Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Andy Frazer is normally an unassuming software professional down in California’s Silicon Valley. But due to a passion for photography and a series of interconnected events, he has taken up a very special cause and turned it into a project centering on Japanese-American World War II internees. Frazer, a Caucasian man, became interested in internees in 2006 after photographing San Jose’s annual Day of Remembrance event, which commemorates Roosevelt’s 1942 executive internment Order 9066. After meeting numerous internees at the Day of Remembrance, Frazer began to learn more about the wartime internment, and developed a strong interest in internees’ lives and stories both during and after the war. The result is his web-based story archive and image gallery called Kioku: Portraits of Japanese-American Internment. Employing visual style similar to that of Richard Avedon’s “In the American West”, Frazer has compiled a striking set of portraits of Japanese-American internees as they are today. But some of their faces seem to reflect how they felt as younger men and women unjustly imprisoned by their own government. At the link, you’ll be able to learn more about the project, and read in interview with Frazer. (Nichi Bei Weekly – Wartime Internee Portrait Project) And the pictures and stories in Kioku: Portraits of Japanese-American Internment can be seen and read here.
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I don’t know much about fashion, but I saw this portrait of Philip Lim on a wall and it’s especially a nice portrait. Maybe it’s the monochrome-ish look. If you get close up, the detail is actually fine and there’s a lot of James Jean-ness going on.
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She is quietly judging your diet as you consume a double cheeseburger and slurp a hopscotch concrete. This giant Asian head will leave Madison Square Park (probably best known as the location of the original Shake Shack) after August 14. The artist is Jaume Plensa of Barcelona and this nontalking head is known as Echo. From a distance, it looks as if the face (so life-like, it seems ready to open its eyes and speak) is projected onto a blank wall, but as one approaches, the marks of a sculpture become more clear. Even though the installation was just for a little while, it’s nice to know that Asians can still get a head in the city.
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In this article, graphics legend Tadanori Yokoo does talk about his switch to art. It’s amazing however that despite is long career and influence in culture, that’s he’s not more widely regarded outside of Japan. Most of his well known pieces are his graphics works, which span decades. He’s done albums, movie posters and also fine art. He’s been doing fine art since 1981, and has a following for his works there too. Although the article is also featuring his current works, it still leans towards the posters and graphics which he is still most known. It’s great to see a person switch from being at a peak in a career to something that can be looked at so critically. (Japan Times – Tadanori Yokoo)
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[youtube]8b3vpLoUkB0[/youtube] Mari Inukai is an artist living in Los Angeles. This is a short message about what she thinks about signings. It was shot during Comic Con 2011.
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