Frankly, I am most impressed that Mr. Allen thought to collect the work of Kenji Yanobe. He shows amazing foresight in doing so, for Yanobe's works are only going to increase in value in years to come. Lowbrow is definitely part of the collecting wave of the future, but Kenji Yanobe is some entirely different cutting edge to that movement.
Yanobe was born only two decades after his nation was twice devastated by atomic bombs and, as with much of Japanese anime and manga, post-apocalyptic themes play a major role in his work. Time and again one notices his use of constructions (often from "found" objects): giant - friendly - robots, anti-radiation suits for humans and dogs, Geiger counters and Godzilla suits designed for optimum crushing capabilities. The words are: 3-D, sheltering, heroic and otaku. (This is the self-describing word utilized by Japanese fanboys and -girls obsessed with anime. If you cannot relate to anime, just think of the person you know who can relate every single baseball statistic from 1919 to the present. He'd be the baseball version of otaku.)
Here we see two of his fabricated "atomic space suits," replete with unexplained horns. The red tint may indicate the surface of Mars, or perhaps it's just a bit of fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Minus any other clues, only one thing is 100% evident. It's a long, hard slog up that sand dune - even without the additional weight of the suit.
This painting is paired with Paul Gauguin's Maternité [II] (1899) in the exhibition Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein. Points to ponder: both depict "otherworldly" figures placed without a fixed horizon, and we've no clear idea of that which either is meant to depict.
About the Exhibition:
"Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein" is on view from April 8 through September 24, 2006 at the Experience Music Project, 325 5th Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109 (on the Seattle Center Campus; Telephone 206.367.5483 or 1.877.367.5483). The EMP is open Monday through Thursday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Friday through Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Extended summer hours (effective Memorial Day weekend until Labor Day weekend) are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM every day. "Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein" is a ticketed exhibition. Information on pricing and online purchasing of tickets is available here.
Yanobe was born only two decades after his nation was twice devastated by atomic bombs and, as with much of Japanese anime and manga, post-apocalyptic themes play a major role in his work. Time and again one notices his use of constructions (often from "found" objects): giant - friendly - robots, anti-radiation suits for humans and dogs, Geiger counters and Godzilla suits designed for optimum crushing capabilities. The words are: 3-D, sheltering, heroic and otaku. (This is the self-describing word utilized by Japanese fanboys and -girls obsessed with anime. If you cannot relate to anime, just think of the person you know who can relate every single baseball statistic from 1919 to the present. He'd be the baseball version of otaku.)
Here we see two of his fabricated "atomic space suits," replete with unexplained horns. The red tint may indicate the surface of Mars, or perhaps it's just a bit of fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Minus any other clues, only one thing is 100% evident. It's a long, hard slog up that sand dune - even without the additional weight of the suit.
This painting is paired with Paul Gauguin's Maternité [II] (1899) in the exhibition Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein. Points to ponder: both depict "otherworldly" figures placed without a fixed horizon, and we've no clear idea of that which either is meant to depict.
About the Exhibition:
"Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein" is on view from April 8 through September 24, 2006 at the Experience Music Project, 325 5th Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109 (on the Seattle Center Campus; Telephone 206.367.5483 or 1.877.367.5483). The EMP is open Monday through Thursday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Friday through Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Extended summer hours (effective Memorial Day weekend until Labor Day weekend) are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM every day. "Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein" is a ticketed exhibition. Information on pricing and online purchasing of tickets is available here.