The art movement known as minimalism is ubiquitous today, but it only emerged to prominence about 60 years ago. Established in the United States, it initially referred to artworks comprising geometric shapes. This approach, which included painters like Frank Stella, Donald Judd, and Agnes Martin, implores the viewer to respond to “only to what is […]
Tag: Asia
Erotic Films That Expose Korea’s Dark Side
Nothing penetrates the inner workings of a society’s power structures quite so starkly as its sexual practices – and so, by exposing the relations of the genders and the shifting positions of the body politic, films that focus on the erotic can poke, prod and probe the state of a nation. Korean directors like Kim […]
Death and Fantasy: Paintings by Takato Yamamoto
Note: Contains nudity. Takato Yamamoto paints gothic scenes that resemble erotic nightmares. He calls his work “Heisei Estheticism,” drawing on the tradition of Japanese woodblock prints and infusing them with images (often violent and sexualized) inspired by modern manga. Recurring motifs include sullen-faced women bound in ropes, rotting corpses festooned with vines, and bloodied vampires […]
Japan-Based Tattooer Gakkin Creates Beautiful Body Suits
Once dreaming of becoming a fashion designer, Gakkin simply got bored of fashion school and preferred hanging out at local tattoo shops. Fast forward almost two decades later, he is revered in the international tattoo scene for his freehand color and black works. The latter being the focus of this feature and showing us he’s […]
8 Strangely Fascinating and Innovative Fashion Designers
In a world that is constantly evolving scientifically and technologically, so is fashion—one of the largest, multi-billion-dollar industries. And while there is much respect found in the traditionally ancient ways of creating fashion, there are artists and designers who are breaching the mold. Whether it is heavy hitting ready-to-wear innovators Herpen, Watanabe, Yamamoto, and Miyake, […]
10 Erotic Movies From East Asia
Erotic films navigate the oceans of sexual desire, no matter whether that desire is frustrated and repressed or messily fulfilled. It is a category that spans the space between explicitness and restraint, between romance and pornography. Here are ten films from countries of the East Asian region—chiefly Japan, but also Hong Kong, South Korea and […]
Cool Lego Creations by Kosmas Santosa
Having visited a toy museum not too long ago, I realize that the first Lego toys were actually made out of wood. And it makes sense as they were created in 1932 at a Danish carpentry workshop. Plastic became available in Denmark later in time, and since Lego’s purchase of a plastic injection molding machine […]
Hyperreal Angel Sculpture Shocks Beijing
This extremely realistic sculpture by the artist pair Sun Yuan and Peng Yu has resurfaced and is causing a stir amongst the inhabitants of Beijing. You can see why, as their depiction of the heavenly creatures is not as ethereal and wholesome as we are used to. Is it a visual metaphor for our troubled […]
The Exuberant Cinematography of Zhang Yimou
Seen by many as one of the giants of Chinese cinema and included within the 5th Generation of filmmakers, Zhang Yimou is revered the world over for his highly distinct style. Starting his career as a bit of a rebel who made independent films that enraged the ruling Communist Party, he wisely realised that if you […]
Censored Pictures by Chinese Artist Ren Hang
Note: Contains nudity. Just like Robert Mapplethorpe and Terry Richardson, Ren Hang is not afraid to photograph vaginas, erected penises and other body parts that naturally form the human body. People are born into this world naked and that’s exactly how they’ll be captured in his snapshots. He doesn’t pre-plan any of the scenes prior […]