Copyright © 2020SEBASTIAN MASUDA All Rights Reserved.
Costume jewelry, stuffed animals, plastic food, fake fur, and Legos. The artwork of Sebastian MASUDA, the visual artist, fashion designer and artistic director known as the pioneer of Harajuku ‘kawaii’ culture, is an explosion of trinkets and toys in every shade of the rainbow.
While the wider world often equates MASUDA-san’s candy-colored wonderland with ‘cuteness,’ there is far more to the artist’s work. To Sebastian MASUDA, ‘kawaii’ has expansive nuance, depth, and meaning in our world. The colors of ‘kawaii’ represent the power and joy of youth, serve as reflection of one’s true self and can lead one away from distress toward a vivid and fulfilling life.
MASUDA-san, in conversation with journalist and scholar Roland Kelts, will share his insight into the power of color, as well as reflect on the last decade of his work, recently encapsulated in a new book “Paint It, Colorful.”
Join JASH as we trade the grayscale of daily pandemic life for a vibrant spectrum of color.
This is a free event, with advance registration required. Registrants will receive a viewing link by email.
日本の原宿の「カワイイ」文化のパイオニアとして知られるビジュアルアーティスト、ファッションデザイナー、芸術監督である増田セバスチャン氏と、ジャーナリストで学者のローランド・ケルツ氏との対談を通じ、彼の作品の魅力に迫るオンライン講演会を開催致します。
参加費は無料です。講演会の詳細とお申し込みは、下記をご覧ください。
是非多くの皆様のお申し込みをお待ちしております。
About Sebastian MASUDA:
Born in 1970, Sebastian MASUDA started activities in the world of theater and contemporary art in the 90s. He has been working in Harajuku since 1995 and has created works across the art, fashion, and entertainment fields with a consistent and unique sense of color. Known as a leading figure in driving KAWAII culture in Japan, he also brought KAWAII culture to the world, as with Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s “PONPONPON” MV art in 2011 and the “KAWAII MONSTER CAFE” production in 2015. In 2014 he held a solo exhibition, titled “Colorful Rebellion -Seventh Nightmare-,” in New York.
As an Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Japan Cultural Envoy, MASUDA-san gave lectures, held workshops, and exhibited works in the Netherlands, South Africa, Angola, Bolivia, Brazil, and the United States in 2017. In 2020, he launched the worldwide participatory art project “TIME AFTER TIME CAPSULE.” MASUDA-san continues to create works using all experiences in the world as his materials.
Photo and Biography provided by the Sebastian Masuda Official Website
About Roland Kelts:
Picture by Nobumasa Takahashi
Author Roland Kelts is a Tokyo-based writer, journalist, scholar and authority on Japanese and Western cultures. His first book, Japanamerica, is the ultimate guide to Japan's pop culture juggernaut — required reading for many Hollywood producers, global artists and academics worldwide.
He is a primary Japan source for The New Yorker, The Guardian, The New York Times, CNN, the BBC and NHK, among others. He is also a columnist for The Japan Times and a professor at Japan's prestigious Waseda University. He has given speeches on Japan for think tanks, embassies, universities, pop culture conventions and private events in the US, Europe and Asia.
Kelts has taught at The University of Tokyo, New York University, Columbia University, Sophia University, and Harvard University. He has won several awards and fellowships, and he was a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard University in 2017.
This program is supported by the Grassroots Exchange Network Japan (GEN-J).
