Aya Takano
Encyclopedia
Aya Takano was born 1976 in Saitama
, Japan
. She is a Japanese
pop art
ist associated with the Superflat
movement.
Another early influence for her was manga writer Osamu Tezuka's science fiction, which had a lasting impact on her dreamy perception of the world. She cites in the book Drop Dead Cute by Joan Vartanian how she really believed everything she read was true till she was nineteen. Takano states even sometimes now she imagines possessing the ability to fly, uninterested in the constrictions of being grounded.
When it was time for her to start thinking about college Takano told her parents she wouldn't attend unless she was allowed to enter an art program. She received a B.A.
from Tama Art University
in Tokyo
in 2000. Soon after she became an assistant for leading Japanese Contemporary Artist Takashi Murakami
. He would become Takano's first mentor and jump start her career.
style. The Superflat movement, popularized by Murakami himself is about emphasizing the two dimensionality of figures, which is influenced by Japanses manga and anime, while dually exposing the fetishes of Japanese consumerism. Through the basic ideas of this movement he created the Kaikai Kiki
Co., a group where five out of the seven members are women.
In the 1980s the look of pre-pubescent girls became the target of consumer culture in Japanese society. This infantilization and objectification of the female was seen most heavily in Japan's otaku
, or geek culture.
Japanese female artists like Takano seek to reinvent the otaku culture through a feminine perspective. Takano in particular is interested in depicting how the future will impact the role of the female heroine in society. Her figures, often androgynous float through her alternate realities partially clothed or sometimes fully nude. Yet, Takano denies that she is trying to reveal anything specific about sex. Rather with the slim bodies, bulbous heads, and large eyes she is trying to emphasize that her figures temporary suspension from adulthood. The red paint in the crevices of the figures' elbows, knees, and shoulders is supposed to convey that they are still engaged in the growing process mentally and physically. Takano's playful and ambiguous visions of the future, especially one which revolves around the feminine serves as a way for her to create her own mythology, free from the chains of reality.
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2000
1997
2009
2008
"Kaikai Kiki Artists," Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. She is a Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
ist associated with the Superflat
Superflat
Superflat is a postmodern art movement, founded by the artist Takashi Murakami, which is influenced by manga and anime. It is also the name of a 2001 art exhibition, curated by Murakami, that toured West Hollywood, Minneapolis and Seattle....
movement.
Early Life and Influence
Takano spent her childhood rummaging through her father's library which consisted of many books on the natural sciences, but also science fiction. Ever present in her work are exotic animals and landforms combined with an urban city to show the juxtaposition between future and fantasy. Takano cited in a documentary made by the Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin that she was always fascinated by the unusual forms of nature and animal life, and desires to have such shapes represented in her work.Another early influence for her was manga writer Osamu Tezuka's science fiction, which had a lasting impact on her dreamy perception of the world. She cites in the book Drop Dead Cute by Joan Vartanian how she really believed everything she read was true till she was nineteen. Takano states even sometimes now she imagines possessing the ability to fly, uninterested in the constrictions of being grounded.
When it was time for her to start thinking about college Takano told her parents she wouldn't attend unless she was allowed to enter an art program. She received a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Tama Art University
Tama Art University
is a private university in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1935 as a spinoff from what is today Musashino Art University...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
in 2000. Soon after she became an assistant for leading Japanese Contemporary Artist Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami
is an internationally prolific contemporary Japanese artist. He works in fine arts media—such as painting and sculpture—as well as what is conventionally considered commercial media —fashion, merchandise, and animation— and is known for blurring the line between high and low art...
. He would become Takano's first mentor and jump start her career.
Development of Style
Murakami was looking to exhibit the work of young artists and wanted to help create an artistic community for like minded artists who did the SuperflatSuperflat
Superflat is a postmodern art movement, founded by the artist Takashi Murakami, which is influenced by manga and anime. It is also the name of a 2001 art exhibition, curated by Murakami, that toured West Hollywood, Minneapolis and Seattle....
style. The Superflat movement, popularized by Murakami himself is about emphasizing the two dimensionality of figures, which is influenced by Japanses manga and anime, while dually exposing the fetishes of Japanese consumerism. Through the basic ideas of this movement he created the Kaikai Kiki
Kaikai Kiki
Kaikai Kiki Co. is an artists' collective founded by the artist Takashi Murakami of Japan.Kaikai Kiki was originally founded to manage the many assistants employed to create Murakami's work. It gradually evolved into a collaborative vehicle for other like-minded artists...
Co., a group where five out of the seven members are women.
In the 1980s the look of pre-pubescent girls became the target of consumer culture in Japanese society. This infantilization and objectification of the female was seen most heavily in Japan's otaku
Otaku
is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
, or geek culture.
