Evangelion 10th Anniversary: Eva At Work

19 Apr 2006 Category: Events & Exhibitions, Features, Graphics, Japan, Top Page 10

Evangelion 10th Anniversary: Eva At Work

Amazing Evangelion lunch box made by a housewife, Junko Terashima.

Neon Genesis EVANGELION is known as the animation that best represents the “anime” scene in Japan in the 1990’s. Today, there are Evangelion fans all over the world, and it’s even said that EVANGELION has become something of a social phenomenon in Japan. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the first TV show, a very special collaboration project with Japanese artists, EVA AT WORK has been held on the internet from the beginning of this year, featuring a different kind of artist every month, and is being produced by the POINT gallery.

Written by Chiemi

First of all, here’s a brief plot rundown for people who don’t know Evangelion at all… Human-kind survived an enormous catastrophe in September 200, called “Second Impact”. However, another crisis has come 15 years later - an attack by unidentified invaders called “Angels”. To fight against them, human-kind has created the ultimate, all-purpose humanoid weapon which is called “Evangelion”. 14 years-old kids were chosen to operate these huge machines. What caused Second Impact? Where are these unidentified invaders from? The series answers these questions slowly over a number of episodes…

Hmmm… Some of you might say ‘Oh, so it has a really serious plot then…’. Actually I didn’t know the plot till today either, but it seems like Evangelion isn’t just any old Manga.

The curator of this project, Shinya Furui from POINT Gallery explains “the first thing I realized by watching the Evangelion DVDs again after about 10 years, was that the work I’ve done in last 10 years has changed the way I look at it. Evangelion is an animation which has various aspects, so I tried to express those different aspect with different types of artists. When the 12 artists complete their works, I would like to bring this project into some kind of publication or even a proper exhibition.”

The first artist chosen for January was a graphic designer, Mizuki Totori from ASS. He picked the unidentified invader “Angels” for the theme of his work, and decided to make a textile.

Textile designed by a graphic designer, Mizuki Totori

“Because of my work, I always try to find some kind of design from the visuals. The reason I chose Angels for the theme is because I found that the Angels have a deep knowledge of art and design. I even found that there were references to the history of design and art in their make-up. Also, the design on the angels is simply stylish, and looks like a kind of combination of graphical symbols. That is one stylish enemy style! The word enemy is ‘teki’ in Japanese - so, it goes like this… stylish teki-style..”stylish textile”! That made me decide to make a stylish textile with an image of all the enemies appearing from the sky.”

A pillow to hug shaped like Angel No.10 made from Mizuki Totori’s textile.

The artist for February was Studio Big Art, who tend to make real, “tangible” things, at a time when similar studios are concentrating on computer graphics. The theme of their collaboration with Evangelion was ‘FOOD’.

“Evangelion always has scenes and metaphors which remind me of ‘mixtures’ such as ‘eating enemies’ ‘winning someone over to their side’ or ‘getting together’. If I draw a parallel from this to our daily lives, I think of ‘eating’. And plates to serve food are almost like this kind of ceremonial platter - that’s why I decided to make a plate.”

A plate shaped like Angel Lilith - in the story he is the one who is purported to have caused the enormous catastrophe, “Second Impact”. You can see the process of making it at Gainax web site.

The third artist was a traditional Japanese painter, Yoshitoshi Shinomiya, who was born in 1980. He first encountered Evangelion on TV when he was a junior high school student, and the impact still influences his work today. He decided to paint on a folding screen with a very tense and quiet scene of two Evangelion machines fighting.

“Too much symbolic Sci Fi imagery must have looked a bit “religious” to some people. And there’s some kind of strange distance between myself, who used to watch it, and the very unrealistic Evangelion world. I painted this to express that sense of distance.”

A folding screen painted by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya was photographed at Torideshuku Honjin in Ibaragi- an inn built in 1795.

Finally, the artist featured this month is a housewife, Junko Terashima. Housewife..? Yes, she is a housewife - but no ordinary housewife…she is a Bento (lunch box) artist.

