Little Boy : The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture

by Edited by Takashi Murakami

• ISBN13: 9780300102857
• ISBN10: 0300102852
• Edition: Bilingual
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2005-05-11
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Little Boy examinesthe culture of postwar Japan through its arts and popular visual media. Focusing on the youth-driven phenomenon ofotaku (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, and what does it tell us about contemporary social, economic, and cultural life in Japan and throughout the world? 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. Little Boy concludesMurakami's "Superflat" trilogy, a project conceived in 2000 to introduce a new wave of Japanese artists and to place their work in the historical context of traditional styles and concepts.

Author Biography

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.

Table of Contents

Little Boy (plates and entries)	p. 1
Earth in my window	p. 98
Superflat trilogy : greetings, you are alive	p. 150
Otaku talk	p. 164
On the battlefield of "superflat" : subculture and art in postwar Japan	p. 186
Beyond the pleasure room to a chaotic street : transformations of cute subculture in the art of the Japanese nineties	p. 208
Introducing Little Boy	p. 240
Murakami's Manhattan project	p. 262
In the air	p. 268
Further readings	p. 290
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.