100 Whites

Kenya Hara — 2018

The world of white, from Muji art director Kenya Hara White not only plays an important role in Japanese cultures in general but also in the work of Kenya Hara, art director for Muji. In 100 Whites, Hara gives 100 examples of white, such as snow, Iceland, rice and wax. On the basis of these examples he discusses the importance of white in design--not only as a color but as a philosophy. Hara describes how he experiments with the different whites he instances, what they mean in the process of his work and how they influence design today. 100 Whites is the extension of Hara's previously published book White. The publication explores the essence of white, which Hara sees as symbolizing simplicity and subtlety. Kenya Hara (born 1958) is a Japanese graphic designer, a professor at the Musashino Art University and, since 2002, the art director for Muji. Hara has been awarded many prizes, such as the Japanese Cultural Design Award.

Highlights

Dhrumil Patel@dhrumil

While it is crucial, in Japanese culture, to resist the temptations of luxury, it is just as important to dedicate ourselves to preserving objects of excellence over the long run. In other words, to integrate them into our daily lives.

Dhrumil Patel@dhrumil

From the moment we are born into this world, human beings instinctively negotiate the physical environment. If I pay attention, I notice I am carrying out the action of “standing." I unconsciously perform "seeing." Without understanding the reasons, I practice "comparing." I am not calculating the pull of gravity or the firmness of the floor when I stand. Nor am I consciously moving my retina in accordance with my understanding of the principles of light to see. The body comprehends these principles of the universe in some way that has nothing to do with reason. In other words, “living" exists before our recognition of it. Thus, to study physics or mathematics is to reexamine through reason what the body already knows.

Dhrumil Patel@dhrumil

Tablecloths at top restaurants are snow white. This is done as a sign of the restaurants state of cleanliness, not just in pursuit of elegance. If a lavish ostentatiousness were the aim, then surely using a gorgeously colored tablecloth would be more effective. And if hiding wine stains was their goal, a dark red would make more sense. Yet, by using a pure white cloth, the restaurant implicitly suggests to the customers that their table is impeccably clean. I think white napkins and a chef's white clothes follow the same principle.

Dhrumil Patel@dhrumil

A perfect circle can be made without mathematics — just with hands. But a sphere is not so easy. Even today, despite all our sophisticated technology, we cannot completely eliminate all distortions from spheres. Perfection remains strictly an ideal.

Dhrumil Patel@dhrumil

Research shows that the Japanese of the Middle Ages had a concept, kizen, which refers to "the domain of the not-yet-happened," a sense of happiness soon to be born. A pearl's light is kizen.

Dhrumil Patel@dhrumil

In pottery, the accidental may enhance beauty, but if overemphasized may also create a miserable, ugly shape. Joseon porcelain's charm lies in how it balances between attention to detail and the refusal of perfection.

Dhrumil Patel@dhrumil

Although walls might appear to be ordinary surfaces, the light that falls on them is never uniform… To see is to observe not only the shape but light. And further, to respond to it.