“I had never seen Evangelion, so I borrowed the whole series of DVDs and a book of illustrations. It was the first time for me to go to a studio to shoot proper photos too.”

Mrs. Terashima makes lunch for her kids.

happy kids! (copyright Gainax)

Of course, this is what they are having. The motif is Evangelion No.1

PENPEN, the Penguin lunch box including seaweed, egg, cherry, pepper, carrot, sausage etc..

This project will be continued online till December. So don’t forget to check it out every month!

54 Comments

  1. pen2bento is the cutest thing ever.

    Posted by: Claytonain on April 20th, 2006 at 12:25 am

  2. Oh my! Neon Genesis Evangelion is like the best anime has to offer! =)

    Posted by: jessica on April 20th, 2006 at 11:18 am

  3. Haha.. I like how the fork and knive are weapons used by EVA-02.

    Posted by: Ben Tong on April 20th, 2006 at 11:49 am

  4. colorful materails and tools from dreaming ideas!!!i love them.

    Posted by: Olltta on April 20th, 2006 at 1:11 pm

  5. Can’t imagine eating off that plate! Eeew!

    I like the bentos!

    Posted by: Alvin on April 20th, 2006 at 2:24 pm

  6. [...] [Via PingMag] [...]

    Posted by: 2dayBlog - Technology Journal, New Gadget everyday! » Blog Archive » Evangelion 10th Anniversary: Eva At Work on April 20th, 2006 at 5:09 pm

  7. Hey… how can someone eat Pen2? This is sad… :( :p
    Evangelion is one of my favorite animes!

    Posted by: Eriksen on April 20th, 2006 at 9:53 pm

  8. Those are some cool dishes. WOOOOO! HURRAY FOR THE EVA FOOD! >.<

    That Lillith looks somewhat disgusting but tasty in a weird way. Their all awesome, but I just cant imagine myself eating PenPen.

    Posted by: Lina on April 21st, 2006 at 8:04 am

  9. The plate is Lilith, not Adam.

    Posted by: Jonny on April 21st, 2006 at 9:10 am

  10. Jackass it is Adam, not lilith. Damn Evangelion wannabe!!!

    Posted by: Mark on April 21st, 2006 at 1:01 pm

  11. Junko is seriously talented… And her kids are so cute!

    Posted by: Laynie on April 21st, 2006 at 7:50 pm

  12. those dishes look great. by the way, it is lilith. how can anyone watch evangelion and not know the difference? /piff

    Posted by: Walker Boh on April 21st, 2006 at 9:54 pm

  13. [...] Here’s the full article via PingMag: http://www.pingmag.jp/2006/04/19/evangelion-10th-anniversaryeva-at-work/ [...]

    Posted by: Justice ACE » Evangelion Anniversary Blitz (Gone Wrong) on April 22nd, 2006 at 5:29 am

  14. [...] Evangelion 10th Anniversary: Eva At Work (tags: anime) [...]

    Posted by: links for 2006-04-26 | Edward O’Connor on April 26th, 2006 at 4:18 pm

  15. Yes, the plate is Lilith, and there is an error in the caption. Adam is (loosely) responsible for 2I, not Lilith.

    Posted by: dunerat on April 26th, 2006 at 8:37 pm

  16. [...] A lancheira que vêem em cima, com a “obra de arte” feita com comida e da “dona de casa” Junko Terashimam, que faz verdadeiras obras de arte com comida. E faz parte da exposição “Eva at Work” (o blog) que estará online até Dezembro, comemorativa dos 10 anos da série de anime Evangelion — um projecto colaborativo de vários artistas japoneses. [Via PingMag - The Tokyo-based magazine about “Design and Making Things”] [...]

    Posted by: humpty dumpty » Blog Archive » Junko Terashimam on May 3rd, 2006 at 3:50 pm

  17. art made love! greatings Mrs. Terashima.

