10/12/2006

Tomoo Gokita

48 comments:

Painter said...

Tomoo Gokita @
ATM gallery
619 b west 27th street
new york, ny 10001

SisterRye said...

fuckin' beautiful

zipthwung said...

I don't understand slacker balloon animal lighning bolt.

Looks like a good way to relax after drawing Mr. t in the style of a Metropolitan museum street vendor. Andrew Kreps look out, ATM is assimilating.

zipthwung said...

But Im a huge fan of waterfalls now, and I love grissaille painting.

Sven said...

I thought this was a good show as well..Gokita seems to be one of the few beautiful loser type artists to break free from the overly stylized mold popular amongst that set. Gokita's old stuff was kinda predictable fecal face type drawing but this show seemed full of introspection.

zipthwung said...

I dont know what I hate worse, the faux spirituality/intellectualism of the abstracted, the faux rebellion of street art, or the faux immersion of (digital) art.


m dohty likes neckface

zipthwung said...

Because of their lack of artistic imagination, the pictures of patients are generally clearer and simpler, and therefore easier to understand, than those of modern artists.

-Carl Jung

Slacker Tanguey by way of anime.

Sven said...

i buy the slacker Tanguey but i dont see anime

Sven said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
youth--less said...

Interesting that you connect with the beautiful losers. I'd like to know more about Japanese slackers, or anything this work comes out of, if anyone's got the time.

zipthwung said...

not anime I guess - but what you might call the guston affect - the cartooniness.

Closeups jpg pints to the influence of collage/media in general.

DO I see a cherry blossom branch?

apropos of nothing

caroon - the catlike eyes of nara, the haunted eyes of guston, the wild eyes of Picasso. THe generic WASP eyes of Lichtensteins soap opera cartoon appropriations.

Aye.

Sven said...

tomoo did or does skate/surf grafix etc
http://www.mambo.com.au/ much more boring than this though

Martin said...

Japanese slackers are called "furita"...

zipthwung said...

That looks like a Deitch project, probably because Deitch markets "street"

this owes collage but its not as conservative or refined - not high - so I guess its carnivalesque(see bakhtin).

Warhol went from graphic design to art back to design, without gettign the bends. I think its because he had a space suit.

Does this qualify as Manny Farber's Termite art as mentioned by JS?

Can we divide art into WHite Elephant international style and ephemeral D.I.Y. termite art? If so, is it usefull to do so? Or is it jsut another way of not working?

Why work?

zipthwung said...

Carnival of capitulation.

zipthwung said...

Right Livelihood vs survival.

youth--less said...

I linked to Yokoo because of the graphic design/commercial art aspect, the slacker lineage, the pop stuff. And the legs in this Gokita reminded me of this which I should have linked to in the 1st place.

Sven said...

what was that?

youth--less said...

a poster by tadanori yokoo

Max said...

I really like these paintings. They are fresh and refined without being overworked. Exploratory and sweeeet! I've enjoyed every show I've been to at ATM recently, ku-doze!

zipthwung said...

i like the stuff closeup is posting buit Im tired of the slacker thing allready. I know Tomoo can do other stuff so Im guessing its sort of either:

a) an attempt to fit into the art market and escape his g-d livlihood.

or b) displaying a virtuoso ability to change styles like mark kostabi.

or c) lots of pot.

Animated extrudes are awesome.

zipthwung said...

Theres lots of this stuff at kreps. I dont get it, and Im not afraid to say so. I like david Shrigley some of the time, and im even into the jim Lambie some of the time, but so when does the army invade or has it allready? And whats the overall point? Or is there one? Seems like there could be a little more product differentiation - but thats not the point of being a slacker is it?

So then theres the whole market thing, being privileged, thumbing ones nose, prodigal son, ad nauseum.

zipthwung said...

When is the high times hard times show coming to ny?

youth--less said...

I'm just interested in how this expresses the ethos of the japanese slacker. This style looks outside of any japanese aesthetic im used to including superflat. Again, like with th Kilimnik, does a lot of the meaning emanate from the use of style?

youth--less said...

The exhibition debuts at the Weatherspoon Art Museum at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, North Carolina on August 6, continuing through October 15, 2006. It then travels through August 2008 and will also be hosted by the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center in Washington, D.C. (November 21, 2006 – January 21, 2007) and the National Academy Museum in New York City (February 13 – April 22, 2007).

zipthwung said...

i dont think its japanese at all really, Im wondering if its a backhanded assimilation dealio. Welcome to Chelseqa sort of thing. I mean anyone can imitate, but who or what makes you the artist you are.

This sort of work is inherently ephemeral, rooted more in the social sphere than the esthetic. You could make a case that its meeting the zeitgeist of the worried well, but I dont think it adresses anything I care about that hasnt been hashed over ad nauseum.
\
I looked tat the graphic work online and its fine - you know, hey, i dont hate paprerrad for making MTV stuff - its fueled a coffee table book, for one.

But this has the same problem as paperrad - they could be a lot trippier - or they could be more self reflexive. It just sits in the middle mean - which is the essence of slack. Fence sitting.

youth--less said...

