Japanese

An interesting correlation arises between Japanese sensibilities of art, and the theory of Literalist art explored and destested by Michael Fried in his text "Objecthood and Reductivity".  In his work, he describes certain ideas on which the work of minimalist artist Donald Judd  concentrates his work, explaining that Judd is concerned with the "whole" of the work, in a sense, the purity of a work, disconnected from references, and interrelationships that manifest within the work, perhaps out of the artists' control.  Fried later establishes in his text, that Literalist art sensibilities attempt to bring the work back to the realm of life, that its own trajectory is only whole and complete when it blends back into some kind of "normative" level.  For example, minimalist sculpture is not simply about the body of the artwork, it is interactive with the space in which it is presented, giving itself a stage and therefore drawing in themes of theater and performance instead of being a purified form lost in any time and place.  

The gravity between a work of art and its place in life or in human reality is where I believe the Japanese condition explored by Kusahara's text begins.  

In the beginning of her work, Kusahara  explains aesthetic value in Japan as being well incorporated into the living realm, meaning functionality, spacial, and not excluding adoration, which is conditioned by the person in the state of adoration.  This means that aesthetic value in Japanese culture is not independant of the viewer.  It is influenced by the viewer, and "aesthetic truth" has more variability, it changes as its viewing environment changes, as language changes, as its function changes.  The development of Japanese aesthetic value is "indirect", and this is confirmed in the text when Kusahara writes:

It is obvious that drinking a cup of green tea is not the final goal of the ceremony.

Tools that are fully functional and yet aesthetically beautiful are appreciated, while

they represent the taste or even personality of the owner.  Naturally, a playfulness

of elements is regarded favorably.  For example, tea bowls with an unexpected

design or choice of material are highly appreciated, if they function well (286)

Within this indirection of aesthetic value, this certain Japanese condition explores all of the interrelations of a work of art, or a body of artistic value, for what is it itself, and what it is in a condition of change.  Japanese art and Literalist art come together as they explore a view and complete it, and this inherently brings it back to life. 

So how does this interaction between artwork and wholeness contribute to Japan's interest in technology, and contemporary art-making? What does "kawaii" (superflat, non-depth in post-modern age) have to do with it?

THINGS FROM THE OTHERSIDE BROUGHT INTO THEIRS

The scientific, constructive condition imported from the west has been successfully adopted into the Japanese way (not to mention that certain aspects of the "whole" are already evident in systems of Western thinking, like Tautology).  

What is popularly conceived as "Japanese" is much more than "charming" or "repulsive".  I am simply going to state that the over-exaggeration of imagery in Japanese pop culture is an observation and is then demonstrated as an extension from Japanese culture to Western culture.  Anime characters are not simply Japanese imagery, they are more or less exaggerated forms of the interpretation of Westerners with a Japanese flair, similar and more playful to exaggerated images of race in the US, such as "Black face" or the flock of little yellow "Chinamen".   Of course, japanese animation has also been turned into an obsession, like many pop culture epics, such as Star Wars.  (more coming)