    Posted by: alfredo on July 30th, 2006 at 5:38 am

  18. RAWR!
    I want that plate!

    Posted by: Badger on July 31st, 2006 at 4:29 am

  19. [...] [...]

    Posted by: CGJIG » Evangelion 10th Anniversary: Eva At Work on August 4th, 2006 at 4:48 pm

  20. Wow this is just beautiful!!

    Posted by: Artoony on December 16th, 2006 at 5:43 am

  21. [...] Now it’s time to plunge into the realm of your senses! Huh, that just sounded really cheesy. But for real, Ayako Suwa is the master of Food Creation! As such her sensual food combinations allow you to indulge in the most pleasurable tastes but above all - her experimental mixtures are true visual delights! While her husband Shinya Furui curates various exhibitions at his own POINT gallery in Ebisu (previously featured on PingMag), Ayako takes this opportunity to create the most delicate food to match the theme or aesthetics of the artworks exhibited. And that in a very, very skillful way! Although she started only three years ago PingMag was impressed by her creativity and therefor reveals the secrets of her unique food-art today. [...]

    Posted by: PingMag - The Tokyo-based magazine about "Design and Making Things" » Archive » Food Creation: Designing Tasteful Frictions on February 1st, 2007 at 10:00 pm

  22. [...] This is a Japanese child’s lunch box prepared by Bento Artist Junko Terashima as a tribute to Neon Genesis Evangelion. [...]

    Posted by: Barista » Blog Archive » ping.. a mag on February 3rd, 2007 at 8:53 pm

  23. There’s even Evangelion stamps from the Japanese post office now!
    http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/japan-post-offers-neon-genesis-evangelion-stamps/

    Posted by: Harry on March 12th, 2007 at 1:44 am

  24. hahaha, everything is so cute!! i would like to have the fork of the lance of loginus, its just SO CUTE!!! Or the evangelion cake.

    Posted by: mini Yui on April 14th, 2007 at 6:40 am

  25. I think i cant eat something like this, it looks like a plastic food…and it be devastation to eat it because it’s beauty

    Posted by: reprezentacja on April 16th, 2007 at 8:27 pm

  26. It is Lilith. In NGE, Kaworu(Kaoru) who thought he found Adam, says himself: “It can’t be… Lilith!?” But enough of about that, I would love to eat those as lunch… I’m very jelous to those kids… =__=;;

    Posted by: Ritsuko on September 13th, 2007 at 12:28 am

  27. Awesome Lilith plate. I want one!

    And kudos for the Penpen rice ball and the Shogouki meal. :)

    Now I’m hungry.

    Posted by: emi on September 25th, 2007 at 9:43 pm

  28. omg, that lilith plate is ingenious, haha. made me laugh so much when i saw it. Love the utensils too, awesome!!

    Posted by: hannah on October 12th, 2007 at 1:35 pm

  29. everything is so cute!! i would like to have the fork of the lance of loginus

    Posted by: kurye on February 22nd, 2008 at 7:54 am

  30. Your site is the best!!
    Please link to this site.
    http://evangelion-nerv.blogspot.com/

    Posted by: TORU on May 16th, 2008 at 1:22 pm

  31. I was very tickled to stumble throughout this site.I needed to thank you for this Fascinating weblog!! I truly enjoyed every little bit of it and I have you favorited to take a look at new tales you post.
    necklace swarovski

    Posted by: swarovski dog collars on April 25th, 2011 at 12:32 pm

  32. In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west;

    Posted by: future of computing on June 14th, 2011 at 8:25 am

  33. Thanks for the information about this topic.

    Posted by: innovative healthcare on June 15th, 2011 at 3:58 am

  34. Turbine Idroelettriche

    Posted by: energie rinnovabili on June 17th, 2011 at 11:47 am

  35. Ive got to share this topic with the world!

    Posted by: Internet Strategy on June 25th, 2011 at 4:03 pm

  36. The TRUTH about getting flat abs without bogus “fat burner” pills

    Posted by: best Six Pack Abs Diet/workout on June 27th, 2011 at 6:55 pm

  37. Great blog! and great info. Keep up the good work.

    Posted by: personal wealth on July 5th, 2011 at 6:07 am

  38. cadde5 canlialem cadde 69 super odalar tikla gir linke

    Posted by: goruntulu sohbet on August 6th, 2011 at 3:37 am

  39. I have never seen it from that perspective. Luckily there are multiple ways to do things. I always like to undertsand a new means of looking at it. Thanks for the information.

