Yoshitomo Nara^{Michael Milano}

born 4 January 1959 --  . Nara received his B.F.A. (1985) and an M.F.A. (1987) from the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music. Between 1988 and 1993, Nara studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, in Germany. Nara has had many solo exhibitions since 1984. He is represented in New York City by Marianne Boesky Gallery and in Los Angeles by Blum & Poe currently.

Nara first came to the fore of the art world during Japan’s Pop art movement in the 1990s. The subject matter of his sculptures and paintings is deceptively simple: most works have a child drawn with simple lines with little or no background. But these children, who appear at first to be cute and even vulnerable, sometimes brandish weapons like knives and saws. Their wide eyes often hold accusatory looks that could be sleepy-eyed irritation at being awoken from a nap—or that could be undiluted expressions of hate.

Nara, however, does not see his weapon-wielding subjects as aggressors. "Look at them, they [the weapons] are so small, like toys. Do you think they could fight with those?" he says. "I don’t think so. Rather, I kind of see the children among other, bigger, bad people all around them, who are holding bigger knives

Much of Naras work has been critizied by the art world and has received a cult like following.

Similarly to one of Japans most famous pop artists,  Takahashi Murakami, The manga and anime of his 1960s childhood are both clear influences on Nara's stylized, large-eyed figures. Nara subverts these typically cute images, however, by infusing his works with horror-like imagery. This juxtaposition of human evil with the innocent child may be a reaction to Japan's rigid social conventions.

What is perhaps most interesting about Nara's work is the fact that he blends commericial goods with high art.   This raises the question if he is a designer rather than an artist.  Some examples of his commerical goods can be seen below

Because of this combination of high and low art, Nara is allowing his art to be seen b y people all over the world, rather than being limited to a gallery space,  this is why he stands out as a groundbreaking artist.