Superflat is a postmodern art movement founded by artist Takashi Murakami, who is influenced by manga and anime. This movement provides an “outsider” interpretation of post-war Japanese popular culture through the eyes of the otaku subculture. In addition to Murakami, artists whose works are considered superflat include Chiho Aoshima, Mahomi Kunikata, Yoshitomo Nara, and Aya Takano.
Origins and Characteristics of Superflat:
- Edo Period Influences: According to Murakami, manga, anime, and therefore superflat, have inherited the expressionist aesthetics of the Japanese Edo period (1625-1868), also known as the Tokugawa period. During this time, Japan was closed to all outside contact, and the bourgeois class dedicated to the promotion of the arts, especially wood engraving, ceramics, painting and textiles, grew.
Three basic influences of the Superflat are:
-Rinpa style: through the work of Ōgata Kōrin, this style focused on the merchant classes with elegant works of eccentric realism and an aesthetic that emphasized the two-dimensionality of the elements.
–Ukiyo-e school: It stood out for the representation of popular characters and scenes, in addition to the reproduction of caricatured kabuki theater actors.
-Work of Katsushika Hokusai: He worked the urban life of this period with humor, energy and strong strokes.
- Criticism and Exploration:
-Superflat often takes a critical look at the consumerism and sexual fetishism that prevailed after the post-war Westernization of Japanese culture.
-Some works explore otaku sexuality through grotesque or distorted imagery.
-Others focus on the Peter Pan Syndrome, the fear of maturing.
-For example, Yoshitomo Nara’s works often include graffiti on early Japanese ukiyo-e works done in a childlike manner.
-In general, Superflat embraces otaku culture and Japanese post-war culture in general.
In short, Superflat is an artistic hybrid that redefines traditional Japanese identity from modernity, speaking to Japan’s past, present and future.
Cover image courtesy: Chiho Aoishima, City Glow, 2005.
Accompanying image courtesy: Takashi Murakami, Dazzling circus: Embrace peace and darkness within thy heart, 2016.