Japanese female artists like Takano seek to reinvent the otaku culture through a feminine perspective. Takano in particular is interested in depicting how the future will impact the role of the female heroine in society. Her figures, often androgynous float through her alternate realities partially clothed or sometimes fully nude. Yet, Takano denies that she is trying to reveal anything specific about sex. Rather with the slim bodies, bulbous heads, and large eyes she is trying to emphasize that her figures temporary suspension from adulthood. The red paint in the crevices of the figures' elbows, knees, and shoulders is supposed to convey that they are still engaged in the growing process mentally and physically. Takano's playful and ambiguous visions of the future, especially one which revolves around the feminine serves as a way for her to create her own mythology, free from the chains of reality.
Solo exhibitions
2011- SieboldHuis, Leiden, Netherlands
2010
- "Rooms of the World", Kaikai Kiki Gallery, aipei, TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
- "Aya Takano", Museum Frieder Burda, aden Baden, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- Hong Kong Art Fair, Booth Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
2009
- "Reintegrating Worlds," Skarstedt Gallery, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, NY
2008
- "Toward Eternity" Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
2007
- "Wild dogs, hawks, owls, cats, a landfill the size of 44 and a half Tokyo Domes, the stratosphere", Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Miami, USA
- "Tradition and modernity", curated by Hélène Kelmachter, Miro Foundation, BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
2006
- "Aya Takano", Musée d’Art Contemporain, LyonLyonLyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... - "City Dog", Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; Parco Gallery, Nagoya, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
2005
- Frieze Art Fair, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... - "The Far Reaches of The Universe, My Garden", Blum & Poe Gallery, Santa MonicaSanta MônicaSanta Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
, USA
2004
- "Aya Takano, a web project for Digital Gallery", Museum of Contemporary Art, Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, USA - Naoki Takizawa for Issey Miyake, 2004-5 Autumn Winter Collection, Paris, TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
(collaboration)
2003
- Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France
2002
- Space Ship EE, nanogalerie, Paris, France
2000
- "Hot Banana Fudge", NADiff, Tokyo, Japan
1997
- "SHU WA KIMASERI", shop33, Tokyo, Japan
Group exhibitions
2010- Garden of Painting Japanese Art of the 00s," The National Museum of Art, Osaka
2009
- "VRAOUM!", La Maison Rouge, Paris, France
2008
- "Quando vidas se tornam forma - Panorama da arte contemporanea brasileira e japonesa," Museu de Arte Moderna, São Paulo, Brazil; Museu Oscar Niemeyer, Curitiba, Brazil
"Kaikai Kiki Artists," Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2007
- "Kawaii! Japan now", Foundation Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain
- "The Door to Summer", Art Tower Mito, Mito, Japan
2006
- "Spank the Monkey", Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, United Kingdom
- Etoile, Xavel, Inc. (Virtual department store design)
- "Aya Takano, Chiho Aoshima, Chinatsu Ban Exhibition", Mizuho Oshiro Gallery, Kagoshima, Japan
2005
- Aoi Gallery, Osaka, Japan
- "Japan Pop", Helsinki Museum of Art, Helsinki, Finland
- "The Sensual Line", Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- "Little Boy: The Arts of Japan’s Exploding Subculture", Japan Society, New York, USA (curated by Takashi Murakami)
- MTA Subway Poster Design, Public Art Fund and Japan Society, New York, USA
- "What’s Good Conference", Hong Kong Art Centre, Hong Kong (Lecture), China
- Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France
2004
- "T-Junction", Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France
- "Fiction. Love: Ultra New Vision in Contemporary Art", Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan
- "Chiho Aoshima, Mr., Aya Takano", Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin at LFL Gallery, New York, USA
- "Tokyo Girls Bravo", Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, USA
2003
- "Girls Don’t Cry", Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- Naoki Takizawa for Issey Miyake, Tokyo (collaboration), Japan
- "Hope—The Future is in Our Hands", LaForet Harajuku, Tokyo
2002
- "The Japanese Experience – Inevitable", Das Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- "Tokyo Girls Bravo 2", NADiff, Tokyo, Japan
- "Chiho Aoshima, Aya Takano, Mr., Takashi Murakami", Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France
2001
- "Superflat", Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, USA
- Hiropon Show, White Cube Gallery, London, United Kingdom; Shinsaibashi Parco, Osaka, Japan
- Yokai Festival, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
2000
- "Superflat", Parco Gallery, Tokyo (curated by Takashi Murakami), Japan
1999
- "Tokyo Girls Bravo", NADiff, Tokyo; Parco Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
- "Hiropon Show", Parco Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
- "Hiropon 32/80", NADiff, Tokyo, Japan
1998
- "Ero Pop Christmas", NADiff, Tokyo, Japan
- "Hiropon Show", George’s, Los Angeles, USA
1997
- Hiropon Show, shop33, Tokyo; IwatayaIwatayais a Japanese department store chain in Fukuoka Prefecture and owned by , a group company of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, Ltd. Two stores are in Tenjin and Kurume .- Former stores :*Tobata*Yame*Nishijin*Hita*Kumamoto-External links:...
Z-side, Fukuoka, Japan - Hiropon Show, Manken Gallery, Kanazawa, Japan
Reference
Literature
- 2005, Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture Edited By Takashi Murakami 9780300102857
- 2005, Drop Dead Cute By Joan Vartanian 9780811847087
- 2010,Aya Takano By Jennifer Higgie 9782953279719