A TRAVELING ROCKER, YOSHITOMO NARA

Odile Chen / Ravenel Quarterly No. 34 / 2021-03-11

(Photo credit: Ravenel, General Assembly of Chinese Culture, 達志影像）

“Yoshitomo Nara Special Exhibition Sweeps Taiwan For the First Time!” On Jan. 15, 2021, a press release issued by the General Assembly of Chinese Culture was copiously shared on various social media platforms including Facebook and LINE. After all, Yoshitomo Nara enjoys a huge fan following in Taiwan, and they were eagerly awaiting his first solo exhibition here. 

To prepare the Yoshitomo Nara Special Exhibition at the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts on March 12, Yoshitomo Nara arrived in Taiwan on Valentine's Day in spite of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Immediately, he checked into a pandemic prevention hotel for the requisite 14-day quarantine, followed by another 7-day self-health monitoring period. Feb. 14 happened to be the third day of the Lunar New Year holiday. Therefore, Nara's friends in Taiwan and President Tsai Ing-wen, who is also the General Assembly of Chinese Culture chairperson, sent him various Taiwanese treats such as pearl milk tea, chocolate xiao long bao dessert dumplings from Din Tai Fung, as well as some Japanese books to help alleviate boredom.

ARTISTIC HOMEBODY AND INTERNET CELEBRITY

Being by oneself in isolation is not an easy experience for most people. However, being a latchkey child since he was young, Yoshitomo Nara had to stay by himself after school. Even after growing up and traveling abroad to study in Germany and to teach in the U.S., he also had to face solitude during the creative process while being away from home. Perhaps he was getting good at being alone. His good friends say that he has an interesting habit of setting up his room to look the same whether he was staying in Japan or abroad, turning it into his own little kingdom. 

Nara has always insisted on being present personally during his exhibitions, even in 2020 when many countries closed borders due to COVID-19. The pandemic was especially fierce in the U.S., and most museums were forced to shut their doors and postpone exhibitions. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), however, organized the largest Yoshitomo Nara retrospective exhibition, and he overcame all difficulties and flew to the U.S. to be with his art works at the venue. The overall exhibition presentation reflected part of his creative lifestyle. For a long time, the room or cabin where he stays has always resembled a large installation work.

During his 14-day quarantine in Taipei, he kept up communication with the outside world, showing his concerns via the Internet. In the Art Handbook magazine published in 2012, Nara's teacher and friend Nobuya Hitsuda once talked of Nara during his student days. Nara always loved to gather a group of people to have a great time. Then he would back away from the crowd and quietly return to his solitary state, saying things like "I am so lonely!" Sometimes he is shy as a puppy that is afraid of strangers but wishes to get closer. Other times he is like a cat, looking arrogant and careless for others. He could be unsociable and eccentric to the point of being a bit difficult to be with. All of these contradictory feelings are magnificently and delicately demonstrated through his creative works. Some of his friends of the same age feel that he has a special charm that attracts children and adults. The public wants to get to know him. But when he meets someone that he doesn't jive with, he would stay quiet or just calmly walk away.

His good friend Takashi Murakami joked that in Nara's paintings, the characters often had melancholic eyes. No wonder he has so many fans, especially female fans. The quiet Nara and the energetic Murakami are very good friends who understand and appreciate each other. They also are collectors of each other's works. Art critics believe that Nara takes the rebellious spirit in pursuit of freedom from his younger days and presents it through mature and refined aesthetics, such that his art preserves the enchantment of both qualities.

Actually, Yoshitomo Nara has been very active on social media. Many years ago, he worked as a DJ for free at a community FM station in the Shibuya District. He had purchased the recording equipment and shared his collection of early rock music for two hours every week. He also started his own music blog. In recent years, on the Twitter platform that is popular in Japan, Nara's account has accumulated over 250,000 followers. He tweets several posts daily, mostly commenting on current affairs or talking about what is on his mind.

