AICHI METAL
Technology Case Study
Art pieces are mysterious. For example, it does not make something useful or cure something just because it is there. In other words, it does not have the functional benefits of a product. However, there are times when you get the experience of seeing the art piece and it changes the way you see the world in a way that you had been thinking about it. It may be a change in the way one's mind works, or a change in the way one thinks. I believe this is due to the fact that the role of art is not "function" but "information. An art piece contains a vast amount of "information" that an artist has arrived at, including his or her perspective on the world and society through his or her personal intellect. When this information reaches us through the artwork, it may be combined with our thoughts as the recipient and fuse together like a kind of chemical reaction, becoming new information. On the other hand, in our daily work at AICHI METAL, "function" is the first requirement. Naturally, accidents must not occur or anyone must not be harmed. Furthermore, we must be able to accurately and deeply express the intentions of the designers and designers. The work must be finished with an emphasis on function, such that it does not destroy the intention of the design so that people can use the product without thinking about it. This is truly an art piece that can be said to be at the opposite end of the spectrum. This time, we had the very rare opportunity to undertake the production of a part of it.
Accuracy supporting "information
This project was commissioned by Gallery Nao Masaki, a prominent gallery in Nagoya City, and the artist is Kazumi Tsuji, a glass artist based in Kanazawa. The spatial director was Nao Masaki of Gallery Nao Masaki. The installation took place at Midland Square in front of Nagoya Station during the 2020 Christmas event. AICHI METAL was in charge of making the tree's support pole, and welding and painting the branches and pots. The part we fabricated this time was the tree portion of the Christmas tree, from which 400 glass plates were hung. The total weight of the plates alone is about 1 ton. The trunk of the tree must be strong enough to support this weight, otherwise this work would not be possible. On the other hand, if the finish is too rugged, the overall completeness of the artwork will be compromised. What we have come to understand from our exposure to art piece production is that, first of all, people involved in art have the ideas and experience to embody "functional excellence. This is something we have come into contact with on a daily basis and the chemistry was excellent. The trunk is finished in white color and thermal spraying techniques are used to preserve the surface beauty. The final combination with the branches, for which another company carried out the component fabrication, is the on-site finish. As is usually the case on site, the staff of the on-site installation/construction department assembled the pieces one by one to complete the project.
The Wonder of Presence
During the event, our staff visited the venue many times, as it was close to Aichi Metal. It was very impressive to see so many people visiting and taking pictures. All of the exhibited vessels were sold out. It was a very meaningful event. The main focus of the exhibition was on the vessels, with the tree itself playing a supporting role, so to speak. While this stance is the same as that of all the metal components we usually work with and deliver, the presence of the art piece gave us the strange impression that the metal component itself was standing on a different stage from its usual existence. Respond with solid quality. To understand a project accurately and in depth. While these are all things common to our everyday work, this project brought a completely new experiential value to us. The sight of the general public looking at the metal components together for the purpose of this work was like one of our rewards for our usual work, and we are deeply grateful to everyone involved.
