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Digital Artist Chiho Aoshima’s Adorable Apocalypse
Digital artist Chiho Aoshima creates dreamy dystopias in a new SAM exhibit
This article originally appeared in the August 2015 issue of Seattle magazine.
The environmental apocalypse is coming—but at least it’s awash in Technicolor. In the new show at the SAM Asian Art Museum, Chiho Aoshima: Rebirth of the World, the Japanese pop artist shares her vision of the future, where skyscrapers have minds (and bodies) of their own, red-eyed ghost girls drift along washed-out beaches, and puffy clouds have ominous linings.
Aoshima first gained acclaim in 2001 as a participant in Takashi Murakami’s iconic Superflat exhibit, which showcased the postmodern art movement based in anime, manga, kawaii and consumer culture. To create her vast digital landscapes, Aoshima uses Adobe Illustrator, meticulously shaping elements to achieve the organic curves necessary for her pageant of impish animals and radioactive flora.
The most stunning representation of her work on display is “Takaamanohara,” a huge, animated video-mural that is making its debut. It brings alive an imagined reality in which the human relationship with nature has taken a turn for the psychedelic. Through 10/4. Times and prices vary. SAM Asian Art Museum, 1400 E Prospect St.; 206.654.3100; seattleartmuseum.org
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Four years after Bumbershoot returned with its quirkiness revivified, Seattleites broadly acknowledge the two-day multimedia extravaganza as a welcome finale to the summer festival season. Fests like Bumbershoot are designed around a choose-your-own-adventure model, but if you’re the kind of person who looked at this year’s sprawling lineup—featuring multiple bands, artists, and exhibits happening at…