Averaging about 10 tweets per day, Nara has made at least 50,000 tweets since he joined Twitter in November 2009 until now (February 2021), sharing more than 11,000 photos and videos. During his quarantine period in Taiwan, he took some photos to entertain himself. The shots included the meals sent by the quarantine hotel, the corridor outside his room, chores such as sweeping the floor or folding his clothes, or his drawings on the table. Sometimes he reported mundane details such as the compulsory self-measurement of his body temperature. He also shared interesting images, made comments on related articles, or responded to tweets that he was interested in. In particular, he enjoys the use of emojis to maintain a digital connection with the outside world.

Nara's twitter account name is "yoshitomo nara, the washing hands man", perhaps as a warm reminder to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic period. He also wrote in the twitter self introduction: " ☆ NO WAR! NO NUKES! LOVE & PEACE! ☆ Music", which is similar to the introduction in his Instagram account. This has been his persistent life value and punk spirit, and a title that has appeared repeatedly in his paintings in the past. From time to time, Nara updates his Instagram timeline with the same photos as his twitter posts. He keeps up-to-date with the latest trend, chatting online even on Clubhouse, the online chat website that only very recently became popular.

A 40-YEAR ARTISTIC JOURNEY

In a sense, Yoshitomo Nara is a total "Otaku" or homebody, who enjoys hanging out in his own world. It may be similar to a memory, in observance of all the big and small details in the world through the Internet Window, which can be alienating and warm all at once. The development of his personality is naturally closely linked to his background growing up. Unlike most people, he enjoys looking back to the past, and likes old things in terms of music and paintings. He has an excellent memory. His creative works vividly recaptures the minute details of his childhood memories and recollection of life experiences one by one.

Yoshitomo Nara was born in Hirosaki City of Aomori Prefecture in Japan on December 5, 1959. Known for its apples and cherry blossoms, Aomori has boundless and alluring natural scenery, though it can be desolate and quiet in the winter time. Currently, Nara is in his 60's and his hair has turned salt-and-pepper, he still dresses in simple T-shirts or hooded sweatshirts with jeans. His painting style also seemed to change as he aged. It is most apparent in the eyes of the characters, where the looks of rebellion and anger have been replaced by more complex emotions, tranquility, and peacefulness that likely match the transformation of his mindset.

Nara has a natural talent in painting. When he was young, an art student from his hometown once praised him as being good at painting. His elementary school teacher also said that he painted like an adult. However, he only decided to study art during his last year in high school while preparing college entrance exams, and attended tutoring school in Tokyo as a result. Nara ended up attending Musashino Art University, but he was never interested in dry academic theories. Instead, he followed his passion in punk music, and spent time in concerts and record stores.

After a one-year absence from school, he became a wanderer in India, Pakistan and Europe. Upon his return to Japan, he was admitted to the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music, where he finished his graduate studies. After serving as an art teacher, he went to Germany to study at the Arts Academy of the city of Düsseldorf, and set up his studio in Berlin. His growing fame led him to UCLA in the U.S. to serve as a visiting professor and more. He returned to Japan after 12 years of living abroad, and his experience during this period prompted him to pursue a career as an artist for life.

Loyal to his own decision, he never wavered much. Writer Banana Yoshimoto once said: "In this day and age, it is difficult to stay true and sincere. But Nara is sincere, of this I have no doubt." She described Nara's paintings depict "an unusually cold world due to loneliness and a deep sense of pain, but never with malice at heart. And I would rather live in such a world."

NO MUSIC, NO LIFE!

Yoshitomo Nara's rebellious thoughts against the academic authorities during his college years, his memory of childhood experience, and what he heard and saw during his journeys abroad often lingered in the depth of his heart. His artistic inspiration came first from the cover design of his beloved music records. The design format of text and images was a prominent influence in his early drawings.

In 2020, the curator of LACMA's Yoshitomo Nara retrospective exhibition, Mika Yoshitake, pointed out the artist's longtime passion in music, which became the theme that ran through the entire exhibition. She said "Ever since Yoshitomo Nara heard folk songs at the age of nine, the covers of all types of albums became one of the means by which he came into contact with and became engrossed in art."

