A piece by Yoshitomo Nara (2002 I think)

(For context this little writing came from me visiting Ob's current show at KaiKai KiKi gallery in Tokyo. It was an amazing show and I was completely in awe of her works. Please go check out her out! Link here)

What makes them come to life?

Is it the medium? Is it the fact that they are paintings?

Sort of, I think the hand made quality of these works illicits inspiration and creativity but what really matters is access. Why does doujinshi exist? (fan published original manga based off of other anime/manga) Because all of the fans have poured over the shows, can hold the manga in their hands. The characters come to life in many different ways. Anime I watch is often beautiful and inspiring and the characters feel uniquely like they are staring back with power, but how does that work in comparison with doujinishi? It’s sort of similar to seeing Takashi Murakami in person. The scale of the works confronts you with the odd sensation of these figures in the painting being real beings, they look at you and react to your position within the room. They breathe you in, gaze at your unyielding, prying gaze.

This idea of access is vital to art thriving. The more people that can get their hands on a wonderful, inspiring, magical item the more people that can make their own magic. The works by Ob, Takashi Murakami, and Yoshitomo Nara strike me with their brilliant power. Their figures radiate life, looking back at you incessantly. They question your sense of reality as you think you know how art works, how they sit here for years, just wait till the lights turn off and you fall asleep. They walk amongst your dreams, affecting your later experiences with other art, on and on.

Yet, what if I can’t study abroad to Japan because college is insanely expensive in the States? What if I can’t cover the 600 yen and several hour travel time to get to KaiKai KiKi gallery? What if I have never entered into the brightly lit, insanely white walled, extremely silent space of a contemporary art gallery? I think these are just a few of the things plaguing the traditional forms of making art today. These traditional forms of art like painting, sculpture, ceramics, etc are all sequestered behind the massive gates of inaccessibility. Massive discourses of fine art and art history: not to mention the insane prices these pieces of physical art, are worth all lead to people being separated from a beautiful source of inspiration for many. Because once we put these pieces of art behind these walls of knowledge, education, and money we can trick ourselves into feeling a sensation that we know and understand these pieces of art we love. Then we feel like we own them and have a “unique” relationship with them. But, ironically all this does is cause them to die. Causes them to rot in A/C all day. Causes people to stop looking at them. Causes people to only take photos of them as a checkmark for their museum trip.

Whereas works of manga and anime thrive. They encourage inspiration and creative output for millions. Look at Neocities anime and manga fan sites left and right (not to mention the one you are on currently ;). The amazing, brilliant, insanely diverse and ever shifting worlds of fan communities and fan art are a testament to the quality and effectiveness of these genres of art. However, the reason they are so successful at creating so much life and love is in large part because of how accessible they are. Manga is visually and narratively accessible. To read a manga you often do not need to understand the language the manga is in as the visual storytelling can allow for an understanding of the plot. You can buy manga or watch anime on any streaming service and at almost all bookstores. However, the real accessibility comes in the massive proliferation of piracy of both manga and anime.

This piracy has greatly enabled manga and anime to be so popular around the world as people pass over files through email, digital download, and physical storage devices. I also think the likes of these communities centered around anime and manga sharing their content happily free and for all enables the continued inspiration, magic, and love to keep going around. That is sort of what I see my site as doing, I want to combine art and my love for animanga to try to free fine art from its shackles of inaccessibility. We shall see if I make a dent, but what I do hope and feel is true is that as a community of artists we are making art and art making more accessible for all by hosting it on our personal fan websites. We situate it in love and a desire to share to all.

With love,

Aidia