The Art of Akira Zakamoto
Zakamoto, like Cassiopeia, offers his unconditional help. Children are the mirror of innocence, the purest incarnation of good, the path to follow to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and the fundamental condition for entering the Kingdom of Luca Motolese, alias Akira Zakamoto. Often the child's gaze, whose sublime imagination can fling open the doors of dreams, has been set as the antithesis of the adult world, studded with nightmares and contradictions.
Children are an inexhaustible mine of ideas, daring solutions, unexpected conclusions, and Zakamoto shows himself well aware of this richness and exploits it fully. His existential and pictorial trust seems placed in their chubby faces with eyes shining with wonder and innocence, which he first photographs and then reproduces with the brush. Compositions with adult subjects are sporadic; the canvases of the "Golden Rooms," however, depict evocative female half-busts with reclined heads, dressed in galaxy-gowns. At first the canvases were dominated by red, yellow, grey and black tones, but later the palette grew richer with rainbow tones, spread and undone in a fuller, more material impasto. In the latest works one senses that the artist is studying technique in depth: at first pure colour is laid in flat, uniform fields, then gradually dissolves into shifting mixtures and shadows of great painterly gesture.
The space of the canvas is almost solely occupied by faces and small, shrunken bodies seen from above. Usually the background is monochrome: black, sky-blue, pink, purple, red, orange, yellow and green skies, but lines converging toward a point also appear. At other times one can make out panoramas of cities, galaxies with planets, exploding asteroids, stylised little stars, flying saucers projecting beams of light, enormous numbers and phrases. American drink brands such as Coca-Cola and Schweppes, and the Miguelito puppet from the coffee-maker advert, are also recognisable. From this choice a latent critique of the consumerism and globalisation imposed by American society emerges. Another issue lies behind the pictorial project concerning "Ritalin," a sedative psychotropic drug administered by parents to children deemed hyperactive. In the series titled "Bearers of the Future" and "Creators of Worlds," faces of children full of strength and vitality appear, showing us magical games with a pleased air. In their hands a globe may appear as a ball, or a planet in the bud as a marble, or even a star-shaped magic wand through which they scrutinise us attentively. And a single breath of theirs suffices to turn light, evanescent soap bubbles into planets and stars that, with a cosmic watering can, they water with energy. Through a simple breath they can give life to their imagination without any prohibition and shape, at will, an alternative star to the now-corrupt Earth of adults. From the exasperation of the deeply anarchic, warrior part that exists in every child — even the kindest — who day after day fights tooth and nail to assert his freedom of expression, another series of works is born, called "Superoes."
The inspiration starts from the idea of the "Superman" and from the gruelling struggle against the "rules" that culture violently imposes on the young in the form of caresses and slaps. It is a silent battle, the representation of a wild unconscious in which children choose not to bow to an artificial, sugar-coated and, in their eyes, perverse reality: an act of protest against the world of "grown-ups." It is always a dream, in the end: the dream of an Elsewhere that does not exist, not so different from that island where Peter Pan takes refuge. With impetuous, warm colours, Zakamoto fights the degradation of the real and creates little superheroes who rise as saviours of the planet and fly over the cities. By enchantment, their hair becomes waves, flames and confetti. Among hinted smiles and shifting eyes also appear American comic-book superheroes such as Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Flame… and continents. The series dedicated to the "Angels," instead, foregrounds children with large heads and foreshortened bodies who fly upward and wear glasses in whose lenses the stars are reflected. Unaware of their own power, through their pure innocence they redeem us from the daily greyness, showing us a different road.
The artist can only kneel and observe the advent of the new world, watching, exhausted, the faces of the poets of the future. It is fascinating to discover how the little ones see things "from the right side and the wrong side" and possess the will to go beyond appearances without fear — indeed, the unknown is to be explored and tried! As in Gianni Rodari's tale "The Cake in the Sky," two likeable children defeat the adults' fears and enjoy a wonderful cake fallen from the sky, which everyone believed to be a flying saucer or who knows what other catastrophe. In the paintings titled "Ring a Ring o' Roses Changes the World" and "Sightings," amid dismay mixed with amusement, the child represents the future and watches the Earth detonate into a thousand fragments of light. And so change blooms: the end is nothing but the beginning of a new life; from the coloured shards, new and uncontaminated worlds will be rebuilt, far from normality understood as a rigid scheme and common behavioural model. Through the "Piped Music" project, Zakamoto entrusts the "Flag of the Future" with the message of change transmitted to him by the extraterrestrial beings who abducted him: "We are about to witness the birth of a new dimension created by love, dream, magic and madness." The banner with the sweet, far-sighted face is travelling around the world and, for three days, flies on the balconies of those who request it.
