Behind the scenes of the painter Yuki Ninagawa’s exhibition, asked by Atsushi Fukuda, the creator of “Festival x Chef Watson”

This article is a reprint of the article published in “IBM THINK Watson” on July 8, 2017, four years ago.
https://www.mugendai-web.jp/archives/7574

From May 29th to June 18th, 2017, Yuki Ninagawa’s exhibition “Rose God Song” was held. Yuki Ninagawa, a painter and actress, took a year and a half to complete a masterpiece “Rose Inferno” with a height of 3 meters and a width of 6 meters under the theme of the masterpiece “Divine Comedy” by the Italian poet Dante. Many works were exhibited, including.

On May 29th, the first day of the exhibition, a reception party was held at Park Hotel Tokyo in Shiodome, Tokyo, which was the venue for the exhibition. At the venue, while following the theme of Mr. Nagikawa’s work, original dishes using the “Daisai” of Asahi Shuzo Co., Ltd., a supporting company, were offered. A recipe that uses the festival and makes you imagine Mr. Nagikawa’s work. It was IBM’s chef Watson who challenged this challenge.

This time, we talked to Mr. Atsushi Fukuda, the president of Sony Digital Entertainment, who was the creator of this exhibition, which attracted attention through the collaboration between “Festival” and “Chef Watson”, about the effect of “Chef Watson” on events and marketing. I heard.

1. What is an “experience-based” art exhibition?

——What made you decide to organize this art exhibition in the first place?

Fukuda In the 21st century, the purchasing needs of Japanese people, who are satisfied with their daily lives, are changing. Although the influence of television is still great, the era when many people buy things just by playing commercials is already a thing of the past. Social marketing has emerged instead, but looking at existing social marketing in general, it’s hard to say that it’s working.

Under such circumstances, companies and activists who advertise and are thinking about something at the event will create a certain “place” and provide the visitors with an experience. Such a mechanism is required. Therefore, this project started because I wanted to make it an “experience-based” art exhibition that is not just an art exhibition.

The purpose of the exhibition is to get people to buy paintings. The target is adults because of the status of purchasing the theme of Mr. Nagikawa’s work and paintings. Specifically, celebrities with many followers on social media. Among them, we planned the party especially for those who have cultural background and playfulness. In fact, with an estimated 120 people, 450 people attended, and I think it was a great success as a project.

2. The chef is surprised, a surprising combination proposed by Chef Watson

——Three dishes using chef Watson were served to the visitors during the party. What kind of food was actually served?

Fukuda There are 3 items, and the main item is “Daisai Bolognese Rose Inferno”. Using vegetable beets, the pasta is colored bright red in the image of Mr. Nagikawa’s work “Rose Inferno”. Chef Watson suggested the French visceral sausage “Andwieu” as an ingredient, but since it is difficult to obtain in Japan, we use visceral ingredients that are close to it.

Pasta colored in bright red “Daisai Bolognese Rose Inferno”

The two items “Purgatory Roast” symbolize Dante Divine Comedy Part 2 “Purgatory Edition”, and the three items “Dante Rice Milk Fran Heaven Dessert” symbolize Dante Divine Comedy Part 3 “Heaven Edition”. .. Chef Watson suggested “watermelon” and “rice milk” as surprising ingredients.

——Asahi Shuzo Co., Ltd., which manufactures the popular sake “Daisai”, is a sponsor company, and Dashisai is also used for cooking. What is the aim of the event?

Mr. Fukuda’s view of the world is very feminine, partly because of the theme of roses. When I asked her about her work so far, in fact, most of her fans were female, and this time the sub-theme was how to make men enjoy it. Therefore, we asked Mr. Asahi Shuzo of “Daisai”, which is popular and well-known among men, to offer the “Daisai” as a collaboration project with chef Watson.

Asahi Shuzo’s sake “Daisai” was served not only at the food but also at the party venue.

——What was the reaction of the people involved in the recipe devised by Chef Watson?

Fukuda: Actually, when deciding what to serve at a party, under the chef of Park Hotel Tokyo, Ken Kojima, we cooked dishes from recipes thought by professional cooks and recipes thought by chef Watson, and compared them with the people involved. The we. Then, 2 out of 3 dishes showed that “Chef Watson’s food is more delicious”. In particular, watermelon sauce was used at the suggestion of Chef Watson for “Purgatory Roast”, but it was impressive that Chef Kojima also said, “I can’t think of such a combination at all.”

“Purgatory roast of the festival” provided with a surprising combination of meat and watermelon sauce

3. The interesting thing about Chef Watson is that “human wisdom needs to be put in”.

——Did everything go smoothly in the process of creating food?

Fukuda: Actually, there was a big mistake. To be honest, Chef Watson’s original recipe for the dessert “Rice Milk Fran” was so bad at first that I couldn’t eat it (laughs). In fact, the ingredients of overseas rice milk proposed by Chef Watson are completely different from those of Japan. This time, I used rice milk made in Japan, so it seems that the ingredients changed during the heating process. As a result, the taste has deteriorated.

Therefore, it is very delicious by changing to the arrangement menu of “Chef Watson x Chef” by using the 獺 Festival for the flan and sprinkling rice milk made from the rice flour of Yamada Nishiki, the raw material of the 獺 Festival, for the sauce. Finished in cooking.

——Isn’t Chef Watson perfect?

Fukuda As far as this case is concerned, the main reason is that the ingredients of rice milk are different between foreign countries and Japan. Such regional attributes may be improved later as a function of Chef Watson. However, the interesting thing about Chef Watson is that “as a result, we need to put in human wisdom.”

Last year, Stanford University’s Jerry Kaplan said, “Comparing 19th and 21st century farmers, they have dropped significantly from 80% to 2%, while grain yields have increased hundreds of times. I’m doing it. ” Of course, it was a gift of the Industrial Revolution, but he continued to ask, “Does this mean that machines have robbed humans of their jobs?”

That’s a lot of discussion about AI, but I think it’s probably a big job for humans to give AI a theme. We will utilize AI as an entity that draws out more human creativity. I think that is well reflected in the case of “rice milk” this time. In particular, Chef Watson thinks from the ingredients of the ingredients and proposes with free ideas that are not bound by stereotypes, so Chef Kojima was pleased that “it was a very exciting experience.”

4. Chef Watson gives Watson a character

——Did Mr. Fukuda’s impression of Watson change with this matter?

Fukuda Until now, just hearing “AI” or “artificial intelligence” did not tell me how to handle it. In that respect, when I first heard the name “Chef Watson,” I felt the character of Watson for the first time, and I became able to recognize it as a familiar existence. Especially in my work, this “character” is a very important factor.

——As AI is being implemented in society, human “how to interact with AI” is also being tested.

Fukuda If you think of AI as an application, it may initially compete with existing services. Whether it’s Airbnb or Uber, you may be estranged from the taxi and hotel industries. However, moving and staying are still required, and new services will be created one after another no matter how much the industry resists. Therefore, not only AI but also drones and VR will spread naturally in 5 years. However, in order to drive it even more, I think it is important from my point of view to utilize AI and technology for event planning and content like this one.

◆ Reference
Artificial intelligence “Chef Watson x Dassai” = Amazing food! Yuki Ninagawa Exhibition “Rose God Song” VIP Viewing Party Report http://sonydes.jp/newblog/archives/14068

Even recipe books have been published.
Cognitive Cooking With Chef Watson: Recipes for Innovation from IBM & the Institute of Culinary Education
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/149262571X/