From left: 6%DOKIDOKI shop girls, Sebastian Masuda (6%DOKIDOKI), Ms. Misako Aoki カワイイ (KAWAII) Ambassador, Ms. Kumiko Uehara (BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT).
Candy Girls Mk.II-1 by Yoshitaka Amano
Heroes L-1 by Yoshitaka Amano
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June 2012
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Hate to be the one to ask this, but... doesn't it seem a little tacky for Amano to be jumping on to the superflat bandwagon this late in the game? He seems to be channeling Takashi Murakami with most of the exhibited works (at least judging from what's been seen already), and the radical departure from his usual art style, especially in conjunction with the fact that this exhibit has been placed in a western context and the superflat style has been traditionally more well-received in the west than Japan, seems somewhat desperate - as if someone who's managed to survive and outlive countless artistic trends is running to catch a bandwagon that was already on its way out.
Either way, whether it's desperation or a genuine passion for superflat that's fuelling his new work, the new direction doesn't seem to be a promising one.
Posted by: Aibu | August 15, 2009 at 04:17 PM
We're having a panel discussion with Amano at noon tomorrow in front of NEW PEOPLE. I don't know if we'll get into superflat and such, but yeah, thanks for sharing your opinion. I see it like this: Murakami made his name by co-opting other people's work for his otaku-themed pieces. Amano actually created Ken the Eagle.
Posted by: patrick macias | August 15, 2009 at 04:24 PM
I had wanted to bring up the superflat angle from the time the first preview images went up, but until I saw that Candy Girls image I had thought I could write off the similarities to Murakami as being coincidental or otherwise innocent. However, regardless of Amano's entitlement (we differ on our opinions of the merit of Murakami's own work, but I won't get into that can of worms), he definitely seems to be ripping off aspects of Murakami's signature aesthetic and that's an unfortunate route for Amano to be taking.
Oh, and long-time reader, first-time commenter, just wanted to say that An Eternal Thought in the Mind of Godzilla is the best blog on the web as far as I care.
Posted by: Aibu | August 15, 2009 at 05:29 PM