A vividly colorful survey of Tokyo Pop in contemporary Japanese art.

At first sight it is brand-new pure Tokyo Pop. But the publication The Japanese Experience - Inevitable shows far more than the successful cloning of morphed Manga motives with extensive painting, emphasizing two-dimensionality. It represents eight positions of contemporary Japanese art and scrutinizes their complex visual vocabulary. In proceeding this way, references to Japanese and western art traditions perceptible in the paintings, watercolors, drawings, sculptures, and videos shown here stand out just as acquisitions of mass culture motives would, from the realms of Manga (comic) or Animé (animated film), for instance. But it's not only the visual repertoire which is new and surprising, but also the artistic methods and strategies, which are being used by the artists in order to conquer medial picture worlds and/or a public, untouched, to a large extent, by contemporary art so far. Already with the juxtaposition of - with almost three by six meters space-filling paintings like Magic Ball - Positive and Magic Ball - Negative by Takashi Murakami with videos, T-shirts, soft-toys, skateboards, and other Japanese artist-made "Merchandising Products" virtually available in the Web, it becomes clear that the deterritorialization of pictures has long since reached a new quality.

The artists:

Jun Hasegawa, Masahiko Kuwahara, Mr. (Masakatu Iwamoto), Shintaro Miyake, Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, Hiroshi Sugito, Aya Takano

Exhibition schedule: Museum der Moderne - Rupertinum, Salzburg, December 19, 2003 - March 14, 2004