In recent decades Japanese art has achieved immense popularity in the West while being little understood. Critics have focused on the superficiality and infantilism they find prevalent in
much of the work, while many Westerners are familiar with the country's artistic side solely through manga and anime. Bye-Bye Kitty!!! offers a more incisive and wide-ranging view of
the contemporary Japanese art scene, depicted through the works of fifteen artists, ranging in age from twenty-seven to forty-five and working in painting, sculpture, installation,
photography, and video.
The book's title invokes the subtle irony and subversive techniques adopted by this new generation of artists in their rebellion against the kawaii, or "cute," aesthetic of mainstream
Japanese culture. An essay by David Elliott provides an overview of the artists and explores many of the societal questions, such as the role of feminism, the rise of the "salaryman," and
reflections on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, featured in their works. A contribution by Tetsuya Ozaki illuminates the history and culture of Japan's current Heisei era, which began
in January 1989 after the death of Emperor Hirohito.
The artists featured in Bye-Bye Kitty!!! demonstrate that they have the power not only to reconfigure international stereotypes about the current state of Japanese art but also to
shape the very landscape of contemporary Japanese art itself.
