Yoshitomo Nara: Lullaby supermarket [Hardcover]

Stephan Trescher (Author), Banana Yoshimoto (Author), Yoshitomo Nara (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2001

At first sight, the childlike figures for which Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara is now famous seem altogether cute and appealing. On closer examination his creations are robust, angry and vulnerable creatures, standing up defiantly to the world of adults--self-confident, stubborn and sometimes violent. Nara's work is influenced by Japanese comic books but he is unique in the contemporary art scene for tapping into horror through the medium of the innocent child--this is particularly poignant in Japan's controlled society of rigid language and social structures, especially considering recent shockingly violent crimes in Japan involving children as the aggressors. Nara's work instills the viewer with a juxtaposition of the innocence of children and the evil nature of humanity, or the fall from grace. Like Kurt Cobain's music, Nara's Pop art, too, aims to lend expression to his generation's concerns, encouraging it to meet the constraints of high achievement. Self-determination, individuality, and freedom are themes that infuse Nara's voice that is clearly heard in Japan and America, where the dividing line between "low" and "high" culture is less stringently drawn than in Europe. In addition to Nara's signature paintings, sculptures, and drawings; (poems and diary entries by the artist); this 204-page book includes texts by the art critic Stephan Trescher and the Japanese cult author Banana Yoshimoto.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 204 pages
• Publisher: Verlag Fur Moderne Kunst Nurnberg; Bilingual edition (2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3933096596
• ISBN-13: 978-3933096593
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #935,177 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars high quality catalog raisonne of a very young artist, March 13, 2006

By 

Beatrice Izzey "Nanny Dog" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Yoshitomo Nara: Lullaby supermarket (Hardcover)

This artist is under 40 years old, yet this is an excellent catalog of his work to date. Great print quality, great color and reproductions and paper. It's not a popular press, commercial purpose book, but an academic, museum type book, hence the high quality.

I've never seen his original work live and in person, but this catalog is very satisfying, perhaps because his flat art is so purposely two dimensional.

Plus, great essays, in German and Japanese, and conveniently translated into English, too. Any page you turn to at random, there is something of interest there.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have if you likeJapanese pop-arts, February 20, 2007

By 

Fukuyama (illinois) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Yoshitomo Nara: Lullaby supermarket (Hardcover)

If you like Japanese pop arts, you got to buy this book. Lots of illustrations, very good paper/print quality.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Greatest Artists of the World, April 4, 2006

By 

K. J. Bryant "peachycream" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yoshitomo Nara: Lullaby supermarket (Hardcover)

Nara is one of my favorite artists. More than just a Japanese artist, he is actually an international artist with respect from the upper artistic class and the rebel class. He has the ability to become the Asian 21st Andy Warhol, but he appears to not want it. This collection does not do justice to his work. I mean, there is a difference from seeing his work in person and seeing it in a book. Once you have seen his work up close, you feel a haunting sense come over you. This book cannot do that because it feels so impersonal. However, the pictures here are excellent (of course), but I advise anyone to see his work in person. If you cannot, this book will have to do.