Yellowmenace: February 2015

February 28, 2015

Worst Asian Ever: Shun Gon in The Aristocats

Shun Gon #WAE

Shun Gon is one of the alley cats band members. He plays the piano & drums & is supposed to be Chinese.

The character & way over-the-top treatment was clearly informed by Mickey Rooney's infamous portrayal of I.Y. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's

"Shanghai, Hong Kong, egg foo yung. Fortune cookie always wrong."

ART: Tadanori Yokoo (横尾忠則) - Groovy Graphics Master

Tadanori Yokoo (横尾忠則)

While I usually try to focus on contemporary Asian art it's always hep to pay tribute to some of the masters, the giants who have made waves so massive the ripples are still being felt today.

Tadanori Yokoo, born in Nishiwaki, Japan, in 1936, is one of Japan's most successful & influential graphic designers & artists. He began his career as a stage designer for avant garde theatre in Tokyo & was close friends with Ken Takakura.

Tadanori Yokoo (横尾忠則) - http://www.tadanoriyokoo.com/

HAIKU Art Review: Tadanori Yokoo

Groovy graphic style
Limitless pop collages
Optical Orgasms

Akira Kurosawa & writer Yukio Mishima are two of Yokoo's most formative influences.

ART: Hajime Sorayama (空山基) - Chrome Fetbots

Hajime Sorayama (空山基)
Web - Facebook

Japanese painter Hajime Sorayama found fame in the 80s with skillfully executed, highly fetishized airbrushed portraits of sexy female forms. His "objets de sexe" quickly found their way into American men's magazines Playboy & Penthouse, from there he went on to illustrate movie posters, album covers & other ads for various international brands. In this century, he has collaborated with fashion designers Mark Ecko & Stussy. Below is concept art commissioned by George Lucas for a Star Wars project.

Hajime Sorayama (空山基) - http://www.sorayama.net/

Worst Asian Ever: Ken Jeong

Ken Jeong (정강조) #WAE
Web - Twitter

Ok, maybe he's not THE worst, but I'm not a big fan of Dr. Kendrick Kang-Jo Jeong

I have nothing against Ken personally. I understand how difficult it is for Asian Americans to make it in Hollywood.

What disappoints me is the whiny, annoying, obnoxious, weird characters he always plays & it's because of these roles that he is one of the most successful & prominent Asian American actors of this decade.

I know people gotta pay their bills & if Ken didn't play these roles, casting would always find someone else.

The rationalization is always the same, it's a first step, foot in the door. First we play slave, pimp, mugger, ho & that paves the way for future generations to play the hero, president, cowboy.

ART: Android Jones - Asian Influences

Andrew 'Android' Jones
Web - Facebook - Twitter - Store

Andrew "Android" Jones is an American visual artist. He describes his art as Electro-mineralism, with Pop-Shamanism tendencies.

He has created live art around the world, including digital visual art projections from the Sydney Opera House in Australia to the Ghats in Varanasi in India.

He started his career with George Lucas at Industrial Light and Magic & worked as the only North American concept artist for the Japanese gaming company Nintendo

Source: Wikipedia

Android Jones - http://androidjones.com/

Year of the Ram (shirt)

HAIKU Art Review: Android Jones

Deities detail
Delightful DMT dreams
Digital dharma

"Android is classically trained in academic drawing & painting & this traditional art background is the foundation through which he bridges the knowledge of the past & brings it into the future." - Michael Schwartz

February 20, 2015

ART: Liu Bolin (刘勃麟) - The Disappearing Activist

Liu Bolin (刘勃麟)
Web - Agent - Artbook

Probably the most famous contemporary artist today, Liu Bolin (刘勃麟) has captured the world's attention with his Invisible Man photographs. His extremely clever & original selfies began as silent protests against China's ever increasing socioeconomic issues.

Since coming to the international stage he has looked beyond China to global consumerism, a Hiding In The City tour of several famous metropolises, vanishing major fashion designers & doing the cover of a Bon Jovi album.

Bolin's art has been assimilated & repurposed as a commercial novelty. Perhaps this the destiny of all art, as it eventually becomes separated from its original meaning or intent.

Liu Bolin (刘勃麟) - http://www.liubolinart.com/

HAIKU Art Review: Liu Bolin

Silent subversion
Becomes covert collusion
When your art's consumed

I don't want to sound like the hipster music fans who immediately cry, sell out when their favorite indie band finally becomes financially viable. When artists become successful, their lives change, so their messages, priorities, & influences naturally shift as well. Cash removes everything around them

As you view Bolin's images below, how do you feel about the scope of his subject matter?