Otaku: Japan's Database Animals

Hiroki Azuma is one of the premier cultural and literary critics of Japan. Up until recently his career has been focused on the postmodern style of literature until the late 90's, when he began to apply similar theories to Japanese pop culture. Azuma has recieved plenty of criticism for his transition from literature to the otaku cultural phenomenon, but that small loss is our gain. 

This translated study, and in some ways a critique of the Otaku subculture gives English speaking audiences a rare glimpse of this emerging realm of academia of Japanese pop-subcultures. Azuma attempts to theorize and conceptualize what it is to be Otaku - why and how this has become a purely Japanese phenomenon. To Azuma the Otaku subculture is one of a sort of blind and unpredictable consumerism. From just the title one could make the assumption that this will be a strong cultural critique against Otaku, and while Azuma does indeed refer to them as "Database Animals" (His reasoning I will leave you to decipher) it is quite neutral and sometimes even positive.

I highly suggest this book for anyone interested in contemporary East Asian studies, its a simple read and you'll be left satisfied.

Miyanaga Aiko - 宮永愛子

Similar to the last post, Miyanaga Aiko just received her MA and is plowing into the international art scene. The bulk of her work consists of objects casted in Naphthalene; the same material used to create mothballs.

Naphthalene has an ethereal and temporary material. Because the medium is so fragile her sculptures begin to fade and decay within days of their installation. I chose to use a somewhat dated image from her Uncertainty of Warmth (2003) series because it depicts the transition day to day with these Naphthalene casted butterflies. Every day for three months she casted one of these butterflies - when displayed the viewer can see a narrative of the transient material, unlike her other works where only the current state is viewable.

If you would like to see more work by Miyanaga Aiko visit her official website in English or Japanese here

Cheng-Ta Yu's Ventriloquists

Cheng-Ta Yu in his series Ventriloquists questions identity and communication, managing to display both the chaotic mood as well as the humor that can be birthed from language barriers. In this series Cheng works with expats living in Taipei with little to no working knowledge of Mandarin. The artist dresses in black and stands directly behind the figurative 'puppet,' and goes through a lesson plan Cheng designed himself. Once the 'ventriloquist' says a word or phrase, the 'puppet' to the best of their ability, attempts to copy the words and tones that they just heard.

Ventriloquists-Introduction, 2008 from yuchengta on Vimeo.

Going through the small video posted on Cheng-Ta Yu's website one cannot help but be amused at the absurdity of it. Some of the expats are better than others, but it's  everyone struggles with Cheng's carefully crafted soliloquies that range in content from phoenixes to Taiwanese girls' skirts. The work is indeed comedic, but it also caries a stronger and more serious of identity and the reliance on language.

Visually, Cheng-Ta Yu allows the audience a very intimate one-on-one experience with generously spread out LCD screens complete with headphones so one can hear the audio. Each tape is complete with subtitles (another interest of Cheng's) in both Chinese and English. Cheng, Dressed in all black and tactfully standing behind the expat is ever-present. He exists as a non-entity throughout the work, and yet is using each of these people as a mere tool, or as Cheng explains in his blog, instruments. Cheng's use of humor, visuals, and innovation proves to us that this very recent M.F.A graduate will continue to create intriguing work that will spark international attention.

If you would like to learn more about Cheng-Ta Yu and his other works please visit his blog and personal website here