Cultura Inquieta

THE
JAPAN ISSUE
THE GREAT WAVE - TSUNAMI ART
NIPPON EROTICA
YAKUZA IN PICS
RAKUGAKI
INQUIETA
M A G A Z I N E
contemporary art ll music ll photography ll street art ll design ll erotica
01 / 2012
1
Cover illustration by Aled Lewis
2
INQUIETA
Welcome to the first issue of INQUIETA magazine.
The singular goal we have set for ourselves for INQUIETA is to take art from
its pedestal to make you think, object, laugh, and most of all, feel.
We invite you, dear reader, to review, browse, save, edit, delete, eat, spit at,
enjoy, be disgusted or titillated by this issue.
INQUIETA magazine will appear bimonthly in both Spanish and English. It is
part of CULTURA INQUIETA, the platform for music and the arts. To join the
family, participate in the discussion, or simply to see more on arts & culture
please visit us on Facebook or on our website, www.culturainquieta.com.
We love feedback! So don't be shy.
Cheers.
3
日本の刺青
(irezumi)
Hand carved and intricate, traditional
Japanese irezumi, literally "putting in
ink", have little to do with their western
counterparts. Taking months or years
to finish, they require extraordinary
endurance and technical skill.
A brief excursion into the world of
these colourful masterpieces of
storytelling and imagination.
4
5
6
胸割り
(munewari)
Munewari, or chest dividing, is the
Japanese style of leaving the centre of the torso bare. Irezumi are designed to be hidden underneath a
kimono, rendering them an intimate
piece of art revealed to only few.
手彫り
(tebori)
Tebori means literally “hand carving” and is the most painful tattoing technique. It is done with a tool
that resembles a calligraphy brush
tipped with extremely sharp needles. It is dipped into ink, and the
needles then puncture the flesh,
leaving colour under the surface of
the skin. As there is no way to correct mistakes, it takes a hand with
expertise and experience, especially
since every slip could cause injury.
7
墨
(sumi)
Ink is made from ashes of pine
branches and roots. The ash is
mixed with ‘niwaka’ to make the ink
stick. To obtain Niwaka, the collagen
and gelatin of animal skins or fish is
extracted by boiling them in water
then cool it until it solidifies. One ink
stick costs 40000 yen (400 Euros).
With it, enough ink for the day is
prepared in an inkstone. The ink is
of a Ph7 and is thus totally neutral.
8
9
10
Irezumi | The Spider Tattoo
1966, Yasuzo Masumura
A dark erotic tale, The Spider Tattoo (Irezumi) follows the descent of a
woman whose extreme beauty and ferocious nature bring her to the abyss.
Abducted and sold into a geisha house, Otsuya catches the attention
of a mysterious tattoo master who is using her body as a living canvas
for his dark art, As if under the invisible influence of its evil force, Otsuya
grows ever more wicked as she excels in the trade she has been forced
into, eventually avenging the degradation she had been suffering by
consuming the lives of the unwitting men she holds under her spell.
Left: Feminine and sensual portrait of a woman with irezumi, by Russian
photographer Kandaeva Anastasiia.
11
the great wave - tsunami art
How to capture the unconceivable? We are looking at how
a world changing event can become a matrix for creativity.
A collection about the aesthetics of a catastrophe.
12
Greg Stimac
Breathtaking juxtaposition of the ordinary and the extraordinary, two people
playing a round of table football whilst nature wreaks havoc.
13
Scott Yoell
This simple yet powerful human tsunami reminds us that the most destructive
forces come not from outside but from within the human race.
14
Kyodo News
The anatomy of disaster: Kyodo news contributed some of the most compelling
images of the aftermath of one of Japan's largest recorded earthquakes.
15
There are few images that capture chaos as beautifully as this shot of post-tsunami
16 Japan.
17
18
01
Artwork from Magnitude 9 - The Tsunami Project
cfsl.net/tsunami/
02
01
02
03
03
With her humorous illustration Everyday tsunami Sheharzad
Arshad tells the story of small catastrophes we encounter in our
everyday life.
Illustration by Bo Berry.
Illustration by Viins.
19
20
Labourot & Lerolle play with the symbolism of Astroboy to paint the mood of
an undestructable nation gone vulnerable.
21
Distaster Papercuts by Bovey Lee
Bovey Lee's intricate cutouts are a poetic prophecy of the events that
were going to bring the world to a halt just two years after their making.
Her work reads like a diary of disaster, exploring natural and nuclear crisis. What we
find praticularly impressive is how she manages to so without any sensationalism,
instead applying scrutiny and thoughtfulness to her work full of painstaking detail.
22
Details, Tsunami Enmeshed
23
Power Plant - The Sacrifice of Dawn
24
Power Plant - Pieta
Power Plant - Reclining Buddha
25
26
Atomic Jellyfish
27
落書き
r
a
k
u
-
g
a
k
i
ENCOUNTERS WITH JAPANESE STREET ART
Although it took some time for graffiti to manifest
itself in Japan,it has developed a unique style heavily
influenced by calligraphy, kanji, anime and magna.
They have a specific graphic quality, indicating
unparalleled intricateness and refined technical
skill. Most artists reference manga in their work,
be it through their motifs, their storytelling style
or their particular aesthetics.
28
29
01
30
02
03
01
02
03
L.A. boldness meets manga. Dynamic graffiti in Hiroshima by
Shizentomotel and Nanashi, via Graffiti Japan.
All too often we forget about the caducity of things. This simple
interpretation of Kanagawa's "Great Wave" adds movement to a
formerly unloved street corner.
Colourful piece by unknown artist.