I liked the work on the ATM site.

BTW we are watching TNA Impact wrestling right now. Ouch!

jpegCritic said...

Can they fit in my pocket?

Anonymous said...

Don't get too heated up or too discouraged, some boyish and girlish Japanese artist's images are full of 'double entendre' and 'innuendo', much else, by any means, not a political tool, instead, for this culture, a revolutionary self-serving device, usually allocated to the few. Remember, the individual, in Japanese society, generally treats (rewards) those who excel within the parameters and short term goals, or for those 'very few' who, 'tactically', through connection, expand business or political tune.
Tomoo is just having fun, totally excited about the idea that a 'singular'. an individual, can do what they like, and what they like (populous), is, for the moment, enjoyed, rewarded for what 'they do'. Most of it looks good, right? Sometimes he draws a little too heavy on art-school training--looks to be an increasing danger--however, would anyone out there know what Japanese art training was about--?!

Generally Japanese painting is typified by a lightness, skillfulness, and wellness, even within a perceived sickness, as mentioned before.

I tend to go for a more hard core post acceptance flavor, let it be known. But I'm pretty easy going too!


Funny phrases, sorry--necessary! I discourage new modern gospel!

youth--less said...

thanks ttg and all. Sometimes slack is about loosening inhibitions, especially for the young, time to find techniques to question your given context

always the question--do what works or try something new. find out-you better do both--all the time

zipthwung said...

I dont read. I like them better today.

Things I know about Japan:

1) Some Japanese people admire large breasts.

2) Ikebana, the art of flower aranging, is taught in art school as a serious discipline.

3) Many homes were destroyed by U.S. firebombing in world war II.

4) They feed pigeons.

5) If you drink a lot you are considered "strong".

6) They sell womens underwear in vending machines, but not on every corner.

kelli said...

One last comliment to Bill from ATM. Open and gregarious-He goes out of his way to find talented artists and his roster is balanced in a number of ways. Can always be counted on for unusual and good shows.

youth--less said...

I never read the NYT. Thats probably obvious. OK sometimes the Magazine, when its in the lunchroom.

zipthwung said...

I dont understand people who dont consider this painting "slack" maybe I dont understand and slack has undergone some language drift.

ALso, is this painting "avant guard"?

zipthwung said...

Read art and kitch and pay attention to the quotes where it says there is nothig new under the sun and then tell me, in that context, that this is new. Then tell me how old you are and what kind of ice cream you like.

zipthwung said...

That saidm Id rather be on the side of this than the other side, which is oohing and aweing dale chihuly somewhere.

jeff said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
jeff said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
jeff said...

Things I know about Japan:

1:You can set your watch by the subway train schedule.

2:They have rotating sushi bars!

3:The supermarkets are fantastic.
The sections on octopus's are amazing.

4:Even the nasty people are more polite than anyone I know here.

5:They have resturants that are only dedicated to tofu.

6:There is a lot of homeless in Tokyo.

7:okonomiyaki(savory pancakes) is better in Hiroshima than in Tokyo.

8:Hiroshima is a great city to visit if you go to Japan.

9:Taxis are REAL expensive, and they all wear uniforms with white gloves.

10:you can buy beer in vending machines!

11: Japanese TV is out to lunch.
There pop music is real bad.

SisterBee said...

Wow. This image is fascinating to me. I see a balloon hotdog dog on a magic carpet floating above a razor-faced duck woman. Keeps me coming back for more.

zipthwung said...

:They have rotating sushi bars!
Indeed. I love ordering curry by ticket. Jpop is cool when you are sitting in the equivalent of union square and the aspirting J-pop star is playing live.

Still how does this affect the hegemony?

zipthwung said...

aLSO - the homeles people seemed clean and tidy.

Martin said...

oh yes, they are (mostly) so clean... and amazingly they never ever panhandle. so weird. ueno park is FULL of homeless campers.

jeff said...

Nojuku - people sleeping in the open air - is one of the most conspicuous hangovers of Japan's burst bubble economy. The fabled salarymen of postwar Japan have, in contemporary parlance, been "cut loose," and along with their jobs has gone their livelihood. While official estimates vary, the current rate of homelessness is almost twice as high as five years ago, and anyone who has lived long in the city will have noticed emergent colonies of blue tarp tents spreading across Tokyo's parks and train stations. With unemployment at an all-time high, an aging population and few government measures to tackle the problem, the numbers will continue to spiral. According to figures released by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government last March, 70 percent of homeless people in Tokyo are able-bodied, and often skilled, men who lost their jobs through corporate restructuring and a decline in the day-laborer market. Eighty percent of homeless people want to find work.

excerpt from this article:
http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyofeaturestories/386/tokyofeaturestoriesinc.htm

kelli said...

Painterdog that is really amazing. Of all the things you listed this really surprises me. Especially scary because so many people in this country have recently initiated variable mortgages and borrowed against their homes.

jeff said...

Yeah it could look real interesting in few years.

zipthwung said...

bubble economy

SisterRye said...

I hadn't read the article yet.