In this way the artwork comes closer to people, and through the shipping cost a request for help is funded. Zakamoto, like Cassiopeia, gives his unconditional help, wisely showing us the road to salvation through images. The children painted by the artist are like Momo, and will be the ones to teach us to savour life's small daily joys. A special turtle named Cassiopeia could "speak" — not with her voice, but by making luminous letters appear on her shell. This particular tortoise leads Momo to Master Hora, the administrator of time, to defeat the wicked Grey Gentlemen who stole people's free time by making them believe they could invest it better. "People thus begin to do everything in a hurry, rushing because they have so many things to do and finish, no longer tasting or savouring anything of their lives; they now live only to do things in the shortest possible time, with the illusion of saving time, when in reality they are WASTING all the time given to them… without thinking that time is our only true wealth. Because time is life. And life dwells in the heart." (Michael Ende, Momo, 1973) Through fantastic, imaginary symbolism, both Akira Zakamoto's canvases and the novel are a fierce critique of consumerism and the frenzy of modern life, which in its technological and productive progress completely loses sight of people's happiness and quality of life.
To look at Akira Zakamoto's paintings is like reading Michael Ende's fantastic novel; it is like looking in the mirror and discovering ourselves unable to dream; like peering through a crystal ball and glimpsing a far from promising future. Nevertheless, the hope of change is always present.
Children are an inexhaustible mine of ideas, daring solutions, unexpected conclusions, and Zakamoto shows himself well aware of this richness and exploits it fully. His existential and pictorial trust seems placed in their chubby faces with eyes shining with wonder and innocence, which he first photographs and then reproduces with the brush. Compositions with adult subjects are sporadic; the canvases of the "Golden Rooms," however, depict evocative female half-busts with reclined heads, dressed in galaxy-gowns. At first the canvases were dominated by red, yellow, grey and black tones, but later the palette grew richer with rainbow tones, spread and undone in a fuller, more material impasto. In the latest works one senses that the artist is studying technique in depth: at first pure colour is laid in flat, uniform fields, then gradually dissolves into shifting mixtures and shadows of great painterly gesture.
The space of the canvas is almost solely occupied by faces and small, shrunken bodies seen from above. Usually the background is monochrome: black, sky-blue, pink, purple, red, orange, yellow and green skies, but lines converging toward a point also appear. At other times one can make out panoramas of cities, galaxies with planets, exploding asteroids, stylised little stars, flying saucers projecting beams of light, enormous numbers and phrases. American drink brands such as Coca-Cola and Schweppes, and the Miguelito puppet from the coffee-maker advert, are also recognisable. From this choice a latent critique of the consumerism and globalisation imposed by American society emerges. Another issue lies behind the pictorial project concerning "Ritalin," a sedative psychotropic drug administered by parents to children deemed hyperactive. In the series titled "Bearers of the Future" and "Creators of Worlds," faces of children full of strength and vitality appear, showing us magical games with a pleased air. In their hands a globe may appear as a ball, or a planet in the bud as a marble, or even a star-shaped magic wand through which they scrutinise us attentively. And a single breath of theirs suffices to turn light, evanescent soap bubbles into planets and stars that, with a cosmic watering can, they water with energy. Through a simple breath they can give life to their imagination without any prohibition and shape, at will, an alternative star to the now-corrupt Earth of adults. From the exasperation of the deeply anarchic, warrior part that exists in every child — even the kindest — who day after day fights tooth and nail to assert his freedom of expression, another series of works is born, called "Superoes."
The inspiration starts from the idea of the "Superman" and from the gruelling struggle against the "rules" that culture violently imposes on the young in the form of caresses and slaps. It is a silent battle, the representation of a wild unconscious in which children choose not to bow to an artificial, sugar-coated and, in their eyes, perverse reality: an act of protest against the world of "grown-ups." It is always a dream, in the end: the dream of an Elsewhere that does not exist, not so different from that island where Peter Pan takes refuge. With impetuous, warm colours, Zakamoto fights the degradation of the real and creates little superheroes who rise as saviours of the planet and fly over the cities. By enchantment, their hair becomes waves, flames and confetti. Among hinted smiles and shifting eyes also appear American comic-book superheroes such as Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Flame… and continents. The series dedicated to the "Angels," instead, foregrounds children with large heads and foreshortened bodies who fly upward and wear glasses in whose lenses the stars are reflected. Unaware of their own power, through their pure innocence they redeem us from the daily greyness, showing us a different road.
The artist can only kneel and observe the advent of the new world, watching, exhausted, the faces of the poets of the future. It is fascinating to discover how the little ones see things "from the right side and the wrong side" and possess the will to go beyond appearances without fear — indeed, the unknown is to be explored and tried! As in Gianni Rodari's tale "The Cake in the Sky," two likeable children defeat the adults' fears and enjoy a wonderful cake fallen from the sky, which everyone believed to be a flying saucer or who knows what other catastrophe. In the paintings titled "Ring a Ring o' Roses Changes the World" and "Sightings," amid dismay mixed with amusement, the child represents the future and watches the Earth detonate into a thousand fragments of light. And so change blooms: the end is nothing but the beginning of a new life; from the coloured shards, new and uncontaminated worlds will be rebuilt, far from normality understood as a rigid scheme and common behavioural model. Through the "Piped Music" project, Zakamoto entrusts the "Flag of the Future" with the message of change transmitted to him by the extraterrestrial beings who abducted him: "We are about to witness the birth of a new dimension created by love, dream, magic and madness." The banner with the sweet, far-sighted face is travelling around the world and, for three days, flies on the balconies of those who request it.
