|
Tim Slowinski |
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Sung Soo Kim |
"CHARACTERISM" (Pop Culture Art in the USA &
Japan)
In collaboration with LunarBase
Art Gallery, CWC International, Sozo-Shoten
Characterism features a global phenomenon in the contemporary
art market initiated by a new generation of artists who
are absorbed by pop cultures. This show emphasizes those
arts which incorporate cartoons, comics, Japanime, Manga,
and more, as their main element of expression. The show
will examine how those pop cultures in the USA and Japan
are effecting each other and the influences on the development
of the current art market.
From USA:
James Allen, Stephen Auslender, Gerard Barbot, Daniel Borlandelli,
Natty Bumpercar, Owen Brozman, Irene Christensen, Michelle
Cohen, Jason Coughlin, Jeff Daiss, Donn Davis, Eben Dodd,
Bethany Fancher, Daniel Genova, Halona Hilbertz, Phung Huynh,
Forsans Jerome, Jena Jones, Damian Octavio Kaliyeski, Ryohga
Katsuma, Sung Soo Kim, Emmanuel Kourounis, Aki Kumono, Estelle
Levy, Tyler Lockett, D. Dominick Lombardi, Monika Malewska,
Elim Mak, Mitchell Marco, Stephanie Maria, Juliet Ann Martin,
Travis Mong, Edward Monovich, Anwar Montasir, Bruce Morse,
Kelly Newcomer, Naoko Oshima, Miguel Paredes, Milena Popov,
Jennifer Primosch, Carol
Quint, Liane Ricci, Jason Michael
Scuderi, Francie Shaw, Vicki Sher, Tim Slowinski, Eric Weil,
Maki Yamamoto
From Japan:
Hitomi Aida, Kazumi Akagane, Yoshiaki Asai, Sawako Fuse
(SAVAKO), Ryuki Fukao, Tatsuya Inoue (The Samurai Strawberry),
Kacchi, Takaya Kaidou, Gensuke Miyake, Kei Masuda, Wataru
Nakano (VATARU), Masayuki Ogisu, Shinobu Ohtsuka (Ninko
Ouzou), Yumi Ota, Hisao Sakai, Yasuichiro Suzuki, Kaori
Takahashi, (Kaokao Panda), Shoichi Tatebayashi (ROBICCO),
Nobuyuki Yoshioka
Live performance by Candy Artist, Miyuki Sugimori at the
opening!! |
"COMIC ART" (in USA) & "MANGA &
JAPANIME" (in Japan)
In collaboration with David J. Gabriel of the New
York Comic Book Museum and David Bernstein of Grand
Design Communications
Lecture Demonstration April Sun. Apr. 6th @ 3 P.M. Adm.
$5
"How to Make a Comic Book – from Script to Finish"
by Ed Murr
Comic Artists:
Kia Asamiya, Allen Burnstein, Cameron Chesney, Gene Colan,
Tim Daly, Rizky Wasisto Edi, Dean Fleming, Gia Forakis,
Peter Forakis, Leo Garcia, Don Hospiel, Phil Jimenez, Terrance
Lindall, Joe Michael Linsner, Ed Murr, Seijuro Mizu, Jason
Narvaez, Christine Norrie, Tristan Schane, Jeff Stevens,
Adam Suerte Gould, Neil Swaab, Jim Valentino, Bill Wylie,
Phyllis Yampolsky, and others
In the USA, comics as we know them began to appear in
19th century American Sunday supplements in newspapers,
starting with Richard Felton Outcault's 'The Yellow Kid,'
a character who would not seem put of place in the Characterism
show. In the early 20th century the first true Western comic
book was invented featuring Krazy Kat. By the 1940s, the
so called "golden age of comics," the first superheroes
were in full force, the most notable and still very much
alive Schuster & Siegle's "Superman" which
debuted in Detective Comics. In Japan, Osamu Tezuka revolutionized
Manga ("whimsical pictures"), the comic book style
which developed in Japan in the early 20th century. He was
heavily influence by the advent of characters such as Disney's
Mickey Mouse, but drawing his own characters. His success
fueled the birth of anime and Manga as we know it today.
In the Manga field he was the first to come out with a novel-length
drawn story title "Shintakarajima" or 'Treasure
Island." He used cinematic techniques such as panning
and zooming. As Young Japanese Manga readers grew to be
older, new story lines that appealed to adults began to
be developed. This heralded a new age in Manga with characters
such as Go Nagai's "Devilman" and "Cutey
Honey" which were the first Manga series to be animated.
Another pioneering artist was Hayao Miyazaki who in the
1980s began a project which would take 13 years, but would
turn out to be his most celebrated work, "Nausicaa
and the Valley of the Wind." With its themes of a struggling
heroine, poignant depictions of a war torn world and themes
of ecology, he won over many fans. Again, themes of nature
vs. man appeared in his 1997 film "Mononoke Hime"
or "Princess Mononoke" which was released in the
West. And finally there was Rumiko Takahashi who got her
first fame with a story about a slightly perverted teenage
boy and an alien girl who loves him. She has had many successes
both inside and outside of Japan and has become one of the
richest women in Japan. Because of the success of Manga
and Japanime, every day on American television we can Pokemon
and Digimon, and play video games all incorporating Manga
Characterism.
This show of comic artists includes many famous ones such
as Kia Asamia and other greats in recent years, both East
& West, as well as some lesser known underground comic
artists. Thus a comparison can be made between these artists
who m have chosen direct expression of character creation
through comic illustration and their counterparts in the
fine arts as seen in the "Characterism" show,
who expand and reinterpret this comic book culture. |