INTERVIEW WITH YOSHITOMO NARA

Yoshitomo Nara, born in 1959 in Hirosaki, Japan, is one of the best-known and most influential artists of our time. He became famous for his iconic Angry Girls - stylized girl figures with oversized heads and expressive eyes that radiate both anger and melancholy. In his works, Nara often combines childishness with a rebellious, sometimes gloomy attitude. The Yoshitomo Nara catalogue offers a deep insight into his work over four decades and shows how his visual language has developed over the years. It reveals how personal memories, cultural influences and a strong emotional depth characterize his works.

In an interview with Hatje Cantz, Nara talks about his artistic work, his influences and his stays in Germany.

Hatje Cantz: Mr Nara, congratulations on your exhibition in Baden-Baden! You studied in Germany and lived here for many years. Some of your new works also have German titles. Does this country still have a special significance for you, especially now that your works are being presented here for the first time in a major solo exhibition?

Yoshitomo Nara: I lived in Germany for twelve years. The country is a special place for me personally, but also objectively. Both the six years I spent studying here and the six years I spent here as an artist after graduating were special. Seen from Germany, Japan is in the Far East and has a completely different history, and of course everyday life looks very different. However, the economic miracle of the post-war period in both countries awakened a familiarity in me. When it comes to creating and exhibiting my work, however, things are somewhat different. My art, created by a typical Japanese who grew up under the strong influence of American culture after the war, was first recognized globally in the USA. Although my works were well received by my peers or younger friends since I was a student, I did not feel that they were understood by the general German critics and art lovers. Some days I even wondered if people might think it was some kind of vulgar art, or that I was an idiot who couldn't even speak properly. However, I am pleased that I have been given the chance to have an exhibition here, that my original works are being seen, that people can feel directly what a printed picture or a computer screen cannot convey. I am very pleased to hear that the exhibition has been well received and visited by many people of all ages and genders. Many of the works in this exhibition were created during my stay in Germany from 1988 to fall 2000, which is really very moving. I would like to ask my works what it is like to have made a huge diversion and now return to their place of birth.

HC: Your art combines a variety of cultural influences - I recognize allusions to the Japanese art tradition, mangas, but also American pop culture. How do you manage to harmonize these different worlds?

YN: I didn't realize it consciously, but in the 60s and 70s in Japan - the time when I was growing up - the loser countries focused on their economic development in order to keep up with the rest of the world. With economic development, the influx of information from all over the world, especially pop culture from the US, had a huge impact on me. I lived in the countryside, surrounded by apple orchards, but all I heard was American and British folk and rock music playing over the radio speakers. There was music in me first, then art. I believe that the foundation for my world view was laid in particular by the radio waves, which reach every place equally. In addition, the news photos and films from the Vietnam War, which were recorded by normal cameras for the first time at that time, had a greater influence on me than the satellite transmission of the US moon landing. There are also texts that point to the influence of manga and anime, which I think is true for all children of this generation. If I have a different perspective from the other kids, it comes from the news photographers who covered the Vietnam War without delay and from anti-war folk and rock music.

HC: In many of your works, we encounter the Angry Girls, who simultaneously embody childlike innocence and a rebellious, dark attitude. What drives these characters?

YN: I don't know. (laughs) If I could verbalize what drives them, I probably wouldn't paint such pictures. I think that the twelve years in Germany and the fact that I don't speak German as well as I would like and that I can't communicate my intentions to others in words have led to my pictorial expression.

HC: What does the artistic creative process mean to you? Is art for you a structured work based on clear ideas or rather a creative game that is more like a child's experimentation? 　　　

YN: It's more the latter, but perhaps it's more that the imagination in a child's feelings is expressed with a creativity that the child itself is not capable of ...

HC: In addition to exhibitions worldwide, your works are also documented in catalogues and art books. Do you see the book as a way of communicating your art in a new way?

YN: I've never seen that as a new possibility! (laughs) As the monetary value of the works increased, so did the number of wealthy people buying them as investments. At first glance, it seems as if the market indicates the value of a work for art lovers, but often the works lie dormant in the warehouses of those who have acquired them. This is a far cry from what I would like to see. I respect those who display the works in their homes or donate them to museums, but I think about how they can reach ‘other people’ who really like the works. I make a lot of art books and merchandise because I want my art to be easily accessible to young people and art lovers who like my work. Everyone is free to carry their favorite artwork in their heart through a printed image. And I hope that one day they will see the original work.

The interview with Yoshitomo Nara was conducted by László Rupp in January 2025 and translated from Japanese by Jasmin Dose.

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