New Exhibit Features Art Inspired by Hayao Miyazaki Films
Japanese director and writer Hayao Miyazaki has wooed audiences in his native Japan and the United States with such classic animated films as My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away. A San Francisco art gallery is paying tribute to the director with a new exhibit featuring art inspired by his films.
According to The Verge, “Miyazaki Spirit” premiered this Saturday at the small Sketchpad Gallery to much hype. It was reported that lines to get into the exhibit stretched down a block. Despite heavy rainfall, hardcore fans of Miyazaki waited to see a handful of illustrations inspired by his many Studio Ghibli films, and in the gift shop, visitors had the chance to purchase limited edition prints by the artists.
Some of the films the artists based their work off of included Kiki’s Delivery Service and Spirited Away.
“The worlds and characters created by Hayao Miyazaki have been infinitely inspirational to so many people, especially artists,” said Luke Harrington, who co-curated the exhibit with fellow artist Craig Drake.
Harrington continued, “We loved the idea of seeing those artists interpret his creations through their eyes.”
The featured artists include Tracie Ching, Kevin Wilson, and Malisa Suchanya to name a few, according to Sketchpad’s official website.
SF Station reported that due to popular demand, a second showing of “Miyazaki Spirit” premiered on Sunday and another will take place on Saturday, March 12. The popularity of the show surprised Sketchpad’s co-owner Chris Koehler, who expected only about 50 people to browse through the gallery.
“Miyazaki has spent the better part of four and a half decades pioneering a style of anime that is as transportive as it is grounded in recognizable human struggles,” said Nick Statt of The Verge, who felt the turnout wasn’t completely unexpected.
The website i09, exclusively featured some of the images from the exhibit on their website ahead of its opening this past Wednesday.
“We don’t know Hayao Miyazaki personally, but we have to believe if he saw these art pieces, he’d smile and nod in approval,” said Germain Lussler, a writer for the website.
Lussler continued, “The master filmmaker’s animated films are bursting with inspiration, so to see a group of talented artists to a whole art show based on his work seems like a perfect idea.”
Nicholas Kole, one of the artists whose work is featured in the exhibit, promoted the show on his Twitter page, featuring a print inspired by Miyazaki’s 1992 film Porco Rosso.
The Miyazaki Spirit show is open and now I can show y'all my full piece! Limited prints @ the Sketchpad Gallery, SF! pic.twitter.com/t1mHy8vkfa
— Nicholas Kole (@FromHappyRock) March 5, 2016
Meanwhile, across the country in Wisconsin, the Avalon Theater in Milwaukee will be having a showing of Hayao Miyazaki’s films in conjunction with Anime Milwaukee, according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who described the event as “A month of moving images.”
From March 8 to April 2, the films My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, and the Oscar winning Spirited Awaywill be screened both in Japanese with English subtitles and in dubbed English.
In Japan, there has been much speculation since Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement from film-making in September 2013 as to who would take his place as animation wizard.
According to Variety, there has been a search for someone to take the reigns of Miyazaki even before his retirement. His potential “successors” include Hiromasa Yonebayashi and fittingly Miyazaki’s son Goro.
“No animator working in the Japanese industry today has approached Miyazaki’s spectacular earnings,” said Mark Schilling, the Japan correspondent for Variety, referring to Spirited Away.
Schilling continued, “Its $300 million domestic take reset the all-time record.”
In 2016, Hayao Miyazaki’s influence is being seen in some of the top animated films, according to The News Record. Matthias Lechner, the art director for the Disney film Zootopia, designed the Bunny Borough train station with inspiration from Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro.
The Japanese director’s 1988 classic is still getting praise today by writers such as Allyson Johnson.
“The world of My Neighbor Totoro is one example of many of how all-encompassing and detailed Miyazaki draws,” said Johnson. “There are images in this film, more than some of his most famously acclaimed, that have become synonymous with the visionary.”
(Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images)
