MR. | True to Myself, Poyo Mix, Append

Lehmann Maupin, New York
Private Collection
Poly Auction, Hong Kong, 2 October 2017, Lot 195
Acquired from the above by the present owner

New York, Lehmann Maupin Gallery, Metamorphosis: Give Me Your Wings, September - October 2012
Daegu, Korea, Daegue Art Museum, Animamix Biennale, October 2015 - February 2016

The work is in very good condition overall. There is evidence of very light handling around the edges. Examination under ultraviolet light shows no sign of restoration. Not framed.
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When I was a teenager, I thought ‘otaku’ was something embarrassing. [Eventually] I started thinking that embarrassment could be a weapon. It is interesting to let that embarrassment [explode].

MR.


Spanning a monumental seven meters, MR.’s quadriptych True To Myself, Poyo Mix, Append presents an explosive, psychedelic and fantastical vision. A larger-than-life doe-eyed schoolgirl strikes a classic kawaii (“cutesy”) pose with a karaoke microphone: cheeks flushed, iridescent eyes sparkling, bracelets jangling and neon-pink pigtails streaming across the length of the dazzling candy-coloured tableaux, she is at once child and naïve seductress; an exemplar product of Japanese otaku subculture caught in the exuberant heights of karaoke frenzy. Woven into her flowing plaits are jubilantly hued music symbols, such as the guitar, keyboard, drums, amplifiers and musical notes, while fellow band members tumble in weightless space. Accessorized by a leather dog collar choker, our young protagonist’s idealized saccharine sweet image embodies undertones of fetishized prepubescent innocence, encapsulating the state of moe within otaku lexicon: the ultimate desire or obsession towards fictional manga and anime characters. Precisely because of the characters’ pure and unreal dispositions, moe encompasses perverse and polymorphous possibilities. With its immense scale, intricacy of composition and audacious conflation of high and low culture, manga, anime and graffiti vernaculars, the present work epitomizes the depth and complexity of MR.’s iconic and cutting-edge oeuvre.

Born in 1969 in Cupa, Japan, MR. was a former protégé of Takashi Murakami and served as an assistant to Murakami during the early stages of KaiKai KiKi studio. Adapting his name from “Mister Giants”, the superstar batter of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team, MR. began debuting works in both solo and group exhibitions starting from 1996. Associated with the Superflat movement pioneered by Murakami, MR.’s work examines high and low forms of contemporary expression by centering his visual lexicon around the otaku subculture aesthetic of manga, anime and video games. Categorised as a form of Japanese Neo Pop, MR.’s oeuvre combines a pop art aesthetic with a kitsch kawaii style as well as traces of Western street art graffiti. In his transposition of anime and manga to the canvas, MR. conflates Japanese pop aesthetic with the Western tradition of painting; in the artist’s words: “My work is about art and expression as opposed to manga and anime’s narrative-based structure. As a result, my audience feels different emotions with my take of animation on canvas. This is where the value of my work lies” (the artist cited in Arthur Bray, “MR. talks ‘Sweeet!’ Exhibition, Otaku Culture and Takashi Murakami”, Hypebeast, 22 October 2013).

Ranking amongst MR.’s most recognizable iconography is the anime image of the cute, innocent young girl, which harnesses the phenomenon of lolicon or the “Lolita Complex”. The emphasis here is on the concept or the state or affect of moe; in the artist’s words: “For me, a female student biting a piece of bread and running back to school is a very moe image. ‘Zen’ is a very calm state, while ‘moe’ is an ultimate fantasy. The existence of both of these concepts is also very important to me”. Set against a backdrop of checkers, stars and polka dots, the present quadriptych is luminously radiant with a saturated vibrancy, communicating an overwhelming sense of dream-like ecstasy that perfectly encapsulates moe. By extending moe into the realm of high art, MR. plays the role of mediator in translating otaku subculture for the Western audience, constructing an immensely relevant enquiry into the constantly evolving status of personal and social identity, high and low culture, and the nature of art itself.

Regarded as a leading artistic force in Japan today, MR.’s work embodies a blend of fantasy, apocalypse and innocence and offers a window onto the excesses and contradictions of contemporary Japanese youth culture in the aftermath of WWII and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. With narratives that draw upon themes of youth and dreams, MR.’s oeuvre invites a wider reflection on social issues and existential angst, while seamlessly blending high and low forms of contemporary expression. Mr. graduated from the Department of Fine Arts, Sokei Art School in Tokyo in 1996. Solo exhibitions of his work have been held at the Seattle Art Museum in Washington (2014) and the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon in France (2006). His work is held in numerous international public and private collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Seattle Art Museum, and Daegu Art Museum, South Korea.