Art goes digital: Japan's teamLab breaks new ground

• Author: Jonah Asher
• Position: WIPO Japan Office
• Pages: 11-14

p. 11WIPO | MAGAZINE

Art is goin g digital. As t he bounda ries betwe en tech-

nology and art become increasingly blurred, Japanese

company team Lab is breaking new gr ound and setting

new trends i n digital artis tic expression. Th e company’s

stunning 4 0-meter d igital mu ral welcomin g visitors t o

the world’s tal lest struc ture, the 6 34-met er high TO-

KYO SKYTR EE (above), is testi mony to its tra ilblazin g

credent ials. Jonah A sher from t he WIPO Japan O fce

visited tea mLab’s ofces t o nd out more a bout the

company and i ts work.

Founded in late 2001 by Toshiyuki Inoko, teamLab brings

together some 300 self-described “ultra-technologists” from

a variety of technical an d creative backgrounds. The com-

pany’s four-storey ofces in the heart of Tokyo are the source,

arguably, of some of Japan’s hottest trends and most creative

artistic wor ks.

teamLab’s futuristic digital art ins tallations fuse art a nd

technology, offering viewers a uni que and enthralling visu al

experience. With some 3 0 projects on the go at any one time,

the creative range of the company’s activities is a s varied as

it is exotic – encompassing animation, sound, performance,

the Internet, fashion and design.

A NEW HIGH-TECH REA LITY

When I visited teamLab’s ofces to meet the compa ny’s founder,

Toshiyuki Inoko, and his colleagues, I came fac e to face with

an exciting, new high-tech reality. A large, color ful at-screen

ART GOES DIGITAL:

Japan’s teamLab

breaks new ground by Jonah Asher,

WIPO Japan Oi ce

Photo: teamLabHa nger teamLab, 2010 – Inter active Hanger

→

Close-up of tea mLab’s 40-met er-long digita l mural at the ent rance of the TOKYO SK YTREE .