In this way the artwork comes closer to people, and through the shipping cost a request for help is funded. Zakamoto, like Cassiopeia, gives his unconditional help, wisely showing us the road to salvation through images. The children painted by the artist are like Momo, and will be the ones to teach us to savour life's small daily joys. A special turtle named Cassiopeia could "speak" — not with her voice, but by making luminous letters appear on her shell. This particular tortoise leads Momo to Master Hora, the administrator of time, to defeat the wicked Grey Gentlemen who stole people's free time by making them believe they could invest it better. "People thus begin to do everything in a hurry, rushing because they have so many things to do and finish, no longer tasting or savouring anything of their lives; they now live only to do things in the shortest possible time, with the illusion of saving time, when in reality they are WASTING all the time given to them… without thinking that time is our only true wealth. Because time is life. And life dwells in the heart." (Michael Ende, Momo, 1973) Through fantastic, imaginary symbolism, both Akira Zakamoto's canvases and the novel are a fierce critique of consumerism and the frenzy of modern life, which in its technological and productive progress completely loses sight of people's happiness and quality of life.
To look at Akira Zakamoto's paintings is like reading Michael Ende's fantastic novel; it is like looking in the mirror and discovering ourselves unable to dream; like peering through a crystal ball and glimpsing a far from promising future. Nevertheless, the hope of change is always present.
Zakamoto come Cassiopea dona il suo aiuto incondizionato. I bambini sono lo specchio dell'innocenza, l'incarnazione più pura del bene, il sentiero da seguire per entrare nel Regno dei Cieli e condizione fondamentale per entrare nel Regno di Luca Motolese alias Akira Zakamoto. Sovente lo sguardo del fanciullo, la cui sublime fantasia è in grado di spalancare le porte dei sogni, è stato rappresentato come l'antitesi tra il mondo degli adulti, costellato di incubi e di contraddizioni.
I bambini sono una miniera inesauribile di trovate, di soluzioni ardite, di impreviste conclusioni e Zakamoto si dimostra ben consapevole di questa ricchezza e la sfrutta pienamente. La sua fiducia esistenziale e pittorica pare riposta nei loro paffuti volti dagli occhi brillanti di stupore ed innocenza che prima fotografa e poi riproduce con il pennello. Le composizioni con soggetti adulti sono sporadiche, tuttavia le tele delle "Stanze dorate" raffigurano suggestivi mezzi busti femminili con la testa reclinata vestite con abiti-galassie. Inizialmente nei quadri erano preponderanti le tonalità cromatiche del rosso, giallo, grigio e nero, ma in seguito la tavolozza si è arricchita di toni arcobaleno stesi e disfatti in un impasto più corposo e materico. Nelle ultime opere si avverte che l'artista sta affrontando in modo approfondito lo studio della tecnica: inizialmente il colore puro è steso in campiture piatte ed uniformi, poi gradualmente si disfa in misture ed ombre cangianti di grande gestualità pittorica.
Lo spazio della tela è quasi unicamente occupato da visi e piccoli corpi rimpiccioliti visti dall'alto. Solitamente lo sfondo è monocromo: cieli neri, celesti, rosa, viola, rossi, arancioni, gialli e verdi, ma compaiono anche righe convergenti verso un punto. Altre volte sono riconoscibili panoramiche di città , galassie con pianeti, steroidi in esplosione, stelline stilizzate, dischi volanti che proiettano fasci di luce, enormi numeri e frasi. Si ravvisano anche brand di bevande americane quali la Coca Cola, Schweeps e il pupazzo Miquelito dello spot pubblicitario della caffettiera. Da questa scelta si evince una latente critica al consumismo ed alla globalizzazione che la società americana impone. Un'altra problematica si cela dietro il progetto pittorico riguardante il "Ritalin", uno psicofarmaco sedativo che viene somministrato dai genitori ai figli considerati ipercinetici. Nelle serie di dipinti intitolati "Portatori del futuro" e "Creatori di mondi" compaiono volti di bambini carichi di forza e vitalità che con aria compiaciuta ci mostrano giochi magici. Tra le loro mani può comparire un globo terrestre per palla, o un pianeta in nuce come biglia, ma anche una bacchetta magica a forma di stella attraverso la quale attentamente ci scrutano. Inoltre basta solo un loro alito a trasformare delle bolle di sapone lievi ed evanescenti in pianeti e stelle che con un annaffiatoio cosmico abbeverano d'energia. Attraverso un semplice respiro, sono in grado di dar vita alla loro immaginazione senza divieti alcuni e forgiare a proprio piacimento un astro alternativo alla ormai corrotta Terra degli adulti. Dall'esasperazione della parte profondamente anarchica e guerriera che esiste in ogni bambino, anche nel più buono, che giorno dopo giorno lotta con le unghie e con i denti per affermare la propria libertà d'espressione nasce un'altra serie d'opere detta "Superoes".
