Upcoming Art Shows: Year Of The Rabbit & Year Of The Labbit
Year of the Rabbit: Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo
July 9 - October 30, 2011
For over 25 years, fans around the world have been enjoying Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo. This retrospective exhibition celebrates the work of Sakai and includes original drawings and paintings that bring to life the adventures of his samurai rabbit from 17th century feudal Japan.
Usagi Yojimbo is based on the historical figure Miyamoto Musashi and inspired by Japanese folklore, literature, and film. Heavily researched and rich in detail, Sakai’s storylines mix both humor and drama to tell adventures that include authentic Japanese history and culture in the form of a distinctly American comic book....
It is not uncommon for people to react with awe to their first up-close encounter with a balloon from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. But when Takashi Murakami saw his contributions to Thursday’s event, he bowed. Twice.
On Wednesday afternoon, on a stretch of West 81st Street in Manhattan where brightly colored, 30-foot-tall inflatable versions of his characters Kaikai and Kiki were wriggling and writhing underneath a huge net, Mr. Murakami, the Japanese pop artist, held a brief Shinto ceremony for purity and luck. He stood at a table where he ...