Nara Yoshitomo's large-scale solo exhibition, which is currently being exhibited at the Yuz Museum in Shanghai, has recently been suspended due to the impact of the epidemic.
Spectators who bought early bird tickets had to wait for the day when the exhibition reopened.
Yoshitomo Nara, who is loved by the public, is on a par with first-line Japanese artists such as Takashi Murakami and Yayoi Kusama, and is not only an indicator figure in the contemporary art world, but his creations often appear in your and my lives.
In his paintings, you will first see a kind of innocence and cuteness that is easy to approach, but then you will find that the eyes and expressions of the protagonist (children) in the paintings are hidden in the evil, cunning or sadness that only appear in the adult world.
What does Yoshitomo Nara's "lonely child" really want to say?
Although the exhibition is closed, his new book, Yoshitomo Nara: Beginnings in an Empty World, was recently published. In the book, Yoshitomo Nara makes a comprehensive interpretation of herself.
Who is Yoshitomo Nara?
The children in Nara's paintings always have round heads and large eyes, sometimes squinting at the audience with a malicious look, and sometimes pursing their lips and flashing large jewel-like eyes.
■ Yoshitomo Nara, "Late At Night", 2016 Acrylic on canvas, 100.5 × 91 cm Private collection, Japan, YOSHITOMO NARA
"Who the hell is this little girl?" This is probably the most asked question by Nara Yoshitomo, and his standard answer in the early years was: This is my self-portrait.
In the beginning, Yoshitomo Nara painted for her own sake, "These works were born out of confrontation with myself, not against others." ”
He once said that when a person is lonely, the closer he can be to his heart, and later the work was widely welcomed and paid attention, and he gradually found that the work was no longer only my own.
■ Yoshitomo Nara, Low Fever, 2021, Acrylic on canvas, collage, 120 × 110 cm, Artist Collection, YOSHITOMO NARA
You may find the answer to "Who is Yoshitomo Nara?" in many places.
He set an auction record for Japanese art; he was one of the most important Japanese artists of our time; he was an ageless big boy with many little emotions, always with a messy hair and immersed in rock music at a huge volume...
In the words of the writer Banana Yoshimoto, Nara's work is "a world that is unusually cold due to pain and loneliness, but the heart is by no means evil."
■ "Yoshitomo Nara: Beginning in an Empty World"
And after fading all the gorgeous aura, who is Yoshitomo Nara?
This time, in the new book "Yoshitomo Nara: Beginnings in an Empty World," this question is answered by Yoshitomo Nara himself.
It was his first book for a Chinese audience and a new "autobiography" he had been around for years.
■ "Yoshitomo Nara: Beginnings in an Empty World" inner page
In the book, you can see Nara's childhood memories, his love of music, literature, movies, and travel, his time studying and living in Germany (1988-2000), his exploration of himself, and his reflections on art.
For him, the process of making this book is both a comprehensive review of his past life and a re-entry for the future.
Where is the source of imagination
Nara Yoshitomo's painting style is concise and simple, and there is anxiety hidden under the cute face of the naughty and innocent girl; the simple character modeling is derived from modernism, and the image is like a simple shorthand language, leaving endless imagination space for children and adult audiences.
Born in 1959 in a small city in northern Japan, Yoshitomo Nara's empty world covered in snow is the source of his rich sensibility and the starting point of his creative path.
He said: "In Aomori, the leaves fall in winter, and after the snow, it is a boundless white. The more you go to different places, the more you will return to the landscape that has been internalized in your heart, and you will feel pity for the empty world covered in white. Beneath that patch of white, there were actually all sorts of things. The empty, snow-covered world has become a source of my imagination. ”
What the existence of music means
Yoshitomo Nara is well known for his love of music, especially punk, and he himself stands out with his unprecedented style of work, which can be called "the punk of the art world".
He has been listening to the night radio for music information since the fifth grade of elementary school, and can be said to be a very precocious rock and roll fan, and still maintains the Joey Ramone fashion style of T-shirts and leather jackets.
■ Yoshitomo Nara Vinyl Records, 2012 Colored Lead on Corrugated Cardboard, 31 × 31 cm Artist's Collection, YOSHITOMO NARA
It is said that when he painted in the studio, he always played music at a very large volume. And it's not just punk music, from folk songs of the sixties and seventies to white roots music, he has a wide range of specialties.
Yoshitomo Nara, who owns many precious records that are no longer available today, is absolutely indispensable in the process of nurturing those quiet and enthusiastic paintings.
"I always turn the volume on very high, although not Pavlov's dog, but as the body swings, I get into a certain mood. Although the volume is very large, you will not realize that the song has ended and continue to draw, which is when you are in a very good state. ”
This love of music was also presented at the Nara Michi Exhibition.
In an interview, he was asked, without music, Yoshitomo Nara's work would not have been born.
His answer was yes, "It is true that it will not be born." ”
Yoshitomo Nara says that it was lonely time that created herself as a painter.
"For me, painting constantly is a beacon that illuminates where I am. I am illuminated, not only the one who draws. ”
■ "Nara Michi: Starting from an Empty World" Nara Michi by Yuan Jing Tang Poems Translation
Yoshitomo Nara: Beginnings in an Empty World consists of an autobiography, Half Life, in-depth interviews from seven perspectives (upbringing, art, music, literature and film, pottery, travel, and connections with others), recent exhibitions, photographic works, chronology, etc., as well as his life photos, classics, and latest works, and is an unprecedented "Nara Encyclopedia" dominated by Nara Yoshitomo's own language.
Yoshitomo Nara said, "After reading this book, if you can know a little bit about me, that's good!" ”