    Posted by: Skinny Guy Muscle on August 21st, 2011 at 9:21 am

  40. I really would like to learn more information about your business, what is it and why is it important.

    Posted by: Perfect Pitch Recognition on October 11th, 2011 at 12:29 am

  41. Hyderabad it jobs,Hyderabad jobs,jobs in Hyderabad,jobs Hyderabad,it jobs in Hyderabad,jobs in Hyderabad for freshers,jobs at Hyderabad,it jobs Hyderabad,Hyderabad jobs for freshers ,Hyderabad freshers jobs,frehers jobs,frehers freshers,Hyderabad bpo jobs,freshers jobs,freshers jobs in Hyderabad

    Posted by: hyderabad jobs on October 19th, 2011 at 12:54 pm

  42. 15000+ Jobs across India for Oct Upload Resume.Apply to Infosys Now!

    Posted by: Naukri.com on October 19th, 2011 at 11:47 pm

  43. http://www.happyseasons.gr Online Store

    Posted by: xristougenniatika on November 9th, 2011 at 9:27 pm

  44. I enjoyed studying this post. I am completely satisfied to search out this put up as a result of I’m interested within the topic.

    Posted by: christian louboutin on November 10th, 2011 at 1:08 pm

  45. Good Article …. Excellent !!!! visit automotive :-bd

    Posted by: Information Automotive on November 11th, 2011 at 11:43 pm

  46. Osmanlı İnşaatın Yeni Başlatmış Olduğu Projeleri Bu Site Üzerinden Takip Edebilirsiniz..

    Posted by: Osmanlı İnşaat Forum on November 24th, 2011 at 9:24 pm

  47. สารสกัดจากธรรมชาติต่างๆ ที่นำมาเป็นอาหารเสริมเช่น กลูต้าไธโอน,แอลคาร์นิทีน, น้ำมันรำข้าว, กรดอะมิโนต่างๆ และอื่นๆ นั้นมีประโยชน์ต่อร่างกายของเราอย่างไรบ้าง

    Posted by: อาหารเสริม on December 6th, 2011 at 11:16 pm

  48. smacktom.com provides premium accessories for cell phones with free shipping

    Posted by: online shopping on December 13th, 2011 at 8:54 pm

  49. Lorèm Ipsum dolor chita ame, anile reply. Ou tanpri e-dèy. Nou toujou, tankou plis plis plis isit la lide sou ide li yo, pa Teyorèm ou an oswa pi plis. Posted pous

    Posted by: buy cheap vacuum cleaners online on December 28th, 2011 at 2:24 am

  50. This is a extermely nice website with very interesting articles. I have bookmarked and will check back often. Thank you for your contribution.

    Posted by: Truth about Abs Product on December 29th, 2011 at 4:27 am

  51. Thank you. O like this post. I would like to share at my facebook account.

    Posted by: zayifla on January 11th, 2012 at 8:41 am

  52. Thank you. I’ll sharing the post at my twitter.

    Posted by: Laptop Özellikleri on January 12th, 2012 at 8:52 am

  53. Безплатни обяви в Facebook, сайт за обяви вестник за обяви добави обяви, София, Пловдив, Варна.

    Posted by: Безплатни обяви on January 13th, 2012 at 1:46 am

  54. This info is great!

    Posted by: titanium visa on January 24th, 2012 at 6:28 am

  • Share and Enjoy:
  • del.icio.us
  • digg
  • Fark
  • NewsVine
  • RawSugar
  • Reddit
  • YahooMyWeb
Previously on PingMag