Yoshitomo Nara

Yoshitomo Nara is a Japanese artist, who often expresses political or innermost thoughts he has through various childish subjects; with his most used subject being the little girl in the above pictures. It is almost as though he is drawing his characters and ideas simply, so that viewers of his art do not have to jump over obstacles to understand the meaning of his work. It shows future artists that you do not have to do the most exaggerated piece of art to get your opinions and ideas across the world; proving that even little sketches or a couple of words can cause change.

Yoshitomo Nara explores various ideas in his art, such as speaking out against sexual assault - 

e.g. enjoying the fragile moments of life while you have them and the confinement of emotion in individuals due to societal standards 

Yoshitomo Nara creates his artworks using a variety of media, such as; photos, paintings, sculptures or installations. He creates a variety of mediums (each telling a new story about his characters) mainly using ceramic, bronze and fibre-reinforced plastic. To create his most popular item, his prints, he often etches designs into lino to then print multiple copies or he will paint elaborate designs with soft-pastel colours and photocopy the design so that he is able to sell multiple copies.

Yoshitomo Nara has forever changed and impacted contemporary art as he is actively recognising the struggles of each individual, young or elderly, through the little children he paints in various states; such as discomfort, protest or anger. He does this to push the idea that no matter who you are, or how old you are, you can experience any type of feelings; all of which are valid

Aya Takano

Aya Takano is a japanese artist and writer who creates sci-fi stories and watercolour paintings of elaborate scenes of characters, all of which serve to highlight the limitless human spirit which is shaped by the experiences that happen around it. She draws each of her characters uniquely in different scenarios, (some of which are seen as unrealistic or plain) to highlight how each person is different from one another. Some of her more famous works are her paintings, each of which consist of a continuous theme that challenges the idea of existentialism, adding a new level to it. 

Each of her pieces and characters are unique, telling a different story due to their different experiences. For example, Aya Takano paints various scenes such as highschool girls enjoying a train ride, a teenager enjoying her novels in her bedroom, or two girls most likely enjoying a road trip with their cat.

Furthermore, her paintings highlight how even what seems like a small event in our life can shape our entire existence and personality. 

Aya Takano is a creative individual, who lets her imagination come to life through the form of media that is water colours. Water colour is prominent in the majority of Aya Takano’s work to create bright and colourful scenes of her characters to show the joy that can come from everyday life. The bright colours of her work bring joy to the viewer, and encourage them to see the beauty from things that they think are normal.  

In conclusion, Aya Takano is an extremely talented artist who brings beauty to everyday life through her colourful and bold water-colour pieces that challenge the idea that our personalities are shaped by every choice and experience we have. She shows people how to appreciate the development of our personalities by highlighting small experiences that someone may experience through her bold art.

“Brains Spilled”

Now that I have reached the end of my ALPS project, I can say I am extremely proud of how my sculpture came out. I have highlighted some of my interests by putting them on my head as though they are ‘spilling out of my brain” which is where this piece gets its name from. Since a lot of my interests are video games, or nostalgic toys; this piece gave me an opportunity to recreate miniature versions of the characters I like. Ultimately, I feel as though this piece highlights me as a person, and what my personality looks like now using some of the above artists themes and techniques.

For example, I wanted to highlight my own personality through some of the things surrounding me similarly to how Aya Takano highlights the personality of her characters through the scenery in her paintings. Just like Aya Takano, I chose to use bold colours and shapes to highlight how my personality is bold and colourful. She really inspired me to take art less seriously, showing me that not everything needs to be perfect or dark to have a deeper meaning. 

Another artist that influenced the way I designed my face and hair was Yoshitomo Nara, as I loved the way he drew his characters eyes which look like they are accusing the viewer of a horrible deed. I also loved how he drew his character’s hair round and less defined, inspiring me to draw my afro in a large manner as it is the most vital point of my appearance. Yoshitomo Nara showed me through the design of his characters how there doesn’t always have to be lots of tiny details to make an intricate art piece with a deeper meaning. 

In conclusion, I believe that Yoshitomo Nara and Aya Takano both had a large influence on the development of my sculptural art style and my piece, “Brains Spilled” allowing me to highlight my appearance and personality in a cartoony manner effectively.