Nothing to see here. Move along.

The last couple of days have been kind of an odd.

I stayed up extremely late (like 5 AM) last night because I had more of my unnamed friends decided that they had to escape from my head at that particular moment.

Pushy buggers.

(They haven’t been photographed yet. My little revenge. *cue mad scientist laughter*)

Therefore, productive =/=me today.

So sue me.

Also, yesterday, I did some updating of the images section of the blog. It’s not remotely done yet, but there are a few things with connected concept. Always a bonus.

But! I would like to share with y’all today one of my favorite artists of all time: Aya Kato. <–Why, yes, that is a Facebook page. \o/

Aya is a Japanese artist–arguably a superflat artist, but not because of the critical looking at consumerism or at sexual fetishism (although, some of her pieces definitely seem to have a fetishistic element to them). I would consider Aya a superflat artist due to the way that she literally flattens surfaces to create depth and shallowness at the same time while combining traditional Japanese art (remember, manga has been around in Japan since the Edo period, and all Japanese superflat art inherently will connect back to that historical moment whether it wants to or not) with modern technology. Darling (2001) writes in “Plumbing the depths of superflatness” that

“Yet in spite of its almost self-deprecating etymology, “Superflat” is far from unnuanced or superficial and has cracked open the discourse about contemporary Japanese culture and society. Its reverberations are now starting to be felt in Western cultural circles. Like a Japanese transformer toy, it has the capacity to move and bend to engage a wide range of issues: from proposing formal historical connections between classic Japanese art and the anime cartoons of today to a Pop Art-like cross-contamination of high and low to a social critique of contemporary mores and motivations. As such, “Superflat” requires exami nation from a number of different angles in order to be fully appreciated and understood, and the best place to start is with Murakami himself.”

If we look at Aya’s art, cultural contamination is everywhere from the meta-narrative ofher fairytale pieces to the highly conceptual constructions of her cityscapes. The longing for childhood combats with sexual knowledge. The traditional (and not-so-traditional) East confronts the West.

And, it’s all wrapped up in a candy colored awesomeness.

I think the only complaint I have is that, because she is so prolific, Aya culls some of the work from her online portfolio, and my favorite piece–Uma: Puss in Boots–was taked down. But! I am a bad and stalkery internet denizen, and I have a copy of it from when it was still up. <–I am very, very bad.