Adra Maner

Bibbs

Writing II

First Draft

04/25/12

The World of Imagination, built from disaster.

            At the beginning of my research paper my goal was to determine the differences between art before and after the great Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. As I began to research the idea that quite a lot of work had been made as a direct result of the disaster this idea was quickly proven as untrue. Though artwork is continuing to be made there are few pieces made in direct response to the earthquake. Works that were made depicting actual scenes of the disaster are the exception and not the rule.

Instead of finding a gritty and hard look at reality that was brought about by the earthquake. I found instead a portal that had been opened into the world of child-like imagination. Contemporary artists in Japan have channeled a certain child-like naivety along with references to pop culture, traditional myths. Using these themes they create artwork that allows their audiences to escape to a different and less cruel world.[1]

It seems that rather then depict what their audience already sees in their daily lives the artists seek to portray a way to escape from reality while at the same time showing allusions to things happening in the real world.

Other artists have taken a more stylistic approach and have returned to their roots. One example of this is the works of Yoshitomo Nara who described himself as being ‘heartsick’ after the quake. Living only an hour from the ground zero of Fukushima, Nara fled his studio, and started to help with recovery efforts. He wondered whether he could make artwork again. After searching for a solution he decided to return to his roots and asked to be able to use the studios at his alma mater the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts. Nara worked among the students and as he talked to them and learned from them his style changed[2]

Surrounded by these students whose views on art he has described as ‘strict’ but pure’ Nara has begun to experiment by creating 6-foot tall clay sculptures of children’s heads which have a more texture focused approach then his previous sculptures. Even his drawing style has also begun to change. His characteristic drawings of young girls sport feathered swirls on their cheeks and cross hatching marks through out the compositions. Despite the new found textures the figures sport softer and more chubby cheeked feathers as opposed to the figures in his art pre-disaster who’s faces are tough and in a way seemed hardened like masks[3]

---

[1] “Section 2: Imaginary world/Phantasms,” Moscow museum of modern art, accessed April 23, 2012, http://www.mmoma.ru/en/exhibitions/gogolevsky/fantasii/

[2] Crow, Kelly, March 11,2012 (2:24 pm), “A Japanese Artist Finds New Life A Year After the Quake,” The Wall Street Journal Arts and Entertainment Blog, April 25, 2012, http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/03/11/a-japanese-artist-finds-new-life-a-year-after-the-quake/

[3] Crow, Kelly, “A Japanese Artist Finds New Life A Year After the Quake”