L'ispirazione prende avvio dall'idea del "Superuomo" e dall'estenuante lotta contro le "regole" che la cultura con violenza impone ai piccoli sotto forma di carezze e schiaffi. àˆ una battaglia silenziosa, la rappresentazione di un inconscio selvaggio in cui i bambini scelgono di non piegarsi ad una realtà artificiale, edulcorata ed ai loro occhi perversa: un atto di protesta contro il mondo dei "grandi". Si tratta sempre di un sogno, in fondo: il sogno di un Altrove che non c'è, non poi così diverso da quell'isola dove Peter Pan si rifugia. Con irruenti e caldi colori, Zakamoto combatte il degrado del reale e crea piccoli supereroi che si ergono salvatori del pianeta e volano sopra le città . Per incantesimo, i loro capelli diventano onde, fiamme e coriandoli. Tra accennati sorrisi e occhi cangianti compaiono pure supereroi dei fumetti americani quali Batman, l'Uomo Ragno, Capitan America, Ironman Thor, Fiamma… e continenti. Invece, la serie di dipinti dedicata agli "Angeli" pone in primo piano fanciulli dalla grossa testa ed il corpo scorciato che volano verso l'alto ed indossano occhiali sulle cui lenti si riflettono le stelle. Inconsapevoli della propria potenza, tramite la loro pura innocenza ci riscattano dal grigiore quotidiano mostrandoci una strada diversa.
L'artista non può far altro che inginocchiarsi ed osservare l'avvento del nuovo mondo e guardare esausto i volti dei poeti del futuro. àˆ affascinante scoprire come i piccoli vedano le cose "dal dritto e dal rovescio" e possiedano la volontà di superare le apparenze senza timore, anzi lo sconosciuto si esplora e si prova! Come nel racconto di Gianni Rodari "La torta in cielo" due simpatici bimbi sconfiggono le paure degli adulti e gustano una meravigliosa torta scesa dal cielo creduta da tutti un disco volante o chissà quale altra catastrofe. Nei quadri denominati "Giro Giro Tondo cambia il mondo" ed "Avvistamenti", tra lo sgomento misto a divertimento, il bambino rappresenta il futuro ed osserva deflagrare la Terra in mille frammenti di luce. Ed ecco sbocciare il cambiamento: la fine non è altro che l'inizio di una nuova vita, dalle schegge colorate si ricostruiranno mondi nuovi ed incontaminati lontani dalla normalità intesa come schema rigido e modello comportamentale comune. Attraverso il progetto "FiloDiFusione", Zakamoto affida alla "Bandiera del futuro" il messaggio di cambiamento che gli era stato trasmesso dagli esseri extraterrestri che lo rapirono: "Stiamo per assistere alla nascita di una nuova dimensione creata dall'amore, dal sogno, dalla magia e dalla follia". Il vessillo con il dolce viso dal lungimirante sguardo sta girando tutto il mondo e per tre giorni sventola sui balconi di coloro che la richiedono.
In tal maniera l'opera d'arte si avvicina alle persone e per mezzo del costo di spedizione si finanzierà una richiesta di aiuto. Zakamoto come Cassiopea dona il suo aiuto incondizionato, saggiamente ci indica la strada della salvezza attraverso le immagini. Invece i bambini dipinti dall'artista sono come Momo e saranno coloro che ci insegneranno ad assaporare le piccole gioie quotidiane. Una tartaruga speciale di nome Cassiopea sapeva "parlare", non con la voce, ma facendo comparire lettere luminose sul suo carapace. Questa testuggine particolare conduce Momo da Mastro Hora. il governatore del tempo, per sconfiggere i perfidi Signori Grigi che rubarono il tempo libero ai cittadini facendo loro credere di poterlo investire meglio. "Le persone, così, iniziano a fare tutto di corsa, con la fretta perché hanno tante cose da fare e da finire senza gustare e assaporare più nulla della loro vita, vivono ormai solo con lo scopo di fare le cose nel minor tempo possibile con l'illusione di risparmiare tempo, in realtà stanno SPRECANDO tutto il tempo messo a loro disposizione…. senza pensare che è il tempo, la nostra unica vera ricchezza. Perché il tempo è la vita. E la vita dimora nel cuore." (Michael Ende, Momo, 1973) Attraverso un simbolismo fantastico e immaginario, sia le tele di Akira Zakamoto che il romanzo, sono una feroce critica al consumismo e alla frenesia della vita moderna, che nel suo progresso tecnologico e produttivo perde completamente di vista l'obiettivo della felicità delle persone e della qualità di vita.
