Street photographer RK began his voyage into the world of photography four years ago, first honing his skills on his iPhone. Now moving on the use a DSLR, his candid images taken on the streets of his native Tokyo weave a tale of the people and streets who make up this intriguing city.

RK’s work blends neon-saturated evening shots with touching portraits of people immersed in their environment. His portraits of shopkeepers and restaurant workers remind viewers that it’s these people who keep the streets humming and services flowing long after office hours. Their portraits draw the observer in, moving the eye across every inch of the image, one filled with detail.

“When taking street shots, I always focus on the moment and story at that time, not only the photo composition,” RK tells My Modern Met via email. “I may wait for hours in one spot just for one shot. I’m fascinated by this moment in Tokyo.”

And certainly, even though he’s moved beyond exclusively using his iPhone for photography, social media plays a key role in his motivation. “Now, SNS [Social Network Sharing] has become widespread, information on the internet is always coming quickly. I want to show to the world ‘What is Japan like now?’. I want people in the world to know the unique culture of Japan. That’s why I take photographs of the streets.”

RK’s street photography is varied—day and night, architectural and personal—bringing us is a slice of life from within Japan. Through his lens, he adds a new point of view on what it is that defines the fabric of a city.

Photographer RK started delving into photography four years ago, first using his iPhone and then moving to a DSLR.

His color street photography of Tokyo gives a lens into the bustling city, both by day and night.

The neon-soaked evening streets of Japan’s capital provide the perfect setting for his candid photographs.

RK also takes touching portraits of people in their place of business, showing how vital they are to the city’s culture.

RK: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by RK.

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It’s that time of year again—a time to give thanks (and presents) to those who matter to you the most. More likely than not, you’ve got a few artistic people on your list to shop for, which means you’ll need equally creative gifts to bundle and bestow upon them. Luckily, we’ve got a wide selection of options for that creative, crafty, artistic, stylish, expressive visionary in your life.

Whether your special someone is a sophisticated type with refined taste or a quirky character with a penchant for silly stuff, there’s practically an unlimited number of potential presents to choose from. We’ve made it a lot easier for you to sift through the massive catalog of gifts online and go straight for the ones designated for creative folks.

Scroll down to browse through our gift guide featuring the best gifts for art lovers, designers, and more.

For the Style Icon

Aurora Borealis Wood and Resin Necklace

Artist Designed Backpacks

Hand-Bent Wooden Sculpture Vase

Two-Color Reversible Sequin Throw Pillow Cover

Copper Reindeer Ring Holder

 

For the Quirky Culinary

Bear Paw Oven Mitts

“Tipsy” Wine Glass Set

Globe Decanter

 

For the Creative Thinker

Alice in Wonderland Illustrated by Salvador Dalí

Make Your Own Candle Kit

Atlas Beetle Paper Sculpture Kit

DIY Jellyfish Lampshade

3D Pen for “Drawing” Sculptures

DIY Embroidery Starter Kit

 

For the Pop Culture Expert

Darth Vader Portable Battery Charger

Game of Thrones Makeup Brush Set

Superhero Book Ends

Botanic Wars Throw Blanket

 

For the Animal Lover

Mugtail – The Cups with Animal Tails as Handles

Cat Pile – Cat Stacking Game

Ceramic Shiba Inu Cactus Planter

Katris – Tetris-Like Shelving and Modular Cat Tree

Ceramic Fox Yarn Bowl

Cat Back Scratcher

 

For the Hard Worker Who Needs a Mini Break

Build-On Brick Mug

Magnetic Decision Maker

Compliment Pencil Set

Relaxing Magnetic Dolphin Desk Toy

Lavender Fish Eye Pillow

 

For the Nature Lover

Handmade Delicate Cactus Candles

Geode Bookends

Animal Plant Pots

 

For the Tech Enthusiast Who’s Always Plugged In

Prynt Pocket Bundle: An Instant Photo Printer for iPhone with ZINK Sticker Paper

3-in-1 Charging Cord (Lightning, MicroUSB, Type C)

Snail-Shaped Shower Speaker

 

For the World Traveler

Watercolor World Scratch Off Map

Portable Power Strip with Universal Socket

Neck Pillow with Built-In Hood

The post 35+ Fun Gifts for the Creative People in Your Life appeared first on My Modern Met.

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Earlier this fall, the LEGO House opened its doors to the public. The giant center is located in the company’s hometown of Billund, Denmark, and its combination of shops, eateries, and interactive exhibits has made it a paradise for any LEGO lover. Now, one lucky family is getting the chance to take their LEGO experience even further. The company partnered with Airbnb to construct a real life LEGO house that will accommodate up to four people for one special night from November 24 to November 25, 2017.

