Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture

MURAKAMI, TAKASHI (ed); New York. Japan Society

ISBN 10: 0300102852 / ISBN 13: 9780300102857

Verlag: 2005, 2005

Beschreibung

MURAKAMI, TAKASHI (editor). Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture. xiv and 298 pp., hundreds of color illustrations. 4to, boards. New York, Japan Society, in association with New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 2005. This exhibition catalogue for a show at the Japan Society looks at contemporary Japanese culture from the prespective of one of the country's most celebrated artists.

Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 115407

Bibliografische Details

• Titel: Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture
• Verlag: 2005
• Veröffentlichungsdatum: 2005
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN-10: 0300102852
• ISBN-13: 9780300102857
• Bindung: Hardcover

Über diesen Titel

Inhaltsangabe

Little Boy examines the culture of postwar Japan through its arts and popular visual media. Focusing on the youth-driven phenomenon of otaku (roughly translated as 'geek culture' or 'pop cult fanaticism'), Takashi Murakami and a notable group of contributors explore the complex historical influences that shape Japanese contemporary art and its distinct graphic languages. The book's title, Little Boy, is a reference to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, thus clearly locating the birth of these new cultural forms in the trauma and generational aftershock of the atomic bomb. This generously illustrated book showcases the work of key otaku artists and designers, many of whom are cult celebrities in Japan, and discusses their feature film and video animations, video games and internet sites, music, toys, fashion and more. In the process, the following questions are posed: What is otaku? How is it related to the pervasive and curious fixation on 'cuteness' evident in Japanese popular culture? What impact did the atomic devastation of World War II have on the development of Japanese art and culture? This brilliantly designed, bilingual (English and Japanese) publication examines these themes to explore how contemporary Japanese art has become inseparable from the subcultural realms of manga and anime (Japanese animation), a world where meticulous technique, apocalyptic imagery and high and low cultures meet. Exhibition schedule: Japan Society, New York City, April-July 2005 other venues to be announced.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Takashi Murakami has exhibited works in major museums throughout the world. His high profile public art commissions include large-scale installations at Grand Central and Rockefeller Center, and he is also well known for his design work for Louis Vuitton. Contributors include: Sawaragi Noi, Matsui Midori, Morikawa Kaichiro, Okada Toshio, Katy Siegel, and project directors Tom Eccles and Alexandra Munroe.