Illustrator Yu Nagaba guides you through the history of illustration in the 2000s

Guide: Yu Nagaba

Nagaba Yu says that he established his own style of illustration in 2014. What scenes did he admire and come into contact with during the 2000s, a period of trial and error?

From star-studded advertisements and magazines to cutting-edge T-shirts, a diverse lineup of artists from across genres brightened up the scene.

After graduating from university, I got a job at what would later become Graniph [A] in the early 2000s. I also drew illustrations while working. I started drawing "Kaeru Sensei" in 2004, and promoted it on mixi, which had just started at the time. Some people found out about it online and came to see the exhibition. I really felt that the internet was a catalyst for spreading my work.

After I went freelance a year or two later, I got work through word of mouth. My hero since my student days has been Tomoo Gokita. I was deeply moved by his art book "Lingerie Wrestling," and went to his solo exhibition at Los Upson and his DJ event at Enban. I have fond memories of heading to Shinjuku, peeling off and collecting posters for events in Kabukicho that Gokita had worked on (laughs).

Looking back at that time, one thing that I think is symbolic is the increasing trend of linking T-shirts with art, such as Graniph. In 2001, Beams T was launched, and in 2003, a project that would become the precursor to UT was launched. This meant that there were more opportunities for illustrators, as well as people working in design and graphics, to express themselves. Compared to work in advertising, books, music, etc., the barrier to entry was lower, which I think was a major factor in the rise of this genre.

Of course, advertising, books, and music work were all big names, and I particularly admired the visuals for Nike created by Katsura Wakano. In Japan, I read the magazine "relax," including "groovisions," and thought all the creators featured were cool. In music, I was particularly impressed by the series of artworks for ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION by Yusuke Nakamura. Nakamura became a star in an instant.

A defining feature of this era is the widespread use of digital tools in creative expression. I first got to use a Power Macintosh in the late 1990s, when my senior colleague, Masaru Ishiura of TGB design., let me use one. In the 2000s, I also created digital and analog collage works.

In this regard, I was impressed by the CG work of Hiro Sugiyama of Enlightenment. The TBC commercial featuring Takuya Kimura as a CG artist also became a big topic of conversation. Also, Keiji Ito has created impressive visuals that combine digital and analog.

So far, I've mentioned the names of people who are active beyond the title of "illustrator," and I think that's what characterizes the 2000s. The "SUPER FLAT Exhibition" [B], curated by Takashi Murakami, began in 2000. Groovisions and Hiro Sugiyama also participated in the first edition. For me, the 2000s were a time when I experienced a variety of things simultaneously, without distinguishing between high and low.

I think there are probably many people who have had similar experiences. For example, illustration and street art were much closer than they are now. A symbolic example of this was the Ozu Experiment in Nakameguro. Led by the graffiti artists KAMI and SASU as the unit HITOTZUKI, they put up stickers and posters all over the city, bombing the streets with graffiti.

Furthermore, in the 2010s, illustrations began to be increasingly recognized as works of art, but it was during this period that the foundation for this was laid, with the opening of NANZUKA UNDERGROUND in 2005 and GALLERY TARGET in 2007.

Although I admit to having grown up in underground culture, frequenting these kinds of places, I was also deeply impressed by cute and endearing illustrations, such as the penguin on the Suica card and the panda in Shincho Bunko's "Yonda?". I realized once again that I have been heavily influenced by these as well.