The first room of the exhibition displayed more than 300 album covers that Nara has collected since his youth, resulting in a spectacular wall of music. Most of the albums were produced in the late 1960's to the mid 1970's. When he was nine years old, he listened to radio programs on the US military Far East Network radio station, and discovered western folk music as well as rock and roll. Being all by himself at home when he was a child, his boundless imagination was initiated while listening to radio music. No Music, No Life!

Indeed, music has always accompanied Nara in life. Yoshitomo Nara stated that: "Whenever I am painting, music enters my ears and directly pours out from my hands." He would listen to music while he worked, and many of his artworks or exhibition titles came from western music song titles or lyrics. Even now, his studio continues to accumulate more rock, blues, soul and punk albums. He can even serve as a historical witness of the evolution of contemporary western music. Different types of music have accompanied Nara through different ages of growth, including: From 1960-1970's, Bob Dylan; in the 1980's, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, punk rock bands such as the Clash, Sex Pistoles, and Ramones, reggae musician Bob Marley, Kraftwerk's electronic music, and Nirvana's rock music; in the 1990's, British rock band Blur and Radiohead, and hip hop music from the Beastie Boys.

A UNIQUE PAINTING STYLE

In addition to the cover design of music albums, picture books also provided inspiration for the young Nara. Among his favorite children's books were Aesop's Fables, fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen, and Grimm's' Fairy Tales. Nara once said: "Picture books tell many stories with one picture, so this kind of system, narratives emerging from a single picture, has had a much stronger influence on my work, particularly my early work..." In the late 1990's, he collaborated with literary writer Banana Yoshimoto on several picture books, turning himself into an illustrator who told stories via drawings.

Even though the younger Nara did not care about rigid academic teaching, he still held respect for the classics of art history. For example, visible in his artworks are the concepts of the colors and flatness of Japanese Ukiyo-e paintings, and the smooth texture quality of lacquer art. Among the western artists, he was inspired by Francesca of the Renaissance period, replacing outlines with colors. He also reveled in the delicate and enchanting colors of Russian American artist Mark Rothko, and admired Henri Matisse for his simplicity and timelessness. He has made profound explorations in his elegant pursuits on paper or on canvas. Art critics believe that it is a mistake to interpret the art of Yoshitomo Nara in the genre of pop art or manga, because he is a very talented and true painter.

Nara recalls the first oil painting he completed at the art-tutoring school before college. In his Complete Works, his earliest works of oil paintings and paper drawings were from 1984 when he was attending the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music at the age of 25. From the very beginning, drawings played an important role in his creative works, and a lot of drawings were displayed alongside oil paintings and sculptures in his exhibition in Japan before he went to Germany. His teacher at the Arts Academy of Düsseldorf, A.R. Penck enjoyed his drawings and suggested that he bring them into his oil paintings, thus opening up a new horizon for him.

Since 2002, the artist has expanded the concept and created a series of drawing room installations. In 2006, he collaborated with graf on a project of wood house installations A to Z and painting exhibitions, which became a much-talked about significant milestone. However, compromise is often required during collaborations, and Nara was not quite satisfied with the presentation. He would prefer facing the canvas for an all-out battle with himself.

"Portrait" has always been the subject of Yoshitomo Nara's paintings, or "self-portrait" to be more specific. A child, a girl, a dog, and other relatively disadvantaged representations reflect their vulnerable circumstances in real life, which may be linked to serious issues such as the Japanese national self-esteem as a defeated nation, the plight of the border region due to the urban-rural gap in wealth, and the survival of ethnic minorities. In-depth, complex and unusual meanings are hidden in ordinary subjects, sometimes shaking people to the core just like the gaze of faith.

