Oki Sato
Japanese, born Canada, 1977
Manufactured by Nendo for Isetan
Japanese, founded 2002
Bell-orgel Hanging Bell
INV-2135
Oki Sato
Japanese, born Canada, 1977
Manufactured by Nendo for Isetan
Japanese, founded 20022011
Bell-orgel Hanging Bell
Oki Sato Japanese, born Canada, 1977 Manufactured by Nendo for Isetan Japanese, founded 2002 →21st Centurydesign
Date
2011
Medium
Japanese cypress (hinoki) and music box mechanism
Dimensions
15 × 9 × 9 cm (5 15/16 × 3 9/16 × 3 9/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Nendo
Nendo, a design firm based in Tokyo and Milan, designed this series of Bell-orgel music boxes for the Japanese department store Isetan. This set includes three forms that all adhere to the traditional shape of the bell: a hand bell, a standing bell, and a hanging bell. In each design, the bell shape functions as the switch to turn on the music box, a reference to the traditional function of the bell. Created in conjunction with the composer Ryuichi Sakamoto’s organization More Trees, a global initiative to plant more trees as a natural source of carbon dioxide filtering, the wooden music boxes are made of sustainably harvested Japanese cypress. For this project, 57 designers were enlisted to decorate the bells, with a portion of the proceeds directed to More Trees. The unadorned version, as seen here, highlights the tactile aesthetic inherent in the wood while reflecting the aim to promote sustainably harvested wood.
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