25.12.2010 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Kaikai Kiki in Nakano Broadway
Kaikai Kiki, the artist collective and company of Murakami Takashi, has opened an art gallery on the second floor of Nakano Broadway. I was just going to pick up some idol goods from the store next door when I saw this. Not really sure what to make of this. Murakami's fascination with otaku culture is well known, but I wonder who comes to this gallery? I mean, Broadway is full of shoppers of all kinds - old, young, Japanese and non-Japanese, otaku and non-otaku - but perhaps least of all those in the market for contemporary (high) art. Most of the shoppers seem more interested in manga, anime etc than paintings by Murakami et al. I wanted to check it out, but it's only open by appointment...
Tags: Nakano Art 0 Comments
19.09.2010 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
'Hardware Girls' launch party
A photographer and journalist, gravure idol and musician, it is tough to pin down Julie Watai, aka Amano Ai, aka Eye Taso. She is as unpredictable as she is vibrant. Saturday, September 18, marked the launch of her new photo album, "Hardware Girls." A party was held at Super Potato in Akihabara, with free beer and retro gaming. An awesome follow up to a long day at Tokyo Game Show!
"Hardware Girls" comes some four years after where Julie turned her camera on "spirituality and technology for the moe consciousness." It was a cool slice of Akihabara kitsch, and a chance to peek into the mind of an unnervingly self-aware otaku. Some of the images from "Samurai Girl" reappear in "Hardware Girls," but the hardware and the girls snap into sharp focus. Here are some sample images.
My take on the theme is the technological condition, specifically a free relation to technology opened through and grounded by the young girl. Anyway, worth checking out. Congrats, Julie!
PS - Vid is of Julie (as Eye Taso) performing with Cutie Pai (far right).
03.04.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Murakami Takashi's new work revealed
I was invited to the special sneak preview of Murakami Takashi's new sculpture at the Kaikai Kiki gallery in Hiroo on Thursday night. As seen in the , it is a deformed little robot boy. His name is Inochi. Despite his noted facination with otaku, Murakami says the work this time has nothing to do with otaku, but is rather a "pure expression of Japanese." As always, this follows a very loose definition of "Japanese," based on eclectic US and domestic pop-culture references:
1) The lttle robot boy from "A.I." is the inspiration; apparently Stanley Kubrick wanted to film this with a much uglier character in a Pinnochio-like tale
2) Japan has a deep history with humanoid robots, all the way from Tezuka Osamu's "Astro Boy" (Kubrick was a fan of Tezuka, says Murakami)
3) The bulbous head looks like ET
4) The robotic parts and thin frame evoke an Evangelion
5) Japanese do not like completed things, thus the imbalance
6) There is a violent and grotesque nature to Japanese cute
The list goes on, but you get the idea - various things strung together to imply some sort of meaning, whatever that is supposed to mean. The sculpture took him six years to make, and Bome was not involved. In fact, Murakami said he wants to get past his associations with the master figure maker, whose works are inextricably tied to Kaiyodo and bishojo figures. I find this particualarly amusing, as Bome's only fault is his expertise. Okada Toshio described the difference between what Bome does and "art" as a matter of meaning: Bome means to make figures that make sense to fans of characters, while art tends to make things that don't make sense and thus are "meaningful." That said, it might be that Murakami has to jettison the simple meanings of bishojo to find "meaning."
Instead of Bome, Murakami brought on board the advertising agency that created the CMs for Softbank. It reminds me more of the . In any case, Murakami again says the gags created using the Inochi character are representative of Japanese humor and sense. You be the judge.
Tags: Art Otaku Cool Japan 3 Comments
28.08.2008 · by Klopz
Zettai Shougeki ~Platonic Heart~ Promo Movie
Finally a few seconds of footage. Ten major companies have combined their forces to bring the new anime with character designs by eroge star "Jin Happōbi". We'll have to wait and see if the story can deliver what the designs appear to promise. Don't forget about the clocks either, they are still are rare treat.
Tags: Anime Platonic Heart 0 Comments
08.08.2008 · by Klopz
Zettai Shougeki ~Platonic Heart~ Clocks
As I'm actually looking a bit forward to the first episode of the Zettai Shougeki anime released on October 25th I found these kind of nice. Almost like a simple version of Doki Doki Majo Shinpan, well not quite but still nice. You can choose your favorite characters and put them on your blog or website and let your readers play with them.
You can get them
here
