AMID* architecture (cero9), AmesMM The Magic Mountain and four other projects

Courtesy of MoT, Photo ©Keizou Kioku

Brilliant, enlightening, ridiculous, frightening. Visions in art and design are often a precursor of things to come, a visual aperitif for our future. Now, future visions in architecture, fashion, graphic design, product design, film, video, environmental design and fine art are often a melding of collaborative efforts. This crossover was first seeded in the early 20th century via experiments in utopian architecture, and it reemerged from the internet/information explosion in the ’90s. Combine the imaginations of creators from several genres with a playground of new technology, and their futuristic visions capture our remarkable world of possibilities.

A sampling of these futuristic visions by 34 individual and collective artists and designers is on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. Curated by well-known director Yuko Hasegawa, the show challenges the definitions of space and the very nature of art and design. “Space,” as defined here, refers to an environment that influences both our physical and spiritual realm. These futuristic visions offer “new spaces of co-existence and new spaces of communication.”

Mika Ninagawa, My Room, 2007

Courtesy of MoT, production support by Tomio Koyama Gallery, photo ©Keizou Kioku

Among the architects, Cristina Diaz Moreno and Efren Garcia Grinda, the Madrid duo known as AMID* architecture (cero9), offer one of the more intriguing installations. Known for their utopian approach, Moreno and Grinda have created a series of ideal urban landscapes. One plan called The Magic Mountain uses bio-engineering technologies to cover an urban thermal power plant with a garden-like system of flora and fauna. At first seemingly farfetched, the idea is both brilliant and practical. The plant life, first in the form of rose membranes, would thrive off the water generated by the plant. Insects such as butterflies would be attracted to the flower pollen, thereby attracting birds who could nest within the greenery. It would become a living, breeding receptacle­—a “living mountain.”

A spatial urban facelift can even include ugly steel wire security fences. The “Lace Fence” created by the popular Dutch design group Demakersvan combines function with decoration. Using industrial technology, the designs can be woven within the fence’s grid to create a “big miracle” metal embroidery. The fence can be used to prevent climbing, to hide or enhance the surrounding environment, or to endure harsh weather. Meanwhile, Demakersvan’s “Cinderella” table, also included in the show, further exemplifies the beautiful potential of combining industrial machinery and design. Containing 57 layers of birch plywood, the table was made by a robot-like machine with designs of old furniture downloaded into its hard drive.

Noriyuki Tanaka, 100 ERIKAS, 2007

Courtesy of MoT, photo ©Keizou Kioku

Feeling like you live in a fishbowl? Share the spatial experience with Mika Ninagawa’s goldfish room—360 degrees of fleshy, bright orange fish at a standstill. The photographer, known for her rich electric colors, is enjoying cult status in both the Japan-based fashion and art worlds.

Also zeroing in on the body space-surround are Ernesto Neto’s wearable “Phitohumanoids” sculptures. The viewer can actually try them on—and, yes, they are a cozy, back-to-mom’s-womb experience. The Brazilian Neto has made an indelible mark on the international art scene with his interactive sculptures—at once massive and intimate—shaped like giant organic membranes. Made of stretchable fabrics of nylon and cotton and filled with tiny beads or scented spices, the works welcome a feel or a sniff.

Olafur Eliasson, Quadruple Suncooker Lamp, 2006

Courtesy of Gallery Koyanagi, photo ©Keizou Kioku

Fashionistas interested in wearable electronic haute couture will be delighted by the “LED Dress,” created by the innovative Cyprus-born fashion designer Hussein Chalayan. With the engineering genius of mechatronics wizard Moritz Waldemeyer and the support of Swarovski, Chalayan wowed audiences with his LED dresses and hats at the Spring/Summer 2007 Paris collections. Exhibited in this show is a dress made of thousands of tiny LEDs embedded into panels controlled by a complex set of micromotors with tiny pulleys and cables and covered by an opaque baby doll-style dress. More recently, Chalayan and Waldemeyer have created an LED dress that can actually display video imagery.

These and other remarkable works spur our imagination and conjure a future utopia of collaboration and communication. But on the island of Utopia in the novel written by Sir Thomas More in 1516, the “ideal” society maintained order and discipline in a totalitarian-like state. Just about every sci-fi flick out there presents us a dystopian vision of our future, as heroes battle power-obsessed control freaks who use technology for nefarious means. There’s a powerful statement to be made about the linked ideas of utopia and dystopia, where artists and designers create works for the spaces in our uncertain future world that both enlighten and protect us.

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, until January 20. See exhibition listings (Kayabacho/Kiba) for details.