In 2011, the 311 earthquake in Japan caused much tangible and intangible damage and trauma for all of Japan. Nara's hometown was not from the Fukushima Prefecture. He became so devastated by the disaster that he found himself unable to paint for a while. He followed the footstep of photography master Nobuyoshi Araki to explore the art of photography, and received encouragement from him. Gradually, he rediscovered the warmth of creativity in the process of sculpting with clay, stirring up an even deeper level of the inner world. Although he created some sculptures in the 1980's, he began making smooth puppies or children sculptures with fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) in the 1990's, showing a deeper understanding of impermanence in the 3D sculptures of his later period.

"I feel that in a few dozen years, my works will remain even though I will be gone, so I wanted to try bronze." The artist confessed that: "Diving into the making of sculptures has had an effect on my paintings, allowing sculpture into paintings and painting within sculptural works." In his artistic creativity, regardless of the media, there is something special in painting and in sculpture, which mutually impact the other for continuous improvements."

THE MOST EXPENSIVE CONTEMPORARY ARTIST IN JAPAN

"Painting like an adult when he was little, while painting like a child after growing up." Intuitively, most people consider his paintings 'cute'. However, the artist hopes that the viewers can decipher the deeper meaning within. Simplicity is not simple. "Regardless of the scale of the project, you will never achieve a satisfactory result without going all out with your own efforts." Yoshitomo Nara devoted his life to creativity, which brought him immense success.

Yoshitomo Nara has provided the world with comprehensive artistic presentations by devoting himself to creative works, whether it was oil paintings, works on paper, painting on billboards, ceramics, sculptures, installations, photography or prints. His solid creative context is displayed today in the museums, or art galleries or auctions in the forms of artworks we are able to see. Publishing Yoshitomo Nara: The Complete Works when he was just 52 years old, Nara's diligence and his bountiful creativity moved Takashi Murakami greatly. His art has been collected by major museums including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, LACMA in Los Angeles, and numerous museums in Japan.

Yoshitomo Nara has become one of the most popular contemporary artists in the world, and the current living Japanese artist fetching the highest price in the global auction market. At an auction in Hong Kong in October 2019, the oil painting Knife Behind Back created in 2000 sold for nearly 196 million Hong Kong Dollars (approximately USD$24.95million or NT$760 million). It was several times the auction price for Yayoi Kusama's Endless Net #4 sold in April 2019 for 62.43 million Hong Kong Dollars (approximately USD$7.95 million or NT$247 million).

Yayoi Kusama is also a fan of Nara's. In their correspondence in 2002, Kusama once wrote to Nara: "Your work looks wonderful at all times, and excellent just as you are. Mr. Nara is a very important person to me. Because whenever I am feeling down, just staring at your painting of the puppy will gradually make me feel more comfortable, becoming relaxed in the fantasy world." (Excerpt from "the Art Handbook") Yoshitomo Nara wields cross-border influence - his works are loved by his predecessor Yayoi Kusama and collectors around the globe. Countless young artists have been influenced by his style. The most famous example among them would be Spain's Javier Calleja, who openly admits to the influence of Nara's paintings of figures on his own art.

In 2020, despite closed borders all around the world, the art auction market continued to flourish. The attached list of "The Top 20 Most Expensive Works of Yoshitomo Nara Ever Sold at Auction" that 7 transactions occurred in 2020 in Asia. According to analysis of the Artprice art database website, the price index of Yoshitomo Nara's works has been growing with a 45-degree slope since 2010, which is evidence of the popularity of Nara in the market. In the last three years, Nara has ranked among the top 50 in the world in terms of the auction transaction volume.

The new year 2021 brings a string of good news. "Yoshitomo Nara Special Exhibition" will tour three cities in Taiwan, including Taipei, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. The series of three exhibitions at the museums is expected to again ignite Nara's popularity in the art market. Also, Nara is crossing over to the fashion industry with a co-branding project in collaboration with British designer Stella McCartney, aka the "Sustainable fashion pioneer". Nara has proclaimed his desire to become a bard in the style of Bob Dylan, and carry out creative works with ease. Just like a peripatetic traveler facing his audience wherever he goes, Mara plans to create progressively in the present tense. It appears that Yoshitomo Nara will continue to regard each of his exhibitions with an honorable attitude.