Osservare i dipinti di Akira Zakamoto è come leggere il romanzo fantastico di Michael Ende, è come guardarsi allo specchio e scoprirsi incapaci di sognare; è come spiare attraverso una sfera di cristallo e scorgere un futuro ben poco promettente. Ciò nonostante è sempre presente la speranza di cambiare.
I bambini sono una miniera inesauribile di trovate, di soluzioni ardite, di impreviste conclusioni e Zakamoto si dimostra ben consapevole di questa ricchezza e la sfrutta pienamente. La sua fiducia esistenziale e pittorica pare riposta nei loro paffuti volti dagli occhi brillanti di stupore ed innocenza che prima fotografa e poi riproduce con il pennello. Le composizioni con soggetti adulti sono sporadiche, tuttavia le tele delle "Stanze dorate" raffigurano suggestivi mezzi busti femminili con la testa reclinata vestite con abiti-galassie. Inizialmente nei quadri erano preponderanti le tonalità cromatiche del rosso, giallo, grigio e nero, ma in seguito la tavolozza si è arricchita di toni arcobaleno stesi e disfatti in un impasto più corposo e materico. Nelle ultime opere si avverte che l'artista sta affrontando in modo approfondito lo studio della tecnica: inizialmente il colore puro è steso in campiture piatte ed uniformi, poi gradualmente si disfa in misture ed ombre cangianti di grande gestualità pittorica.
Lo spazio della tela è quasi unicamente occupato da visi e piccoli corpi rimpiccioliti visti dall'alto. Solitamente lo sfondo è monocromo: cieli neri, celesti, rosa, viola, rossi, arancioni, gialli e verdi, ma compaiono anche righe convergenti verso un punto. Altre volte sono riconoscibili panoramiche di città , galassie con pianeti, steroidi in esplosione, stelline stilizzate, dischi volanti che proiettano fasci di luce, enormi numeri e frasi. Si ravvisano anche brand di bevande americane quali la Coca Cola, Schweeps e il pupazzo Miquelito dello spot pubblicitario della caffettiera. Da questa scelta si evince una latente critica al consumismo ed alla globalizzazione che la società americana impone. Un'altra problematica si cela dietro il progetto pittorico riguardante il "Ritalin", uno psicofarmaco sedativo che viene somministrato dai genitori ai figli considerati ipercinetici. Nelle serie di dipinti intitolati "Portatori del futuro" e "Creatori di mondi" compaiono volti di bambini carichi di forza e vitalità che con aria compiaciuta ci mostrano giochi magici. Tra le loro mani può comparire un globo terrestre per palla, o un pianeta in nuce come biglia, ma anche una bacchetta magica a forma di stella attraverso la quale attentamente ci scrutano. Inoltre basta solo un loro alito a trasformare delle bolle di sapone lievi ed evanescenti in pianeti e stelle che con un annaffiatoio cosmico abbeverano d'energia. Attraverso un semplice respiro, sono in grado di dar vita alla loro immaginazione senza divieti alcuni e forgiare a proprio piacimento un astro alternativo alla ormai corrotta Terra degli adulti. Dall'esasperazione della parte profondamente anarchica e guerriera che esiste in ogni bambino, anche nel più buono, che giorno dopo giorno lotta con le unghie e con i denti per affermare la propria libertà d'espressione nasce un'altra serie d'opere detta "Superoes".
L'ispirazione prende avvio dall'idea del "Superuomo" e dall'estenuante lotta contro le "regole" che la cultura con violenza impone ai piccoli sotto forma di carezze e schiaffi. àˆ una battaglia silenziosa, la rappresentazione di un inconscio selvaggio in cui i bambini scelgono di non piegarsi ad una realtà artificiale, edulcorata ed ai loro occhi perversa: un atto di protesta contro il mondo dei "grandi". Si tratta sempre di un sogno, in fondo: il sogno di un Altrove che non c'è, non poi così diverso da quell'isola dove Peter Pan si rifugia. Con irruenti e caldi colori, Zakamoto combatte il degrado del reale e crea piccoli supereroi che si ergono salvatori del pianeta e volano sopra le città . Per incantesimo, i loro capelli diventano onde, fiamme e coriandoli. Tra accennati sorrisi e occhi cangianti compaiono pure supereroi dei fumetti americani quali Batman, l'Uomo Ragno, Capitan America, Ironman Thor, Fiamma… e continenti. Invece, la serie di dipinti dedicata agli "Angeli" pone in primo piano fanciulli dalla grossa testa ed il corpo scorciato che volano verso l'alto ed indossano occhiali sulle cui lenti si riflettono le stelle. Inconsapevoli della propria potenza, tramite la loro pura innocenza ci riscattano dal grigiore quotidiano mostrandoci una strada diversa.
