Minori

Minori is a make-up artist who takes shironuri make-up to another level. Shironuri literally means "painted in white". It's a traditonal make-up technique that has been used by Kabuki artists and geishas. So what's new about her? She matches her make-up, outfit, and even the environment to a work of art. Check out her on her website. It's quite amazing.

www.uk.new.yahoo.com

More on Minori:
www.minori.co
https://www.facebook.com/minori0000

Japan Pop Art, Okazaemon

Okazaemon, is the City of Okazaki's unofficial but ever popular mascot character. Kouheita Saito, a local artist, was asked to submit an artwork for the  Okazaki Art and Jazz Festival 2012 and submitted Okazaemon. He originally created Okazaemon in a drawing. Now, in a costume, Okazaemon makes appearances on variety of events. The popular character has a Facebook with over 24,000 likes ;-)
Saito's inspiriation to create art came to him when he was in 9th grade when he saw Marcel Duchamp's "Spring".

Photo: http://okazaemon.co/link/




More on Okazaemon (in Japanese only):
http://ameblo.jp/oka-zaemon/
http://ameblo.jp/oka-zaemon/
http://okazaemon.co/
https://ja-jp.facebook.com/okazaemon
More on Kouhei Saito (in Japanese only):
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96%89%E3%81%A8%E5%85%AC%E5%B9%B3%E5%A4%AA

Japanese Art Resources 2

When visiting Japan, don't forget to visit the following art museums.

Tokugawa Art Museum http://www.tokugawa-art-museum.jp/english/
From an armor to a hair comb, the museum holds personal items of Tokugawa Ieyasu and his descendants. One of the key featured item is Tale of Genji scroll.

Nezu Museum http://www.nezu-muse.or.jp/en/index.html
With a beautiful garden, this museum holds Japanese and Chinese arts. It holds 7414 items ranging from nihonga painting, textile, porcelain, ancient articraft, and more. Ogata Kourin's "Kakitsubatazu" or "Painting of Iris", a six-panel gold leaf folding screen, is one of the must see.

Japanese Art Resources 1

Understanding the social and historical background of any artwork always help to maximize your museum visits. I recently visited the Getty Villa and joined the docent-lead tours. It helped me better understand Greek art and made the visit a great experience.

Japanese Art 101: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_art
This site provides with an overall view of what Japanese art is. It is organized chronically which helps to understand art in a social and historical context. Just like contemporary art and renaissance art are different in the western world, Japanese art are very different depending on the time the artist lived.

Kojima, Nahoko

Nahoko Kojima is a Japan-born artist based in London. She is a paper cut artist who has taken paper cutting to another level... Her work looks like a sculpture. From planning to execution, it is clear that Kojima's work requires a lot of patience and master-level skills. The combination of fluidity of the finished work and the rigidness of the process is an art itself. Definitely, Nahoko Kojima is an artist to keep an eye on.

Photo: http://www.solokojima.com/paper-cut-art/


More on Nahoko Kojima and her art:
http://www.solokojima.com/profile/
http://www.nahokokojima.com/
https://www.facebook.com/solokojima

Katsushika, Hokusai

Hokusai has become a household name for Japanese art lovers outside of Japan. He was born in 1760 and died in 1849, and it has been said that Hokusai produced 30,000 artworks, changed his name 30 times, and changed residence 93 times during his life time. Besides the well known "Great Waves off Kanagawa", he depicted many other landscapes, everyday life of commoners, ghost tales, and manga.
The art scene during the Edo period (1603-1868), the time Hokusai lived, was exciting, as the purpose of art making changed: Artists started creating arts for the public and itself, not only for the patrons. Edo period which was under the governance of the Tokugawa Clan was stable. The stability and peace in the society, with no major domestic or civil wars, allowed art and the economy to flourish. Too bad that the Edo period ended with the arrival of Perry's Black ship and that Japan had to change its course.

Photos: http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki

                         
More on Hokusai Katsushika:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokusai
http://www.katsushikahokusai.org/
More on Edo period:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo_period

Murakami, Takashi

Takashi Murakami is probably the most internationally recognized contemporary Japanese artist. His works are vivid, bubbly, and eye-catching. With a team of artists who brings Murakami's ideas into life, he merged art and business under one roof. Some criticize the mass production makes him less of an artist. However, as a matter of fact, Hokusai also had a group of artists who took place in producing the well-known prints. Each print making process involved an "expert": carving was done by a carver, and the printing was done by a printer. Like it or not like it, Murakami is certainly a successful "artrepreneur"... if there is such a word ;-)

Photo: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/04/14/buying-it


More on Takashi Murakami:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takashi_Murakami
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/04/14/buying-it
http://www.gagosian.com/artists/takashi-murakami