In recent years, the art world has seen a growing emphasis on "fusion" across various genres and eras. Especially at the intersection where "Pop" and "Classical," two seemingly diametrically opposed realms, meet, innovative and original expressions are born.
Pop Art is an art movement that emerged in the 1950s in Britain and America, taking everyday mass culture as its subject. On the other hand, the classical refers to works and ideas that have stood the test of time and are deemed worthy of being passed down to future generations. By combining these two, we can build a bridge between the past and present, “elite” culture and mass culture.
The fusion of Pop and Classical is not merely about putting different elements together; it's about creating new value while respecting the characteristics of each. This is possible not only in art but also across fields such as design, fashion, and music. For instance, performing "Smoke on the Water" with traditional Japanese instruments and singers (you can watch the video here) or artwork featuring surfing on Hokusai's great wave, creativity that transcends existing frameworks is sought after.
Such approaches promote diversity and inclusivity, bringing together people from different backgrounds. Through dialogues that transcend cultures and eras, new perspectives and interpretations emerge, expanding the possibilities of art.
Now, I would like to introduce an example of how I have explored this theme. It is a piece that combines a pop culture icon, a sketch of Darth Vader, with an excerpt from the classical Buddhist text "Tannishō." (13th century)
Through this piece, I have connected two different worlds. On one side, there is the compelling strength of pop culture that captivates audiences worldwide, and on the other, the depth of classical literature that resonates through time. The image of Darth Vader symbolizes the conflicts and dynamism we often experience in ourselves: No one is always pure evil (except Palpatine?), there is always some good inside; and vice-versa. Meanwhile, the excerpt from "Tannishō" presents profound teachings that go beyond the duality of good and evil, self-power and other-power.
I had fun with this artwork. On the left, it looks like hiragana style of calligraphy, but in fact it is French : "Je suis méchant" (I am a bad boy). The calligraphy on the right side reads "Sei-ja" which is in Japanese a dynamic relationship between good and bad, which characterizes Vader / Anakin in the series. Behind "Je suis méchant" in small characters, is the excerpt from Tannishō. This is long so I will put the translation bellow.
With this artwork, I wanted to explore how different times, cultures, and philosophies converse and influence each other. At the crossroads where Pop and Classical, modern and past, West and East intersect, moments arise where new meanings and understandings are born. That is the message I wanted to convey through this work.
(The artwork is available here.)
About Tannisho:
The contents of Tannishō is a bit obscure and hard to understand. I wouldn’t dare trying to translate it myself, but I found an English translation online. I am not sure how accurate it is, but it seems ok :-)
Translation:
Even a good person attains birth in the Pure Land, so it goes without saying that an evil person will. Though it is so, people commonly say, “Even an evil person attains birth, so it goes without saying that a good person will.” This statement may seem well-founded at first, but it runs counter to the intent of the Primal Vow, which is Other Power. This is because people who rely on doing good through their self-power fail to entrust themselves wholeheartedly to Other Power and therefore are not in accord with Amida’s Primal Vow, but when they overturn the mind of self-power and entrust themselves to Other Power, they will attain birth in the true and real fulfilled land. It is impossible for us, who are possessed by blind passions, to free ourselves from birth-and-death through any practice whatever. Sorrowing at this, Amida made the Vow, the essential intent of which is the evil person’s attainment of Buddhahood. Hence, evil persons who entrust themselves to Other Power are precisely the ones who possess the true cause of birth. Accordingly he said, “Even the good person is born in the Pure Land, so without question is the person who is evil.”
It appears that disputes have arisen among followers of the sole practice of nembutsu, who argue that “these are my disciples” or “those are someone else’s disciples.” This is utterly senseless. For myself, I do not have even a single disciple. For if I brought people to say the nembutsu through my own efforts, then they might be my disciples. But it is indeed preposterous to call persons “my disciples” when they say the nembutsu having received the working of Amida. We come together when conditions bring us to meet and part when conditions separate us. In spite of this, some assert that those who say the nembutsu having turned from one teacher to follow another cannot attain birth. This is absurd. Are they saying that they will take back the shinjin given by Amida as if it belonged to them? Such a claim should never be made. If one comes to be in accord with the spontaneous working of the Vow (jinen), one will awaken to the benevolence of the Buddha and of one’s teacher.
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