L'artista non può far altro che inginocchiarsi ed osservare l'avvento del nuovo mondo e guardare esausto i volti dei poeti del futuro. àˆ affascinante scoprire come i piccoli vedano le cose "dal dritto e dal rovescio" e possiedano la volontà di superare le apparenze senza timore, anzi lo sconosciuto si esplora e si prova! Come nel racconto di Gianni Rodari "La torta in cielo" due simpatici bimbi sconfiggono le paure degli adulti e gustano una meravigliosa torta scesa dal cielo creduta da tutti un disco volante o chissà quale altra catastrofe. Nei quadri denominati "Giro Giro Tondo cambia il mondo" ed "Avvistamenti", tra lo sgomento misto a divertimento, il bambino rappresenta il futuro ed osserva deflagrare la Terra in mille frammenti di luce. Ed ecco sbocciare il cambiamento: la fine non è altro che l'inizio di una nuova vita, dalle schegge colorate si ricostruiranno mondi nuovi ed incontaminati lontani dalla normalità intesa come schema rigido e modello comportamentale comune. Attraverso il progetto "FiloDiFusione", Zakamoto affida alla "Bandiera del futuro" il messaggio di cambiamento che gli era stato trasmesso dagli esseri extraterrestri che lo rapirono: "Stiamo per assistere alla nascita di una nuova dimensione creata dall'amore, dal sogno, dalla magia e dalla follia". Il vessillo con il dolce viso dal lungimirante sguardo sta girando tutto il mondo e per tre giorni sventola sui balconi di coloro che la richiedono.
In tal maniera l'opera d'arte si avvicina alle persone e per mezzo del costo di spedizione si finanzierà una richiesta di aiuto. Zakamoto come Cassiopea dona il suo aiuto incondizionato, saggiamente ci indica la strada della salvezza attraverso le immagini. Invece i bambini dipinti dall'artista sono come Momo e saranno coloro che ci insegneranno ad assaporare le piccole gioie quotidiane. Una tartaruga speciale di nome Cassiopea sapeva "parlare", non con la voce, ma facendo comparire lettere luminose sul suo carapace. Questa testuggine particolare conduce Momo da Mastro Hora. il governatore del tempo, per sconfiggere i perfidi Signori Grigi che rubarono il tempo libero ai cittadini facendo loro credere di poterlo investire meglio. "Le persone, così, iniziano a fare tutto di corsa, con la fretta perché hanno tante cose da fare e da finire senza gustare e assaporare più nulla della loro vita, vivono ormai solo con lo scopo di fare le cose nel minor tempo possibile con l'illusione di risparmiare tempo, in realtà stanno SPRECANDO tutto il tempo messo a loro disposizione…. senza pensare che è il tempo, la nostra unica vera ricchezza. Perché il tempo è la vita. E la vita dimora nel cuore." (Michael Ende, Momo, 1973) Attraverso un simbolismo fantastico e immaginario, sia le tele di Akira Zakamoto che il romanzo, sono una feroce critica al consumismo e alla frenesia della vita moderna, che nel suo progresso tecnologico e produttivo perde completamente di vista l'obiettivo della felicità delle persone e della qualità di vita.
Osservare i dipinti di Akira Zakamoto è come leggere il romanzo fantastico di Michael Ende, è come guardarsi allo specchio e scoprirsi incapaci di sognare; è come spiare attraverso una sfera di cristallo e scorgere un futuro ben poco promettente. Ciò nonostante è sempre presente la speranza di cambiare.
Zakamoto, like Cassiopeia, offers his unconditional help. Children are the mirror of innocence, the purest incarnation of good, the path to follow to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and the fundamental condition for entering the Kingdom of Luca Motolese, alias Akira Zakamoto. Often the child's gaze, whose sublime imagination can fling open the doors of dreams, has been set as the antithesis of the adult world, studded with nightmares and contradictions.
Children are an inexhaustible mine of ideas, daring solutions, unexpected conclusions, and Zakamoto shows himself well aware of this richness and exploits it fully. His existential and pictorial trust seems placed in their chubby faces with eyes shining with wonder and innocence, which he first photographs and then reproduces with the brush. Compositions with adult subjects are sporadic; the canvases of the "Golden Rooms," however, depict evocative female half-busts with reclined heads, dressed in galaxy-gowns. At first the canvases were dominated by red, yellow, grey and black tones, but later the palette grew richer with rainbow tones, spread and undone in a fuller, more material impasto. In the latest works one senses that the artist is studying technique in depth: at first pure colour is laid in flat, uniform fields, then gradually dissolves into shifting mixtures and shadows of great painterly gesture.
