It's sooooo cuuutteee!
I decided to pick a random picture that I normally wouldn't consider to be cute... well I think most things are cute actually... well it's a bentou, a simple lunchbox and the rice balls have faces on them! so cute! Normally (obviously) rice balls are not cute and have no personality or expression, but once you draw a little face on them... adorableness... You want to just eat them up! (literally) I do believe it is possible to make anything appealing and cute, whilte still having a purpose of some kind. Who wants to be boring and eat something plain? Not this person!
So I am very intrigued by this picture for many different reasons. When I first saw it my first reaction was (surprisingly) かわいい！ After pausing for a moment and really taking a look at this picture, I thought why the hell would I think that? This picture is crazy! I think the capture of big eyes and some crazed smile with big ears instantly caught my cute radar. I think my ADD radar also is pleased by the mixture of colors. Murakami is certainly taking the cute and scary contrast and playing with it a lot in this picture. There are many creatures that have big eyes and big mouths that are cute, but his use of colors almost makes it seem like a creature on crack. Really staring at this picture, the eyes are like piercing into my soul and either sending subliminal messages or eating my happiness away… or both?
I do believe I have more to write, but let’s see if the blog posts this time!
Well, the lunchbox is certainly interesting. It looks like it would be meant for a child, like a lunch meant to be appealing to a fussy eater.I guess I take a different view of "purpose". If someone were truly hungry, I don't think that presentation of the food would matter so much. Artistry in food strikes me as a luxury (not that I don't do it myself when cooking).
ReplyDeleteAs for Murakami's image, the character's expression definitely looks crazed. The two main eyes manage to overpower other details, even when magnified. When I did look at a bigger version, I noticed there were some jellyfish eyes among the shapes and colors. I wonder what this motif means to Murakami? These eyes are becoming something I habitually look for in his work. They are always watching.
The lunchbox is great. I share the idea it might be meant for a child. I love the special attention to some details. I reminds me of some sushi bars where you can get those weird rolls : caterpillars, dragons, etc .
ReplyDeleteI do feel like the cute is something meaningful even in food. I would rather eat something well made or cute which attracts me than some good food which doesn't seem that well prepared.
I feel like the character seems kind of high because of the spirals in his eyes. The explosion of colors is overwhelming and I don't really know where to look even after a few spent minutes in front of the picture.