JFLA Lecture Series
Make It Real: Flying Out of Miyazaki Animation
--OpenSky US Tour 2019 Summer--

Date & Time: Saturday, August 10 @2pm
*Light refreshments will be provided.

Venue: The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
(5700 Wilshire Blvd. #100, Los Angeles, CA 90036)
*Street parking is available near JFLA. Click here for parking info.

Admission: FREE
Registration Required

"Möwe (Mehve)" is an imaginary aircraft which appears in Japanese comic/animated film "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" created by Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki drafted the Mehve as a "non-flying airplane." In 2003, artist Kazuhiko Hachiya, due to his continuous obsession with Mehve, began creating a real airplane that utilizes micro-jet engine. After years of trial and error, his airplane finally had a successful maiden flight in 2013. In this lecture, Hachiya will talk about his airplane project that was based on the concept of Miyazaki’s animation and maneuvering the airplane. His experimental work challenges the notion between animation and reality and making the impossible, possible.

"Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wAge_BowCc

Videos on YouTube:

Test flight in Takikawa Skypark, Sep. 2017:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=36&v=JAobfMSX9dg

OpenSky Chronicle 2003-2016:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkXRg8FkwlY

About Lecturer: Kazuhiko Hachiya
Born in 1966 in Saga Prefecture, Japan. After graduating from Faculty of Visual Communication Design and Kyushu Institute of Design (currently named School of Design, Kyushu University), he started his own career by working for a consulting company followed by establishing his company PetWORKs Co., Ltd. His works are often devices with special functions, such as a series of communication tools such as "Inter Dis-communication Machine" and "PostPet", jet-powered skateboard "Air Board", as well as personal flight system, "OpenSky". Since 2010, he has been an associate professor of Department of Inter Media Art, Tokyo University of the Arts.

hachiya@petworks.co.jp
http://www.petworks.co.jp