Proceedings of 2nd International Symposium for Color Science and Art 2020-2021

Night color in Tokyo
東京夜色Kisei Kobayashi
Tokyo Polytechnic Univ., 2-9-5 Honcho, Nakano, Tokyo 164-8678, JapanABSTRACT
I focused on the role of full-color LED in big cities. Cities
in Asia, including Japan, have changed the landscape ofthe city with the advent of full-color LED lighting fixtures.
Two years ago,I focused on full-color LED in two cities
Shanghai and Chongqing,in China, I heard " that full-color
LEDs are attracting attention because they look fantastic
when lit up at night".
As an extension of that, I decided to take a picture, paying
attention to the city of Tokyo where I usually live.

There is another reason why I chose Sumida River. This isbecause it is deeply related to the history of Tokyo. Since
Ieyasu Tokugawa came to Edo in the shogunate, Sumida
river's role is remarkable and cannot be ignored. It can beunderstood from the many landscapes depicted in Ukiyo-e.
It can be said that it was an important presence in Edo in
the cultural sense of logistics and the common people. It
can be said that the Sumida river is still a base of people'sminds now and now.

1 INTRODUCTION
I think full-color LED lighting will accelerate the"anonymous and even modern space" of many cities today.
This idea was born in me by touching the book"Non-Place :An introduction to Supermodernity"(translated by Machiko Nakagawa, SUISEISYA) by French
anthropologist Marc Augé. In this book, Augé names theglobalized urban space "the world of supermodernity" andregards many of the world's largest cities today as"anonymous and equal modern spaces."
He concluded that cities could not build their own identities
due to Internet communication, larger consumption
spaces, and faster transportation spaces, and the world
was anonymized and abstracted.
I agree very much with that idea. I wondered if I could
approach or express something in that way withphotographs.

３.Shooting Concept
I thought about the following by taking a picture of thebridge group lit up by the full color LED and the lightreflected on the river surface. A photograph with thecharacteristic of Tokyo very much, a special photograph ofTokyo. It is possible to take these two. Metaphors, irony
also included. If it did not explain, it did not understand
Sumida river, and the photograph expression which did
not look like Tokyo was requested here further. In a word,
it is "An equal present space full of anonymity". It can besaid that it is an experimental photography for that reason
and the work production.

４.Exhibitions and photography methods
I went by long exposure with a digital camera. It takes
about 30 seconds at the time of exposure. In addition,
I thought about what kind of method was most suitable
for the exhibition. I'm still working on it, but I got oneresult.
I'm still working on it, but I got one result. Is to square. By
doing so, the relationship between the top, bottom, left andright becomes weak. It is to dilute the flow from theexistence of the river to the upstream and downstream
where the meaning cannot be separated. This is because
the aspect ratio can be freely changed in a grid shape, andthe combination is free. It is the like a tile on the wall . The
number can be freely adjusted depending on the size of
the wall surface. However, the image is not greatlydestroyed. Or, on the contrary, it is easy to create acompletely different image. In addition, it is easy to adjust
depending on the size of the space. The following is thework.

２.The subject of the shooting
The first thing to note was that in August 2020, 12 bridges
over the Sumida River were lit up by full-color LED.
According to the business of the Tokyo MetropolitanGovernment. As one of the "New Tokyo" plans decided by
the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 2016, it is a plan toimprove the waterside environment and utilize it as a
tourist resource for the Sumida River Bridge Group. In
other words, the aim is to find the charm of Sumida river inthe old time, and to make it a base for people including
people living in Tokyo and tourists from overseas

Tokyo Metropolitan Government homepage
https://www.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/tosei/hodohappyo/press/2020/07/28/13.html

17Proceedings of 2nd International Symposium for Color Science and Art 2020-2021©Kobayashi Kisei
It is expected to be able to express the recognition ofcities and spaces that many people have neverexperienced before. Photography is what I am currently
exploring while taking pictures.

©Kobayashi Kisei

5.Future issues"What color is Tokyo?" By presenting the question, I
think that people who are not usually aware of the colorof Tokyo can become more aware of the color of the city.
Although it is the same place, the color of the illuminatedbuilding is different, so it may feel as if you are standing ina different place. For example, the following work.
This is taken from the same place of the Tokyo
Metropolitan Government Office, but because the color of
the light-up is different, a sense of incongruity is born eventhough it is the same place.

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