The space of the canvas is almost solely occupied by faces and small, shrunken bodies seen from above. Usually the background is monochrome: black, sky-blue, pink, purple, red, orange, yellow and green skies, but lines converging toward a point also appear. At other times one can make out panoramas of cities, galaxies with planets, exploding asteroids, stylised little stars, flying saucers projecting beams of light, enormous numbers and phrases. American drink brands such as Coca-Cola and Schweppes, and the Miguelito puppet from the coffee-maker advert, are also recognisable. From this choice a latent critique of the consumerism and globalisation imposed by American society emerges. Another issue lies behind the pictorial project concerning "Ritalin," a sedative psychotropic drug administered by parents to children deemed hyperactive. In the series titled "Bearers of the Future" and "Creators of Worlds," faces of children full of strength and vitality appear, showing us magical games with a pleased air. In their hands a globe may appear as a ball, or a planet in the bud as a marble, or even a star-shaped magic wand through which they scrutinise us attentively. And a single breath of theirs suffices to turn light, evanescent soap bubbles into planets and stars that, with a cosmic watering can, they water with energy. Through a simple breath they can give life to their imagination without any prohibition and shape, at will, an alternative star to the now-corrupt Earth of adults. From the exasperation of the deeply anarchic, warrior part that exists in every child — even the kindest — who day after day fights tooth and nail to assert his freedom of expression, another series of works is born, called "Superoes."
The inspiration starts from the idea of the "Superman" and from the gruelling struggle against the "rules" that culture violently imposes on the young in the form of caresses and slaps. It is a silent battle, the representation of a wild unconscious in which children choose not to bow to an artificial, sugar-coated and, in their eyes, perverse reality: an act of protest against the world of "grown-ups." It is always a dream, in the end: the dream of an Elsewhere that does not exist, not so different from that island where Peter Pan takes refuge. With impetuous, warm colours, Zakamoto fights the degradation of the real and creates little superheroes who rise as saviours of the planet and fly over the cities. By enchantment, their hair becomes waves, flames and confetti. Among hinted smiles and shifting eyes also appear American comic-book superheroes such as Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Flame… and continents. The series dedicated to the "Angels," instead, foregrounds children with large heads and foreshortened bodies who fly upward and wear glasses in whose lenses the stars are reflected. Unaware of their own power, through their pure innocence they redeem us from the daily greyness, showing us a different road.
The artist can only kneel and observe the advent of the new world, watching, exhausted, the faces of the poets of the future. It is fascinating to discover how the little ones see things "from the right side and the wrong side" and possess the will to go beyond appearances without fear — indeed, the unknown is to be explored and tried! As in Gianni Rodari's tale "The Cake in the Sky," two likeable children defeat the adults' fears and enjoy a wonderful cake fallen from the sky, which everyone believed to be a flying saucer or who knows what other catastrophe. In the paintings titled "Ring a Ring o' Roses Changes the World" and "Sightings," amid dismay mixed with amusement, the child represents the future and watches the Earth detonate into a thousand fragments of light. And so change blooms: the end is nothing but the beginning of a new life; from the coloured shards, new and uncontaminated worlds will be rebuilt, far from normality understood as a rigid scheme and common behavioural model. Through the "Piped Music" project, Zakamoto entrusts the "Flag of the Future" with the message of change transmitted to him by the extraterrestrial beings who abducted him: "We are about to witness the birth of a new dimension created by love, dream, magic and madness." The banner with the sweet, far-sighted face is travelling around the world and, for three days, flies on the balconies of those who request it.
In this way the artwork comes closer to people, and through the shipping cost a request for help is funded. Zakamoto, like Cassiopeia, gives his unconditional help, wisely showing us the road to salvation through images. The children painted by the artist are like Momo, and will be the ones to teach us to savour life's small daily joys. A special turtle named Cassiopeia could "speak" — not with her voice, but by making luminous letters appear on her shell. This particular tortoise leads Momo to Master Hora, the administrator of time, to defeat the wicked Grey Gentlemen who stole people's free time by making them believe they could invest it better. "People thus begin to do everything in a hurry, rushing because they have so many things to do and finish, no longer tasting or savouring anything of their lives; they now live only to do things in the shortest possible time, with the illusion of saving time, when in reality they are WASTING all the time given to them… without thinking that time is our only true wealth. Because time is life. And life dwells in the heart." (Michael Ende, Momo, 1973) Through fantastic, imaginary symbolism, both Akira Zakamoto's canvases and the novel are a fierce critique of consumerism and the frenzy of modern life, which in its technological and productive progress completely loses sight of people's happiness and quality of life.
To look at Akira Zakamoto's paintings is like reading Michael Ende's fantastic novel; it is like looking in the mirror and discovering ourselves unable to dream; like peering through a crystal ball and glimpsing a far from promising future. Nevertheless, the hope of change is always present.
Children are an inexhaustible mine of ideas, daring solutions, unexpected conclusions, and Zakamoto shows himself well aware of this richness and exploits it fully. His existential and pictorial trust seems placed in their chubby faces with eyes shining with wonder and innocence, which he first photographs and then reproduces with the brush. Compositions with adult subjects are sporadic; the canvases of the "Golden Rooms," however, depict evocative female half-busts with reclined heads, dressed in galaxy-gowns. At first the canvases were dominated by red, yellow, grey and black tones, but later the palette grew richer with rainbow tones, spread and undone in a fuller, more material impasto. In the latest works one senses that the artist is studying technique in depth: at first pure colour is laid in flat, uniform fields, then gradually dissolves into shifting mixtures and shadows of great painterly gesture.
