artSPACE@16
is honored to announce
its 21st exhibition; JAPAN-O-RAMA, curated by Leika Akiyama. The art
work displayed include: paintings, drawings, photography, sculptures
and mixed media works. The theme, JAPAN-O-RAMA, encompasses everything
from Japonisme to Hello Kitty. The show takes a look at the influence
that Japanese iconography has had upon everything from pop culture to
traditional Japanese art to contemporary art. From the glittery, neon-
filled, chaotic chic of the Tokyo vibe to its subdued Zen minimalist,
hyperindustrial architecture and design, the Japanese vision and
creative nuances have quietly infiltrated the eyes of western artists
and design aficionados throughout the world. This show features work by
artists who are inspired by past and present Japanese imagery.
JAPAN-O-RAMA is essentially an investigation into the cross-pollination
of east /west imagery in contemporary art. Guest curator Leika Akiyama
has selected 19 visual artists whose work reflect this concept.
Featuring 19 nation-wide artists:
1. Leika
Akiyama, Cambridge, MA
2. Elaine Bay,
Somerville, MA
3. Martin Bromirski,
Richmond, VA
4. Scott M. Cipolla,
South Boston, MA
5. Cathleen Daley, Weston, MA
6. Todd Fairchild, Boston, MA
7. David Fallon, Quincy, MA
8. Sachiko Furui,
Winchester, MA
9. Matt Hutton, Portland, ME
10. James Jack, Wenham, MA
11. Tsunami Jones, So. Boston, MA
12. Joanne Kaliontzis,
Boston, MA
13. Tim Murley,
Brookline, MA
14. Toru Nakanishi, Somerville, MA
15. John P. Rodzvilla,
Jamaica Plain, MA
16. Gordon Sasaki, New York, NY
17. Corinne Okada Takara,
Cupertino, CA
18. Kathleen Volp, Concord, MA
19. Kai G. Vlahos, Lawrence, MA
back to top
Japan-O-Rama
From Japonisme to Hello Kitty - A look at Japanese cultural
influence on Contemporary Western Art.
A Curator Statement by Leika Akiyama
Ever since Japan opened its portals to the Western world in 1854, the
effects of the encounter of Far Eastern and Western art has had an
enduring legacy that is still alive in today's world of contemporary
art. Simplicity and decadence, super modern architecture next to a 300
year old Shinto shrine, the land of the rising sun has also been viewed
as the land of contradiction and duality.
Starting with
Felix Bracqmond, an artist and a graphic designer, who first discovered
Hokusai’s woodcut sketchbook series ‘Manga’ in 1856, an array of
Western artists such as Degas, Manet, Monet, Gauguin, Van Goh, to name
a few, eagerly began to study Japanese art and were seduced and
mesmerized by the naturalistic forces of the Japanese aesthetic
principles. This cultural pollination of Far Eastern and Western art
gave rise to Japonisme, where western artists incorporated elements of
Japanese aesthetics into their own art thus liberating themselves from
their own traditional western style of training.
Fast forwarding
to the 20th century, Japan was experiencing extreme modernization and
westernization especially during its economic resurgence in the 1960’s
and the 1970’s. Japan became known for its cheap cars and plastic knick
knacks, which coined the phrase ‘Made In Japan’ as a symbol of kitschy,
not very well made plastic things. During this time students who
graduated from prestigious Japanese art schools went to look for jobs
as ‘professionals’ and found themselves becoming pioneers in a new
genre of art which was the field of animation. At first trying to mimic
those of Disney animations, Japanese artists began to incorporate their
own unique visions and began to create an original world of Japanese
animation which we have come to know as Japanese anime. Early black and
white animations were filled with incredibly complex story lines with
giant robots and super heroes. Also it was during this time that
Ultraman series was born and together with his nemesis Godzilla,
revolutionized the rubber suit wearing super hero TV genre of the
1970’s. Then in 1976, a cute gigantic white headed cat named
Kitty-chan, or Hello Kitty was born. These icons of Japanese pop
culture together with glossy Japanese packaging designs and candy
wrappers began to infiltrate the minds and aesthetics of artists in the
contemporary art world of today. Could this have been the second
Japonisme?
back
to top
The works represented in this show is indeed a panoramic view of this
type of Japanese cultural and aesthetic influences seen from one end of
the spectrum to the other. On one end we see artists such as Matt
Hutton utilizing traditional methods of Japanese carpentry and
materials such as shoji (rice paper sliding doors) and wheat barricades
in creating sculptures reminiscent of Japanese furniture and
architecture. Kai Vlahos’ work is a representation of pure Japanese Zen
meditative thought expressed in simple field of red color on white rice
paper. The subtle nuances of stillness and boldness is incorporated
into a single red dot, which also has resemblance to the Japanese flag.
