Aya TAKANO Documentary ~~~QUEEN of SUPERFLAT
Aya Takano
"TOWARDS ETERNITY"
English version
Documentary by Hélène SEVAUX
Runtime: 22'22"
Director, Camera, Voice : Hélène SEVAUX
Film Editing : Alexandre CIOLEK
Original Music : Juan Guillermo DUMAY
Coordination and Translation : Etsuko NAKAJIMA
© Aya Takano/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Aya Takano (タカノ綾 Takano Aya) was born 1976 in Saitama, Japan. She is a Japanese pop artist associated with the Superflat movement.
Influenced by both manga and American Science Fiction, her art typically depicts large-eyed female heroines, often partially or completely nude. Known for mostly her drawings and paintings, she usually works in ink and acrylics. Drawing has also been the base for other works such as 2004's Subterraned, a comic book like series, or in video, such as The World After 800,000,000 Years, in which small adventures usually take place.
She received a B.A. from Tama Art University in Tokyo. She is a member of Takashi Murakami's Kaikai Kiki.
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A central influence on the concept of 'Superflat' is the Japanese cartoon culture of manga where enthusiasts are lured into a magical world that is divorced from reality.
The insistent two-dimensionality of manga often results in an overall patterning of colors and shapes which provides a parallel space in which to escape from the pressures and expectations of society at large. All of the artists in 'Superflat' work between the established boundaries of their respective genres, for instance where fine art photography meets commercial photography, where painting meets illustration, or where fashion meets theatrical costuming.the 'supe'" in 'Superflat' not only emphasizes the planar qualities of much of the work, but also denotes a special, charged characteristic or attitude. With 'Superflat' Murakami suggests a broader definition of contemporary art in japan and the wide range of activity within the exhibition can be seen as a direct challenge to the traditional borders and hierarchies between cultural genre.
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It's suprising that Super Flat movement leader Takashi Murakami is often characterized as one of the most commercial artists in history, while he takes a critical look at the childish society of consumerist entertainment. If Andy Warhol used Campbell soup cans in his artistic work, Murakami is not only inspired by popular objects but he also manufactures them and sells them. In the same way that a traditional painter fills a canvas with colors, Murakami seems to fill the world with his objects. Prints, sculptures, animated videos, curated exhibitions, limited edition dolls, t-shirts, chocolates, gum, keychains, wallpaper, mobile phones, Monopoly games...or a limited edition Louis Vuitton purse. All from his own factory, Kaikai Kiki, that has 50 employees in its New York office, as well as representing five young artists.
The Superflat trend includes names like Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara (Hiroshaki, 1959) Aya Takano (Saitama, 1976), Chiho Aoshima (Tokio, 1974), Erina Matsui (Okayama, 1984), Tomoko Sawada (Kobe, 1977) y Kohei Nawa (Osaka, 1975).
The new generation of artists, connected to Superflat, born in the 1970s has a greater freedom, present in the techniques they use. Murakami & Nara continue to be the spiritual fathers of the movement that represents a Japan still searching for its identity and immersed in a pop culture connected to the world of childhood. While Aya Takano continues to be the spiritual mother of the Superflat movement.