The colorful LEGO House promises to be an amazing experience. “Your journey will start,” LEGO writes, “when Jamie, one of the finest master builders in the world, welcomes you into the LEGO House and sparks your imagination with top-secret LEGO tips and tricks.” You’ll get to encounter the center like no one else, at first standing at the “foot of the Tree of Creativity” and later directing your own LEGO movie. This all leads to the final destination—a bedroom that’s floating in a “pool of bricks” underneath a nearly 20-foot-tall LEGO waterfall.

The resting quarters has nearly everything made out of LEGO bricks. From the armchairs to the TV to even the cat, it’s all an incredible display of ingenuity and creativity. You’ll get the chance to add to the room, too. While there, you can build anything you want using the 25 million bricks available.

If this all sounds like fun, you can now enter to win a night in this special place. To do so, simply answer this question: “If you and your family had an infinite supply of LEGO bricks, what would you build?” Submit your response between November 1 and November 16, 2017 via Airbnb.

You can stay in a real life LEGO House and sleep among 25 million bricks.

It’s part of the bigger LEGO House that opened earlier this year in Billund, Denmark.

The company partnered with Airbnb to offer this special accommodation.

One lucky family will get to stay there between November 24 and November 25, 2017.

One of the house rules includes “no diving in the LEGO pool.”

LEGO House: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Airbnb
h/t: [designboom]

All images via Airbnb.

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Being two-faced is typically frowned upon, but being a “two-faced” cat is a completely different story. Known as Chimera cats, these special felines have an unforgettable characteristic—each half of their faces is a completely different color, including their eyes. Venus the Chimera cat is the poster kitty for these unusual markings, but there is another of these felines who is quickly growing a following online. Meet Quimera, a striking beauty whose face is perfectly divided into one half orange stripes and a green eye, while the other is all black with a blue eye. The division continues onto her chest and front legs, where the unique coloring is the exact opposite to her face.

Despite her unique coloring, Quimera is your typical cat who has no clue about her own unusual markings. She’s just an ordinary furry friend who likes to snuggle with her human, lay in inconvenient places, and conquer her next great box. It’s clear she won’t let her online fame go to her two-toned head.

Follow Quimera’s adorable antics on her Instagram, @gataquimera.

Meet Quimera, a Chimera cat with striking markings.

Her face is perfectly divided between orange stripes and black fur.

But Quimera doesn’t realize she’s one of these unusual cats.

To her, she’s an ordinary feline who loves laying in inconvenient places and burrowing in boxes.

Quimera: Instagram
h/t: [Neatorama]

All images via Quimera.

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Not just a funny sketch from the Conan O’Brien show, In the Year 2000 was also a clever marketing campaign by German chocolate brand Hildebrand’s. Just in time for the turn of the 20th century, the chocolatier commissioned 12 postcards predicting what life would be like 100 years in the future.

Starting in January 1900, they placed a card in each box of chocolate with a fantastical prediction of what the future would hold. And they weren’t the only company to think of such a stunt, similar illustrations were also commissioned in France for the World’s Fair. Those futuristic illustrations were issued from 1899 to 1910, first as cards in cigarette boxes and then, later, as postcards. At least 87 cards from a variety of French artists were produced over time.

So, what seems downright foolish now and what actually isn’t too far from the truth? It’s surprising to see that in some respects, the artists weren’t too far off—like moveable sidewalks or live performance streaming—while others provide a good chuckle. For instance, a roofed city may be a little impractical, and a “good weather” machine is something that would be especially useful right now, but still doesn’t exist. What other predictions were these artists able to come up with as part of the clever marketing campaign?

In 1900, German chocolate brand Hildebrand’s released 12 illustrations with funny—and sometimes accurate—future predictions in the year 2000.

h/t: [Mashable]

All images via WikiCommons.

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We’ve previously introduced you to the Dutch architecture firm MVRDV, whose innovative designs show no creative bounds. From Jenga towers in Vienna, to a Skygarden in Seoul, their latest project—a library in Tianjin, China—continues to impress.

Located in the Binhai Cultural District, and designed in collaboration with Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute (TUPDI), the spectacular library houses up to 1.2 million books. Part of a larger “cultural complex master plan”—being carried out by GMP architekten—the library joins four other buildings through a series of “cultural corridors.”

The five-story, 34,200-square-meter glass structure features an oval opening onto the interior, with a large spherical auditorium dubbed “the eye” as its focal point. “The Eye is the centre of the library. It ‘hollows out’ the building and creates, out of bookshelves, an environment to sit, to read, [and] to hang out,” explains MVRDV’s director Winy Maas.