The space of the canvas is almost solely occupied by faces and small, shrunken bodies seen from above. Usually the background is monochrome: black, sky-blue, pink, purple, red, orange, yellow and green skies, but lines converging toward a point also appear. At other times one can make out panoramas of cities, galaxies with planets, exploding asteroids, stylised little stars, flying saucers projecting beams of light, enormous numbers and phrases. American drink brands such as Coca-Cola and Schweppes, and the Miguelito puppet from the coffee-maker advert, are also recognisable. From this choice a latent critique of the consumerism and globalisation imposed by American society emerges. Another issue lies behind the pictorial project concerning "Ritalin," a sedative psychotropic drug administered by parents to children deemed hyperactive. In the series titled "Bearers of the Future" and "Creators of Worlds," faces of children full of strength and vitality appear, showing us magical games with a pleased air. In their hands a globe may appear as a ball, or a planet in the bud as a marble, or even a star-shaped magic wand through which they scrutinise us attentively. And a single breath of theirs suffices to turn light, evanescent soap bubbles into planets and stars that, with a cosmic watering can, they water with energy. Through a simple breath they can give life to their imagination without any prohibition and shape, at will, an alternative star to the now-corrupt Earth of adults. From the exasperation of the deeply anarchic, warrior part that exists in every child — even the kindest — who day after day fights tooth and nail to assert his freedom of expression, another series of works is born, called "Superoes."
The inspiration starts from the idea of the "Superman" and from the gruelling struggle against the "rules" that culture violently imposes on the young in the form of caresses and slaps. It is a silent battle, the representation of a wild unconscious in which children choose not to bow to an artificial, sugar-coated and, in their eyes, perverse reality: an act of protest against the world of "grown-ups." It is always a dream, in the end: the dream of an Elsewhere that does not exist, not so different from that island where Peter Pan takes refuge. With impetuous, warm colours, Zakamoto fights the degradation of the real and creates little superheroes who rise as saviours of the planet and fly over the cities. By enchantment, their hair becomes waves, flames and confetti. Among hinted smiles and shifting eyes also appear American comic-book superheroes such as Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Flame… and continents. The series dedicated to the "Angels," instead, foregrounds children with large heads and foreshortened bodies who fly upward and wear glasses in whose lenses the stars are reflected. Unaware of their own power, through their pure innocence they redeem us from the daily greyness, showing us a different road.
The artist can only kneel and observe the advent of the new world, watching, exhausted, the faces of the poets of the future. It is fascinating to discover how the little ones see things "from the right side and the wrong side" and possess the will to go beyond appearances without fear — indeed, the unknown is to be explored and tried! As in Gianni Rodari's tale "The Cake in the Sky," two likeable children defeat the adults' fears and enjoy a wonderful cake fallen from the sky, which everyone believed to be a flying saucer or who knows what other catastrophe. In the paintings titled "Ring a Ring o' Roses Changes the World" and "Sightings," amid dismay mixed with amusement, the child represents the future and watches the Earth detonate into a thousand fragments of light. And so change blooms: the end is nothing but the beginning of a new life; from the coloured shards, new and uncontaminated worlds will be rebuilt, far from normality understood as a rigid scheme and common behavioural model. Through the "Piped Music" project, Zakamoto entrusts the "Flag of the Future" with the message of change transmitted to him by the extraterrestrial beings who abducted him: "We are about to witness the birth of a new dimension created by love, dream, magic and madness." The banner with the sweet, far-sighted face is travelling around the world and, for three days, flies on the balconies of those who request it.
In this way the artwork comes closer to people, and through the shipping cost a request for help is funded. Zakamoto, like Cassiopeia, gives his unconditional help, wisely showing us the road to salvation through images. The children painted by the artist are like Momo, and will be the ones to teach us to savour life's small daily joys. A special turtle named Cassiopeia could "speak" — not with her voice, but by making luminous letters appear on her shell. This particular tortoise leads Momo to Master Hora, the administrator of time, to defeat the wicked Grey Gentlemen who stole people's free time by making them believe they could invest it better. "People thus begin to do everything in a hurry, rushing because they have so many things to do and finish, no longer tasting or savouring anything of their lives; they now live only to do things in the shortest possible time, with the illusion of saving time, when in reality they are WASTING all the time given to them… without thinking that time is our only true wealth. Because time is life. And life dwells in the heart." (Michael Ende, Momo, 1973) Through fantastic, imaginary symbolism, both Akira Zakamoto's canvases and the novel are a fierce critique of consumerism and the frenzy of modern life, which in its technological and productive progress completely loses sight of people's happiness and quality of life.
To look at Akira Zakamoto's paintings is like reading Michael Ende's fantastic novel; it is like looking in the mirror and discovering ourselves unable to dream; like peering through a crystal ball and glimpsing a far from promising future. Nevertheless, the hope of change is always present.