31
01
02
32
03
01 02
03
Piece by unknown artist, tagged as Toy. In line with Japanese tradition,
paintings stay in two dimensions. Instead, contrasting colours and pro
portions tell the story.
A politically charged piece of street art, this shows Japanese war
planes and ships, along with a ninja warrior in the corner.
We like the juxtaposition of traditional versus modern warfare, and the
graphic beauty achieved through repetition and stark contrasts.
French artist Space Invader chose vintage game characters as motifs,
using tiles to create pixels. We love the simplicity of this nice play on
analog and digital.
33
34
Gajin Fujita
Although not strictly speaking street art, Gajin Fujita's work nevertheless made
it into this section because of its obvious references to graffiti. In his paintings,
Fujita blends a rich diversity of influences that range from traditional Japanese
ukiyo-e to manga; from American pop culture to L.A. street art. The result is
an intriguing clash of cultures - vibrant, fast, often erotic, but never without a
humorous wink.
35
Shunga meets pop art in this erotic mural by Gajin Fujita.
36
37
38
Mural by Gajin Fujita
39
40
Diorama art by Paramodel
Like giant blue roots making their way through public space, this strange and
beautiful installation is made from conventional toy rail tracks. With proximity,
more and more details like miniture mountains and trucks reveal themselves
as the many dimensions of the installation unfold. It's a surprising play on
micro and macro by Osaka based artist duo Yasuhiko Hayashi and Yusuke
Nakano aka Paramodel.
41
Tokyo, by pixel artist EBOY
42
43
yakuza in pics
44
Anton Kuster's Look Inside the Yakuza
After months of negotiations, Belgian photographer Anton
Kusters spent two years with one of Japan's most notorious
Yakuza gangs; known for their brutality, tattoos and strict
code of honor. The result is a stunning and intimate visual
account of the life inside this inaccesible subculture - from
their business meetings, bath houses, night clubs, and
even funerals.
45
Yazuka series by Anton Kusters
46
47
48
Yazuka series by Anton Kusters
49
nippon erotica
Merging traditional with its
original shunga art, contemporary
Japanese erotica are a voluptuos
play on submission and
domination, seduction, violence
and perversion.
50
Shunga by Toshio Saeki
51
52
Toshio Saeki
One of Japan’s most notorious artists, Toshio Saeki's unique and depraved
style may elicit surprise, shock or even disgust, but it never fails to leave
the viewer spellbound and hungry for more. Using traditional Japanese
techniques, he creates seductive paintings that are rich with perveted
imagination.
Saeki seeks to challenge what we find socially acceptable by taking the
unconscious out of the dark and presenting it with unafraid boldness.
53
“In the modern world, where one rarely stops to think
about the truth behind the moment, you might enjoy
it if you take a peep at my mysterious and strange
illusions. To those who frown at them, I want to
place the drawings right in front of your face and
ask if you really disapprove... How wonderful it
would be to give shape to psychological pictures
which everyone hides and holds deep within them.”
Toshio Saeki
54
55
Nobuyoshi Araki
One of the foremost contemporary photographers in Japan, Araki's work
challenges taboos and isn't afraid to confront dark and complex themes such
as sex and death. Often called a misogynist, his photography is as controversial
as captivating, but most will agree it's impossible to withdraw from the strange
beauty that emmits from his motifs.
56
57
01
58
02
01 02
Nobuyoshi Araki at work.
Beautiful use of light and shadow in this spectacular erotic shot. The
graphic quality of the image and its use of perspective to play with
proportions to tell the narrative remind us of traditional Shunga art.
59
60
01
01 Bondaged schoolgirl
02 Seductive nude
02
61
62
Namio Harukawa
Harukawa's work revolves around a
singular subject: femdom. His large
breasted, wide hipped heroines are
deliciously cruel in their disregard
for the wretched men that are drawn
to their sexual organs like flies to
honey. Just like his subjects' body
shapes, his scenes are exaggerated
to the point of absurdity, and always
spiked with a dose of sharp humor.
63
64
Jeff Faerber
When Andy Warhol said humour &
sex didn't mix, he obviously hadn't
been lucky enough to enjoy Jeff
Faerber's brilliant painting series.
Based on traditional Japanese
Shunga prints, he captures the look
of the originals but updates it with
western motifs and a good dose of
irony.
Tea for three
65
01
02
66
02
01 Shunga
02 Texting
03 Keynesian
67
YUKIO MISHIMA
(1925 - 1970)
68
nippon erotica
私 は, 生 命の詩を作りたい
I WANT TO MAKE A POEM OF MY LIFE.
69
sculpture
Odani Motohiko
Dark, poetic and immaculately
aesthetic, Motohiko's scultptures
are like specimen from another
world that were frozen in time and
then taken to the here and now for
us to observe. They seem to allow
us to catch a glimpse of their own
evolution, bringing about dreams of
bio engineering and cyborgology. In
his own words, Motohiko is looking to
"capture the concepts of movement
and transformation, dynamic and
speed in the sculpture".
The next pages portray just a fraction
of his extensive and diverse body of
work.
70
71
sculpture
01
02
72
03
73
74
04
05
01 02
03
04
05
Hollow: What rushes through every mind
Erecto (clara)
Human Lesson
Erectro (Bambi)
Berenice
75
next issue
F
O
76
FOO
OUT
IN M
ARC
H2
D
012
77
Editor
Marei Wollersberger
Director
Juan Yuste
Design
Flat Estudio
Press
Susana Zorraquino
www.culturainquieta.com
www.facebook.com/#!/culturainquieta
info@culturainquieta.com
78