Cathy Daly’s quiet contemplation of nature, depicted in rich tones of
grays and umbers reflect Buddhist like meditative reflection of the
field of rye grass which is her subject matter. In her paintings we see
her brush strokes becoming one with nature as she sees, experiences,
and captures the immediacy and the fleetingness of the moment.
Tsunami Jones’
work is influenced by his fathers’ occupation as a U.S. Government
topographer stationed in Osaka, Japan. His upright depiction of water
and land mass reminds me of Nihonga paintings found on old Japanese
sliding doors where western perspective falls to the wayside as the
spatial distortion presents objects near and far on one single plane
thereby manipulating the viewers gaze and sense of time.
On the other
spectrum we see artists such as Todd Fairchild, Kathleen Volp and David
Fallon each in their own way incorporating Japanese pop cultural icons
in their respective medias. Fairchild investigates the notion of inside
and outside, his relationship to nature and the synthetic aspects of
contemporary lifestyle as he photographs Hello kitty and Pokemon
dashboard figurines placed inside peoples cars. Volp juxtaposes
Godzilla with a traditional Japanese masked dancing figure both taking
a similarly animated pose. Fallon pays homage to old Japanese black and
white animation by rendering Tetsujin 28-go (iron man 28-go), and Kimba
the white lion, which later became the basis for the Disney movie The
Lion King.
Toru Nakanishi
chose instant raamen noodles as one of the pop icons from Japanese
culture. By taking extreme close up shots of these dehydrated instant
carbohydrate noodles Nakanishi has reintroduced this simple yet
unassuming friend of the Japanese latchkey kids into the forefront of
glossy high art.
back
to top
I have also incorporated few works that depicts the sentiments of
Japanese Americans, and their struggles in locating their ancestral
heritage and their own identity in their art work. One such artist is
Corrine Okada Takara who whimsically utilizes Japanese candy wrappers
and wires and transforms them into beautiful elegant hats and shoes,
reflecting the creative thriftiness which she learned from her fathers’
family deeply rooted in the Japanese Hawaiian plantation culture.
So in the end I
hope the viewers will get a real panoramic view of the enduring
Japanese cultural influence on western contemporary art as Hello Kitty
sits side by side with Godzilla and Daruma the Buddhist monk in
welcoming you to the bizarre world of Japan-O-Rama.
About the Guest Curator:
Leika
Akiyama is an artist born and
raised in Tokyo, Japan. She grew up in the 1970's when McDonald's and
Seven Eleven first landed on the island country. She was there to
witness the birth of her sacred icon Hello Kitty in 1976. As a result
of living in the matrix of American and Japanese culture from an early
age, she has suffered through a series of cultural identity crises from
which she has not recovered from. Hence, this unique experience became
an essential source of inspiration in creating her bizarre
installations and "lunch box art". Leika is now living in the U.S. and
holds a BFA from the Art Institute of Boston. After completing her
postgraduate studies at Boston University's School of Visual Arts, she
went on to pursue a Masters degree in Art Therapy and has since worked
with adolescents and women with trauma. Although trained as a painter,
her work encompasses both 2D and 3D work as well as installation based
projects. Leika has shown her work in numerous group shows including:
the Essex Arts Center, Salem State College, Cape Cod Community College,
Merrimack College, Somerville Windows Project and the Somerville
Museum. She has had a solo exhibition at the Artist's Foundation, and
her work is slated to be included in a group show at Emmanuel College
in the Spring of 2005.
back to top
home artSPACE@16
All Content © Copyright 1998. artSPACE@16. All Rights Reserved
