Friday is last chance to see Yoshitomo Nara’s work-in-progress in the Park Ave. Armory (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Ave. at 67th St.
Through Friday, August 27, free, 4:00 – 7:00
www.armoryonpark.org
www.asiasociety.org
“Home” slideshow
In preparation for “Nobody’s Fool,” his major exhibition opening at the Asia Society on September 9, Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara and his design team, YNG, are constructing a special installation this week in the cavernous Wade Thompson Drill Hall in the Park Ave. Armory. When it’s finished, “Home,” a one-story living environment, will be transferred a few blocks uptown; in the meantime, visitors are invited to get a free sneak peek at the work-in-progress every afternoon from 4:00 to 7:00 through this Friday. The fifty-one-year-old Tokyo-based Neo Pop artist is most well known for his paintings, sculptures, and drawings of wide-eyed childlike characters who are not quite as cute as they first appear, evil and danger lying not too far below the surface. Nara’s punk-rock influences are evident at the armory, where a glassed-in room holds dozens of his drawings, many of which include musical elements, from a young girl playing air guitar to a Ramones postcard. Meanwhile, music blasts as workers continue building “Home” right out in the open. Don’t look too hard for Nara himself; the shy artist has done a good job of avoiding being in the spotlight so far this week. In order to enter the hall, visitors must wear closed-toe shoes, shoulders must be covered, and yellow hard hats will be given out. Be sure to pick up a card that offers two-for-one admission to the upcoming show; in addition, Nara and curator Miwako Tezuka will be at the Asia Society on Friday night for a Q&A and discussion following a screening of Koji Sakabe’s 2007 documentary, TRAVELING WITH YOSHITOMO NARA. Tickets are also now available for such related events as an artist talk with Nara and Hideki Toyoshima on September 10, a live performance by Shonen Knife on September 25, and a screening of Lewis Rapkin’s documentary about the contemporary Japanese indie music scene, LIVE FROM TOKYO, on October 29.