Yoshitomo Nara Archives – Daily Art Fixx

“Nobody’s Fool is the first major New York exhibition of the Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara (born 1959), and features more than one hundred works ranging from his early career in the 1980s to his most recent paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, and large-scale installations. As one of the leading artists of Japan’s influential Neo Pop art since the 1990s, Nara is well known for his depictions of children and animals. Nara’s cute, though often menacing, children and animals are so readily associated with popular culture, particularly manga comics and animation, that viewers may neglect to contemplate his evocative imagery in depth. His popular appeal masks the serious social and personal dimensions of his work—feelings of helplessness and rage, and a sense of isolation in a hyper-networked society.

Despite an apparent connection to manga and animation, Nara cites music, particularly rock and punk, as his greatest source of inspiration. Moods of loneliness and rebellion in his art are often enhanced by hinting at particular musicians and songs. These clues leading to music are explored in this exhibition and help us understand Nara’s internal world. Music is a crucial factor in the development of his signature style and iconographic motifs, and in the emotional significance of his art. The title Nobody’s Fool, chosen by the artist himself, refers to a song by the American singer and songwriter Dan Penn.”

Nobody’s Fool runs through Januaray 2, 2011 at the Asia Society Museum on Park Avenue in New York. To learn more about this exhibition visit the Asia Society website.

Born in 1959 in Hirosaki, Japan, Yoshitomo Nara is a widely known Pop Artist whose paintings, sculptures, and drawings have gained a cult following around the world.

Nara has a BFA (1985) and an MFA (1987) from Aichi Prefectural University in Japan, and he studied art at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf, Germany between 1988 and 1993.

Raised in the country by working parents, Nara was a “latch-key kid” who was often left alone. To entertain himself, he read comic books, watched Japanese cartoons, and played with his pets for company. In a post-World War II Japan, Nara was also influenced by the influx of Western pop culture icons such as Walt Disney and Warner Bros. animation. Nara has also listed punk rock music, Renaissance painting, literature, illustration, and graffiti as inspirations.

Nara typically paints children with over-sized heads, and big round eyes, that seem harmless but not innocent. The children are usually alone with little or no background. His “cute” characters, often have accusatory or simply annoyed expressions, and they sometimes carry weapons. Nara, however, does not see his weapon-wielding subjects as aggressors. “Look at them, they [the weapons] are so small, like toys. Do you think they could fight with those?” he says. “I don’t think so. Rather, I kind of see the children among other, bigger, bad people all around them, who are holding bigger knives…”

Nara has exhibited widely in Japan and around the world .

For more information visit Tomio Koyama Gallery. For an interesting article on his work, visit Metroactive Arts.