The first visit to Giant Robot S.F. for me was marked with a multitude of girls dressed in kawaii fashion to the point of filling up the gallery space and making it nearly impossible to see the artwork that I came to view. While GR-SF does not boast a huge exhibition space, there was initially enough room for people to get around, but as the aforementioned demographic continually filtered in things got tight. Still, I was not to be deterred and managed to snap a shot of each piece in the exhibition for your viewing pleasure.


As a long time fan of Kaikai Kiki and it's female artists such as Chiho Aoshima, Aya Takano, Akane Koide and others, I was excited to see an exhibition of work by female contemporary Japanese artists come stateside. The cute theme is the common thread between all works in Shibuya Girls Pop: Real Japanese Kawaii, which opened with a reception on Saturday, February 5. As it turns out, Sugarpill Cosmetics was doing free kawaii makeovers in the gallery space, hence the appropriately attired contingent.


The show represents twelve female artists all part of the Shibuya Girls Pop project, which initially started in Shibuya as a distribution of free post-cards to woman in the city in order to spread a positive message. Artists from the collective that are in the show include the following...

Nana Aoyama, Eimi, Sayaka Iwashimizu, Marrontic, Hiroshi Mori, NICO, Keiko Ogawa, Ra'yka, Shinjuko, Yuki Takahashi, Kayo Tamaishi, and TAMMY.

As a new Tokyo-based collective, Shibuya Girls Pop collaborated with Giant Robot to exhibit Real Japanese Kawaii for the first time in America. Yet in all honesty, none of the work blew me away. While a small number of pieces felt interesting, the show as a whole was not brilliant. The most interesting art pieces for me personally were those by Eimi, Kayo Tamaishi, and Yuki Takahashi. Both demonstrated technical skill, interesting use of color and good composition. The fact that the artists were not there in person certainly didn't help to drum up interest for the work itself either. As one person at the opening familair with GR put it, "it's just filler" until the next show goes up.

Thanks to my friend Sergey I have been listening to this incredible song all week! After it getting passed around via Twitter, Facebook, and email people started wondering what it was all about. I took a stab at translating it, though I don't consider myself a good songwriter or translator by any means. Nevertheless, here it is. I tried to be literal where it worked and changed the English lyrics to keep the "feel" of the phrases when appropriate.

The original Polish song by Stanisław Grzesiuk was written in the '50s '40s. Lyrics were altered somewhat to make them more contemporary in this rendition:

Projekt Warszawiak
Lyrics by Albert Harris

Alejami wycackany szedl se jakis gosc,
Facjata niby owszem, moze byc.
Nagle potknal sie o kamien ryczac "O, psiakosc!
Jak oni moga w tej stolicy zyc!"
I w tedy zalala mnie zla krew,
Wiec go na perlowo w tenze spiew.

Nie badz za cwany w skorke odziany,
To moze miec dla ciebie skutek oplakany.
Na warszawiaka nie ma cwaniaka,
Który by mógl go wziazc na bajer lub pod pic.

Mozesz mnie chamem zwac, mozesz mnie w morde dac
Lecz od stolicy won, bo krew sie bedzie lac.
Wiec znakiem tego, nie badz lebiega
Przyhamuj morde, i nie gadaj wiecej nic.

Jeden byl specjalnie na Warszawe straszny pies.
Juz mówil nawet : "Warschawa kaputt!"
Lecz pomylil sie lachudra, rozczarowal fest,
I prózny byl majchrowy jego trud.
Slyszec nawet nie potrafie jak
Dzisiaj my spiewamy jemu tak:

Chciales byc cwany, w zabek czesany,
To teraz gnijesz, draniu, w blocie pochowany.
My, warszawiacy, jestesmy tacy,
Kto nam na odcisk wejdzie, Hiszpan* - zimny trup.

I niechaj kazdy wie: kto na nas szarpnie sie,
To zara bokiem mu to wyjdzie - moze nie?
Na warszawiaka nie ma cwaniaka.
Chcesz z nami zaczac to se trumne w czesniej kup.

