1957 and the gold medal at the Milan Triennale.

In 1954, Yanagi designed the famous Butterfly stool, which consists of two curved undeformed plywood elements that are held together by a metal rod. In its sweeping, almost delicate form it recalls not only a butterfly, but also to a Japanese character. In the same year of the Elephant Stool is also a simple but beautifully designed stool made ​​of glass fiber reinforced polyester resin was formed. Both chairs were originally produced by the Japanese company Tendo mokko, nowadays the stool by Vitra are produced. In 1964, the Butterfly Stool by Sori Yanagi and other works at the documenta III in Kassel was exhibited in the Department of Industrial Design. 1960-1961 Sori Yanagi was a guest lecturer at the National Art School in Kassel for two semesters.

In 1977, Yanagi was director of the Japanese Folk Art Museum in Tokyo. In 1982 he participated in the exhibition Contemporary Vessels: How to Pour part, which was held in Tokyo at the National Museum of Western Art. Sori Yanagi also designed subway stations in Japan as well as cars and motorcycles. In his artwork combines the special Japanese sensibility and aesthetics with Western production techniques and modern materials to create a harmonious design special character.

Family

Yanagi's father was Yanagi Muneyoshi (柳 宗 悦also Yanagi Soetsu ), philosopher, and father of the Mingei movement ( " folk art " ) of the 1920s and 1930s. His grandfather Narayoshi Yanagi (柳 楢 悦) was a naval officer, surveyor, mathematician and a member of the manor.

Literature and sources

• Documenta III. International Exhibition; Catalogue: Volume 1: Paintings and Sculpture; Volume 2: Hand drawings; Volume 3: Industrial design, graphic; Kassel / Cologne 1964