In addition to the ground floor reading area and auditorium, the first and second floors are home to further reading rooms and lounge areas. The top two floors house offices, meeting rooms, computer and audio rooms. Terraced book shelves contour the entirety of the curved interior and act as both stairs and seating. Maas describes them as “great spaces to sit and at the same time allow for access to the upper floors. The angles and curves are meant to stimulate different uses of the space, such as reading, walking, meeting and discussing.”

MVRDV have designed a spectacular new Tianjin Binhai Library located in the Binhai Cultural District, China.

The mind-blowing structure houses 1.2 million books along curved book cases that cover the entire interior.

The library’s focal point is a spherical auditorium, dubbed “the eye.”

The entire project took just three years to complete.

MVRDV: Website
h/t: [designboom, arch daily, this isn’t happiness]

All images via MVRDV.

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For 9 years, from 8:30 am and 9:30 am, Danish photographer Peter Funch stood at the southern corner of 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue. In the rush of commuters, what he found was a glimpse of universal habits and the long trek to work. From 2012 to 2016 Funch carried out his project 42nd and Vanderbilt in which he captures the same person twice, mid-commute, leaving the viewer to wonder if they were photographed days, months, or even years apart.

This simple surveillance exercise lets viewers ponder the small daily rituals we take for granted and also invited them into as an observer, picking apart each image to discover what has changed and what remains the same. In these stolen moments, we see Funch’s subjects lost in thought, fraught with worry, even eyes closed as if in divine ecstasy. Within a sea of people, they tend to isolate themselves, holding on to the last bit of solitude before entering the workplace.

“The corner of 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue…what’s that? It’s a patch of nowhere that hides, like similar patches of nowhere, in all cities everywhere,” writes acclaimed novelist and artist Douglas Copeland of the work. “It’s the space of Edward Hopper. It’s the real estate equivalent of a Styrofoam packing peanut. It’s blank, and it’s in this blankness that we circle back to Warhol and repetition and the aesthetic experience we enjoy when we look from one Marilyn to the next to see which screened face has what kind of silkscreen printing error.”

Shocking in its raw vision of the banality of our morning routine, it’s both amusing—and telling—which details viewers immediately focus on. Whether it’s wearing the same outfit or not donning a happy smile. Though Funch’s subjects aren’t “picture perfect,” they are real.

See more of Peter Funch’s insightful street photography series in his new book 42nd and Vanderbilt.

For 42nd and Vanderbilt, photographer Peter Funch spent 9 years documenting the morning commute on a street corner in New York.

His work leaves us wondering if these people were captured days, minutes, weeks, or even years, apart.

Peter Funch: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Peter Funch.

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During the 20th century, architects turned their attention from traditional designs to more original aesthetics. While many Modernist movements capture this interest in the experimental, Mid-Century Modern architecture has resonated over decades to remain a popular style today.

Though inspired by the unprecedented designs of Frank Lloyd Wright and the avant-garde approach of Bauhaus artists, Mid-Century Modern put a novel spin on architecture. Here, we explore the groundbreaking genre, highlighting its unique look and key characteristics.

What is Mid-Century Modern?

Mid-Century Modern denotes a style of design that was popularized from the 1930s through the 1960s. Characterized by a contemporary, seemingly futuristic aesthetic and an emphasis on function, the Mid-Century Modern movement influenced many types of design. These include interior, product, industrial, and graphic design, as well as urban planning and architecture, which remains the most well-known Mid-Century Modern example.

Originating in Europe, this style was brought to America by Marcel Breuer, Walter Gropius, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, architects who also played key roles in the Bauhaus movement.

Defining Features of Mid-Century Modern Architecture

Most Mid-Century modern homes showcase three predominant characteristics: a clean, minimalist aesthetic, an emphasis on bringing the outdoors in, and the presence of angular structures.

Minimalist Aesthetic

In the middle of the 20th century, many artists began working in an abstract style, re-imagining traditional art and pioneering a new aesthetic. This interest in abstract forms is also present in architecture of the time, as demonstrated by Mid-Century Modern’s minimalist appearance.

Flat planes, clean lines, and little ornamentation characterize both the exteriors—which often feature monochromatic brickwork and pops of color—and the matching interiors of Mid-Century modern homes.

This no-fuss approach to design exhibited both the movement’s unique aesthetic and its focus on functionality.

Emphasis on the Outdoors

Another key characteristic of the Mid-Century Modern house is a relationship with nature. Architects working in this style often incorporated large windows and open floor plans into their designs, which provided scenic views and let in lots of light. Additionally, sliding glass doors enticed and encouraged residents to go outside and explore their surroundings.

Angular Structures

To showcase their unmistakably modernist approach to everyday architecture, Mid-Century Modern architects employed geometric forms and asymmetrical compositions in their designs. Unlike structures built in popular preceding styles—including Beaux-Arts and Arts and Crafts—Mid-Century Modern homes exhibit little historic influence and lack visual formality.

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