Yoshitomo Nara

Japanese pop-artist Yoshitomo Nara’s army of children, with their giant heads, small knives and suspicious eyes, get an appropriately grand big-book treatment with Nobody’s Fool, as part of an exhibition at the Asian Society Museum in New York. Walking that fine line between contemporary art and cartoon, between collectors and hipster mass-merchandise, Nara’s drawings and sculptures are immediately recognizable and consistently copied. Though Nara shares a birth date with Walt Disney, he filters his political and social views through pop culture, manga, horror movies and indie rock. A series of critical essays, plus selections from Nara’s blog, help establish the artist’s place both in the gallery and on ashtrays, toys and t-shirts sold in trendy boutiques.