COVER STORY • 5 Contemporary Japanese Art By Koyama Tomio ©1996 Takashi Murakami / Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Courtesy: Tomio Koyama Gallery / Photo: Yoshitaka Uchida, Nomadic Studio ORKS by Japanese artists have begun to be forgotten in con- Wbecome increasingly popular temporary art, both artists around the world in recent years. I appeal to people who have a opened a gallery in 1996 and have broader perspective of what art exhibited and sold works by the artists is. Murakami Takashi and Nara Yoshitomo. Now their works are regis- 2. They have outstanding tered at every auction held by premier technique. Both Murakami and auction houses like Christie’s and Nara studied at art universities Sotheby’s. Sometimes their works even in Japan. Japanese art educa- adorn the cover of those houses’ publica- tion is extremely academic, and tions, an honor which only renews their unlike Western art education value. Murakami was invited by Louis whose mainstream is concept- Vuitton as an artist, and helped to boost oriented, it emphasizes basic sales by working with the designer Marc techniques such as drawings. Jacobs to participate in the greatest col- The fact that they both prac- laboration in fashion history. In addi- ticed these techniques is proba- tion to appealing to art collectors and art bly an important factor in their museums worldwide, their works are of success, although it is not the great interest in the worlds of fashion primary explanation. This has Murakami Takashi, “And Then, And Then And Then And Then And Then” 1996, Acrylic on canvas mounted on and film. Art merchandise based on also been disregarded in con- board, 100x100cm their works also appeals to average con- temporary art thus far. sumers. Their arts are accessible to peo- selves and to turn their attention to their ple of all genres and classes, making 3. Japan has a sophisticated cultural own country’s culture. A hybrid sensi- them a truly rare gift. Unlike promi- history. I am not simply referring here bility seems to have emerged as a result. nent predecessors such as Andy Warhol, to Japanese art history, but to the fact Perhaps this has created a sophisticated Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, that Japan may have a tradition of culture. This has occurred over and Murakami and Nara came from Japan, a adopting things from foreign cultures. over throughout Japanese history in the scene far removed from the center of the Japan has enjoyed and been heavily Heian (794-1192), Momoyama (1568- art world in New York. influenced by Western culture for nearly 1600) and Edo (1603-1867) periods. It So how did they get to be this popu- 60 years since the end of World War II now seems that postwar “learning” is lar? Does their Japanese background (and even as far back as the Meiji Period giving way to a period of fruitful pro- play any part in their popularity? We from 1868 to 1912), a period which duction. A sense of criticism is, natural- can speculate about a variety of reasons overlapped with Japan’s economic suc- ly, an important part of contemporary for their fame. cess. Since the war, many Japanese con- art. Every Western expert understands temporary art exhibits have been held in that Nara and Murakami have arrived at 1. Their works have the power to con- various countries, especially in the today’s expressions through progress in vey something directly to the viewer. United States. Concepts of contempo- the conceptual dimension. Murakami masterfully and uninhibited- rary art have basically been imported ly depicts DOB, a character of his own from the West. Based on those ideas, 4. They have enjoyed a network-style creation, on the screen. He experiments Japan can be said to have “learned” con- market. This was the method which with various representations, drawing in temporary art. Several contemporary Nara and Murakami always had in mind the viewer with his use of dynamism and Japanese art exhibits, which have been when they were shaping the market. detail. Nara, meanwhile, draws portraits significant in terms of showing what has Until recently, Japanese galleries focused based on his childhood memories and been achieved in Japan, have been high- their efforts primarily on imports. the circumstances he found himself in, ly scrutinized and developed with criti- Active efforts were not made to export imparting the viewer with abundant cism. Japanese art. In 1996 when I opened strong emotions amidst a backdrop of The sense of criticism that evolved out my gallery, Japan was in an economic silence. of this environment forced artists to be slump. I thought I would find it diffi- By using artistic methods that have conscious of the reality within them- cult to operate the gallery in the domes- 18 JAPAN SPOTLIGHT • March / April 2004 COVER STORY • 5 ©2001 Yoshitomo Nara / Photo: Yoshitaka Uchida, Nomadic Studio / Courtesy: Tomio Koyama Gallery tic market only. I participated in a small However, they were attractive galleries art fair at a Los Angeles hotel. It was an full of hope and ideas. Each gallery exciting event that attracted about 40 held exhibits to ensure their own budding galleries from around the business success, while also main- world. I was hoping to sell works by the taining their networks. I don’t artists from my own gallery and not just know if the fact that Murakami Japanese artists. This event allowed me and Nara are Japanese was at the to experience the active approach toward forefront of the owners’ minds at art that has been cultivated in the that time. However, regardless United States. I saw people demonstrate of their origins, they were defi- the courage to judge with their own eyes nitely known to be invaluable the works of artists that they didn’t artists for the gallery owners’ art know anything about. It was evident businesses. With their cooperation, that people are willing to look at them- Nara and Murakami were able to selves, or that they are equipped with a make names for themselves in Europe sense of criticism. This is what is exactly and the United States, were respected as needed to create an art market. When a artists, and solidified their market. At Nara Yoshitomo, "Too Young To Die“ 2001, customer engages in the economic the time, I felt that intense local passions acrylic on cotton, mounted on fiber reinforced behavior of making a purchase, his or were more important than the light- plastics, diam.180xd.26cm her action is considered an honor by hearted fantasies of the international both the artist and myself, and from it market, and the individual works pro- in Japan? Have Nara and Murakami we derive our sense of confidence. After duced in this environment formed a been accepted into the Japanese art this fair, Nara and Murakami held line, and then formed a surface. Private scene? More than 60% of their major exhibits at galleries in Europe and the networks that follow different pursuits works are in collections overseas. Only United States. All of those gallery own- than cultural exchanges between coun- five art museums in Japan hold their ers were about my age and none of their tries, have become more prominent in works as part of their public collections. galleries were particularly famous. the art world in recent years. Their works are nowhere to be found in Tokyo. Their popularity might be soar- Photo: Koyama Tomio 5. The West served to assign value to ing overseas, but they will only be appre- Nara and Murakami. By and large, the ciated in Japan after they have made West seems to see the world’s art as nec- their name elsewhere. In spite of Japan’s essary, and has actively incorporated the national wealth, its cultural policies and art of Japan as well as China, Latin cultural environment are in an incon- America, the Middle East, Eastern gruous state of impoverishment. Japan Europe and other countries into its own has a culture of reverse-importation that art history. It might have enveloped refuses to pass its own judgments. perspectives of “exoticism,” “oriental- Perhaps the simple reason why Japanese ism” and “globalism.” However, culture is flourishing overseas may be because of its pure desire to complete that it is not assigned value at home. the history of art that the West has built, This leaves artists with no way of discov- it collects all kinds of information, ering their own value other than leaving assigns value, and maintains collections Japan. National policies that treat cul- of art works. This passion is something ture as an industry remain seriously lack- that must be respected. Art is a field ing. where history and the market are closely intertwined. It is in the Western art scene that the art from foreign countries will be judged, marketed and assigned a Koyama Tomio is the owner and director of Tomio Koyama Gallery. He has participated in Tomio Koyama Gallery at 1-31-6-1F Shinkawa, place in history. Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan So what’s happening in the art world art fairs in New York and Basel (Germany). JAPAN SPOTLIGHT • March / April 2004 19.