Fritz the Cat

Released in the 70's, Fritz the Cat was one of the only cartoons to receive an X-rating. It was based on a controversial comic by Robert Crumb, then later adapted to a screenplay by Ralph Bakshi. Bakshi later went on to write and direct many more animated films that weren't as raunchy like the 1978 Lord of the Rings, Wizards, and Cool World.

It's a pretty accurate movie of college life in some respects. The dialogue feels real, and the characters are pretty likable. Though some say it's too dated, the characters, the commentary on drugs, phonies, and cops is still entirely valid. Fritz the Cat was groundbreaking for its ability to show people that cartoons don't have to be just for kids.

It's also not a movie that is, as many say, cartoon pornography. The amount of sex feels pretty realistic to me, not overboard, and they aren't lame romantic sex scenes that do nothing for the movie, but they're often dark and hilarious. It's doubtful that this film would even be rated X by today's standards. The nudity is pretty poorly drawn, the "drug" use is just smoking weed (although there is a neo-nazi who shoots up), and the loose morals of the film are contestable since it mocks of everything it depicts.

 Fritz the Cat is a great film that can reflect on the counterculture of anytime, not just the 70's. 

Anamanaguchi - Dawn Horizons

Luigi Serafini and Codex Seraphinianus

A surreal book by Luigi Serafini that presents itself as an anthropological study of an imaginary land in a made-up language.

It came out in the 1970's, but there have been several reprintings. Unfortunately, it's still too extravagantly priced ($500+).

There are no translations of this made-up language, although it does follow a specific pattern. Serafini never commented on whether the language was intelligible. Some people think they can translate it, but they're probably full of shit.

The flowery writing style draws a lot of comparisons to a never-translated text "The Voynich Manuscript"

A page from The Voynich Manuscript

To me, it seems like the same idea, but what do I know?

More from the Codex:

and a gif:

Coincidence?

Recent Drawings/Paintings

Studio Ghibli Crest

A Gang of Ghosts

Tokyo Tower

from the series

"The Atomic Bomb Visits Japan"

Sketch

Sun-bathing Haniwa

Calligraphy Hour

Person "Jin"

Moon "Tsuki"

Heart "Kokoro"

...

...

Calligraphy's all about the process and letting the process be seen in the product. This is why abstract characters and scratchy dry brushing are so valuable - they allow the viewer to understand the emotions of the creator. Before painting, the ink must be ground into the stone for about an hour. This relaxes the calligrapher. All strokes are final. You can't redefine a brush stroke or try to improve it, you can only start over again.

Calligraphy has gained a lot of following as a performance art with calligraphers using massive brushes that take many people to hold, etc.

A short video of a skilled calligrapher.

Murakami Takashi

Best known in America for doing the cover art for Kanye's Graduation and his Louis Vuitton installation, Murakami has an extensive body of art and is the pioneer of the supposed "Superflat"

Milk

he "Superflat" concept is an attempt to form marketable characters and cute figures that could potentially appear as cell phone charms, toys, figurines, and comics a la Andy Warhol or another of those pop artists selling low culture as high art. In Murakami's case, this attempt is wholly unsuccessful. The otaku culture, though widespread, is still something despicable to the art set, since anime and manga, though it requires drawing skill, is highly stylized, and not viewed as art. 

A woman transforms into a jet

On the same token, otaku don't view Murakami's art as something they can relate to either. It lacks the moe that inspires such strong desire and adoration. Murakami's art isn't a negative criticism of the otaku culture; I actually find it to be one that embraces it and wants to raise it to lofty new heights, but because he seeks to take it somewhere else, he can't be a part of it. His figurines are original, but they are too mannequin-esque. They don't have the flaws that creates the endearing sensation that is "moe". They borrow heavily from anime and manga without giving anything back.

My Lonesome Cowboy

I personally like Murakami's figurine/statue series. I am not as interested in the paintings, which are for the most part bland and uninteresting. However, even the figurines don't stimulate the imagination to fill in the back story for them. And that is the problem. I like the commentary on the overly sexual nature of otaku culture, somewhere between ecchi and hentai, at the border of art.

Murakami would be much more sale-able if he just embraced the moe database and worked harder on creating characters that inspired some interest instead of something slightly shocking but overall forgettable.