You may be familiar with the iconic paintings of children and animals with large eyes that have become a cultural icon, gaining cult followings on social media. While some may have taken one glance at Japanese artist Yoshimoto Nara’s works and dismissed them as mere manga art, there’s much more to his art of seemingly innocent children than what meets the eye.
Born in Hirosaki in 1959, Nara cites music as one of his greatest influences, often known for working while listening to the likes of Bob Dylan or Neil Young. As a child, he lived near the U.S. Airforce base and grew up listening to all sorts of Western music, from folk to pop. But as he didn’t speak English, the lyrics just became a part of the music to his ears. He felt the music itself rather than interpretating the tunes based on the meaning behind the lyrics.
After studying art at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, he started collecting records, his first purchase being ‘Massachusetts’ (1967) by the Bee Gees. What he loved most about these records was their album jackets, his favourites being Joni Mitchell’s ‘Song to a Seagull’ (1968) and Luke Gibson’s ‘Another Perfect Day’ (1971). Not only did Nara’s love for album jackets lead him to provide cover art for bands such as Shonen Knife, R.E.M., and Bloodthirsty Butchers, he started painting on square canvases that resembled vinyl covers.
Music stirs up different emotions, so it comes as no surprise that emotions are the starting point for Nara’s creative process. As you might be able to see in Knife Behind Back (2000) or Fire (2009), anger is a frequent one in Nara’s works. Nara comments, “I like rebellious music, it has a destructive energy.” This anger comes from children who are angry about the tyrannical rule of adults and the brutal decisions they can make, visibly referenced in his No Nukes (1998).
In one of his more recent works Midnight Surprise (2017), Nara portrays Ramona, named after the American punk band Ramones and one of Nara’s favourite figures to paint, in what he calls a blended “colour painting”. Inspired by the works of Mark Rothko, which also come from a reflection of the spiritual, Nara says that this painting is “not about it being an image of a young girl, it’s about the many levels of paint that have built up. Those layers draw out the sensibility of each person who looks at it. I think it provokes you to have a conversation with yourself.”
Nara’s works can be seen as his self-portraits: a door into the emotions that he feels. But ultimately, his works are all our portraits, and reflect the inner child in us. Children are always cast aside and ignored, even though they have a voice that wants to be heard. Particularly through the intent gaze of the children’s eyes, Nara perfectly captures a sense of anxiety, sadness, and curiosity, all at the same time. As we look into the children’s wide eyes, their gaze reaches into the depths of our soul, and we explore our emotions and identity.
Image: Yoshimoto Nara Light My Fire 2001 via Wikimedia