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Lot Essay
Yoshitomo Nara's ubiquitous angry little girl appears once again on this unique ceramic plate. Rendered deliberately in thick, black brushstrokes against a white ground, the little girl stands off-centre to the left, surrounded by a dozen or so diamond-shaped stars. She wags one index finger, pointing at one of the stars. The words "I'm ready to go anywhere, I am ready to fade away!" written in simple cursive script, line the edge of the plate and frame her. Frustrated and weary of current circumstances, she announces her desire to leave.
The words are from the song "Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan. In the song, the narrator earnestly implores the Tambourine Man to play a song for him. He does not give up, stating that he will follow him into the morning where he imagines he will "dance beneath the diamond sky" and "forget about today until tomorrow." Likewise, Nara faithfully captures the restlessness and risk-taking behaviour so inherent in youth. The little girl insists on leaving without a destination in mind, blatantly disregarding the future consequences of her actions. In reality, all she wants is to find her place and purpose in a life that is so transient and because, like the stars, she is but one in billions.
The grander poetic notions in Nara's work are offset by its unpretentiousness, just as Dylan's songs are by his voice. The sincerity in this painting is reaffirmed by its medium and size: a hand-painted ceramic plate. Nara often expressed that using his hands to knead clay was important to him because it was return to childhood and his first artistic experience. The plate is also essentially a utilitarian object, an object for the people - making the references to Bob Dylan all the more meaningful since the singer was considered the voice of his generation and wrote songs for the people.
While the little girl is determined to disappear, Nara promises that he's not sleepy and there is no place he's going to. Having produced a large and diverse body of works, Yoshitomo Nara is to Japanese art as Bob Dylan is to American music. Still very much of this present world, both have already left indelible legacies.
The words are from the song "Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan. In the song, the narrator earnestly implores the Tambourine Man to play a song for him. He does not give up, stating that he will follow him into the morning where he imagines he will "dance beneath the diamond sky" and "forget about today until tomorrow." Likewise, Nara faithfully captures the restlessness and risk-taking behaviour so inherent in youth. The little girl insists on leaving without a destination in mind, blatantly disregarding the future consequences of her actions. In reality, all she wants is to find her place and purpose in a life that is so transient and because, like the stars, she is but one in billions.
The grander poetic notions in Nara's work are offset by its unpretentiousness, just as Dylan's songs are by his voice. The sincerity in this painting is reaffirmed by its medium and size: a hand-painted ceramic plate. Nara often expressed that using his hands to knead clay was important to him because it was return to childhood and his first artistic experience. The plate is also essentially a utilitarian object, an object for the people - making the references to Bob Dylan all the more meaningful since the singer was considered the voice of his generation and wrote songs for the people.
While the little girl is determined to disappear, Nara promises that he's not sleepy and there is no place he's going to. Having produced a large and diverse body of works, Yoshitomo Nara is to Japanese art as Bob Dylan is to American music. Still very much of this present world, both have already left indelible legacies.