Works by Kaikai Kiki Artist Chinatsu Ban

Check out these cool paintings done by Chinatsu Ban of Kaikai Kiki. They are painted over newspaper articles related to the disaster in Japan. Just as these wonderful paintings could not exist without the news and images of the disaster in Japan, compassion could not exist without suffering.

I think you will find these truly uplifting, optimistic and inspiring.

(c)Chinatsu Ban/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

(c)Chinatsu Ban/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

(c)Chinatsu Ban/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

(c)Chinatsu Ban/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

(c)Chinatsu Ban/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

(c)Chinatsu Ban/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

(c)Chinatsu Ban/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

(c)Chinatsu Ban/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

(c)Chinatsu Ban/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

(c)Chinatsu Ban/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

(c)Chinatsu Ban/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

(c)2011 Chinatsu Ban/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

(c)Chinatsu Ban/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

“Eco Eco Rangers Earth Force” by Takashi Murakami

Takashi Murakami submitted the following image to the New Day project on Twitter:

Takashi Murakami, "Eco Eco Rangers Earth Force" (c)2005 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

This image was created in 2005 for the show “Little Boy: The Arts of Japan’s Exploding Subculture,” curated by Murakami at the Japan Society in New York. It was used as a banner to advertise for the show. Below is a photograph of the banner, courtesy of MocoLoco.

Photograph of the "LIttle Boy" banner

The exhibition got its title from the code name for the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima, Japan by the United States Military at the end of World War II, resulting in a large mushroom cloud, two of which are depicted in this work. These references to radioactive fallout have again become relevant with the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. To read more about this click here.

The concept behind this piece is based on the idea of  “Rangers” or superheroes that fly around to fight the destruction of the world. While the characters are kawaii (that means cute in Japanese) and appear to be positive and friendly with their large smiles, they simply float around, accomplishing little in the way of protecting the environment from the ominous mushroom clouds. They are completely unable to alter reality, and simply wear their indifferent, empty smiles, blissfully unaware of their failure . It is up to humans like us (not ‘Rangers’) to offer our support to Japan in these turbulent times.