Mozesz mnie chamem zwac, mozesz mnie w morde dac
Lecz od stolicy won, bo krew sie bedzie lac.
Wiec znakiem tego, nie badz lebiega
Przyhamuj morde, i nie gadaj wiecej nic.

I niechaj kazdy wie: kto na nas szarpnie sie,
To zara bokiem mu to wyjdzie - moze nie?
Na warszawiaka nie ma cwaniaka.
Chcesz z nami zaczac to se trumne w czesniej kup.

The essence of the song has to do with Warsaw during the post-transformation period (a.k.a. the fall of communism in 1989). Since Warsaw is Poland's largest airline hub, much of the money and business came there first and the city has remained the center of the country's commerce since. This created a nouveau-riche class which was not thought of well within Warsaw but especially throughout the rest of Poland. People from Warsaw have long had a similar reputation in the country as the stereotypical New Yorker might have in the US.

Update: This interpretation of what the song is about applies perhaps more to the current version as the song has been appropriated by my generation.  It would seems that the original song by Grzesiuk, as noted by Alan in the comments, was actually about the post-war Warsaw of his time:

This is important, as the bad feelings from the rest of Poland towards Warsaw refer not just to the fact that it's the capital, but that so much money and building materials were diverted to rebuilding Warsaw after it had been completely destroyed (apart from the Praga district) in WWII.  [...]  The general message of the song is, therefore, not only one of local patriotism, but one of survival: our city might still lie in ruins, but our spirit is still alive, and we can take on anyone.

I found it challenging to come up with a translation due to some of the older-style phrasing in the song. Nevertheless here is what I have thus far:

"Project Warsaw Guy"

In the Aleje*, all dressed up, some character walked by.
Admittedly he didn't look half bad.
Suddenly he trips on a stone and yells "Goddamn!
How can they live in this capital!"
That is when my blood began to boil.
So at him loud and clear I sang:

Don't be so clever, all dressed in leather,
This could be for you an end in tears
There is no cheating, a guy from Warsaw,
None that could scam him or defraud.

You can call me an ass, you can beat in my face,
But get the hell out of the capital or there will be blood.
Take the hint, don't be a moron,
Shut your mouth, and don't say another word.

This one had it out for Warsaw like a dog.
He even said that "Warsaw is kaput."
Didn't know how wrong he was, the son-of-a-bitch,
His disrespecting efforts all in vain.
Now he can't hear a thing,
And today for him we sing:

You wanted to be clever, ever the jester,
Well now you're rotting, asshole, in the mud.
Us Warsaw guys, we are the kind of guys
who will make a Spaniard** out of you - a cold corpse.

And let to all be known, that those who mess with us,
Will soon regret their choice - wanna bet?
There is no cheating, a guy from Warsaw.
You want to start something? Better dig an early grave.

You can call me an ass, you can beat in my face,
But get the hell out of the capital or there will be blood.
Take the hint, don't be a moron.
Shut your mouth, and don't say another word.

And let to all be known, that those who mess with us,
Will soon regret their choice - wanna bet?
There is no cheating, a guy from Warsaw.
You want to start something? Better dig an early grave.

* As Alan pointed out in the comments, "the 'Alejami' does not refer to an 'alley', but to the 'Aleje', that is, the main thoroughfares in the centre (Aleje Jerozolimskie etc.) [of Warsaw]. The rock the well-dressed mister trips on is a reference to the fact that Warsaw was still basically a pile of rubble."

** The phrase "dead as a Spaniard" was very popular in pre-war Warsaw and was referencing the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918. During this time about 50 million people across Europe died from what was then named the "Spanish flu."

Every scene is of course filmed in Warsaw, with a lot of buildings and places in the background that I remember personally. The most notable probably being the Palace of Culture and the interior of the Golden Terraces shopping center.

The character in the wig and tights with the cardboard sword and shield is a reference to Warsaw's iconic mermaid, a symbol of the city since the mid 14th century. It is most likely a statement about he nature of the city itself or what it has become in recent decades.

Towards the end there is a scene with a green car. The car is a Polonez, by the company FSO which was Warsaw based until going out of business in 2002.

On a final note, if you have any suggestions for improving the translation feel free to let me know in the comments.