Xiyue Wang

Art Review

Dec 10th 2014

 

 

Sputniko! – When Pop Meets Science

 

 

When pop meets science, they chemically react and generate art. This statement may sounds eccentric, however, it’s the best description of what Japanese-English artist Sputniko! does. Sputniko!, whose real name is Hiromi Ozaki, had studied in Imperial College London for a mathematics and computer science degree, and then Royal College of Art London for Design Interaction. Ozaki actually started a group in MIT media lab called Design Fiction. Other than it, She was awarded the Vogue Japan Women of The Year 2013 Award.  She has a personal channel in YouTube as a gallery for her work: pop song videos. Ozaki usually speaks of herself an “artist” and “feminist” so you may wonder: what kind of art she is doing?

 

YouTube is Sputniko’s main channel for exhibiting works. Shown as Ozaki's subtitle of YouTube channel “Pop Critical”, she uses pop to create and distribute work, stir and challenge the social norm. Currently she has 10 works – all music videos - on her YouTube “gallery”. The topics are diverse from the reaction and response to the Internet and social media – “Skype song” and “Mixi Song”, to a challenge of the social norm-“Menstruation Machine-Takashi’s take” and “Sushiborg Yukari”, to a manifesto of female power on science - “Moon walk machine - Selena’s step”, to the communication with the natural world “Crowbot Jenny” and “Nanohana Heel”. None of them sounds like ordinary songs. The uniqueness that differentiates her as a “pop art artist” from “pop artist”, is the way how she enlarges the topic.

 

Comes from a science background, Ozaki is describing herself as “an artist that has a strong interest in science”. She usually gathers people from social media to collaborate on her work. By working with people from all fields she has the power to make her pop-fiction real. In her signature work “Menstruation Machine – Takashi’s take”, she collaborated with biology scientists and electronic engineers to made a fully functional “menstruation machine” for male to experience menstruation. The participant will feel simulated pain of period from electronic shock. And the device will gush out fake blood in next six days. She called it alternative design – design that not serves utilitarian proposes, but more significantly, it arouses debate, engages public to be aware and re-think social issues.     

    

The device itself is great enough to arouse social awareness, but probably limited only for those who come to MoMA in 2011 and to see the actual exhibition “talk to me”. If her art stopped there, she might be not suitable as a pop art artist. Actually, the device was her start point of art making. She collaborated with volunteers to make a music video around it. In the video, she was acting as a Japanese guy, who not only wants to experience being a female by cross-dressing, but also eager to feel it veritably biologically. The lyric that repeated “Show it, if you’ve got passion. Feel the pain, if you dare” sticks to viewer’s mind, which similar to Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe portrait.

 

Paul Glader said on the Forbes on May 2014, “If art is about engaging conversation, raising questions and spurring creative dialogue then Sputniko! is a budding master of the genre. She’s also hard to define. Bjork? Yvonne Brill? Marina Abromovic? Lady Gaga? Nope. Kind of. Not really.” In my opinion, Sputniko! shares commonalities to Andy Wahol, the pioneer of pop art. The firstly, pop, or strictly popular culture elements , dominated their works. The bold color schemes run though Sputniko’s videos are similar with Andy Wahol’s prints. Sputniko uses Japanese pop culture elements skillfully in her story telling. We can see a bit Yayoi Kusama’s shadow in her works. Elements as orange or silver wigs, exaggerated costumes and dedicated makeups are hitting the spot of popular culture while not generating repugnance. Secondly, they share a special interest in a well-finished and polished state. Sputniko’s video is almost as a product that speaks directly to the consumer. Straightforward story telling and non-vague style leads the work towards social channel rather than raw art pieces in a gallery. This is similar to Andy Warhol, whose work closely inspired from advertising. Thirdly, the definition of either they are pop artists or pop art artists are always ambiguous. They are definitely making art, but to speak of the influences they made, in some degree they serve as an idol in their own realm.

 

In a large sense, Sputniko! Is like a 21 century Andy Warhol. By mixing pop and technology together, she certainly has set off an explosion on our society as her pseudonym indicates.

 

 

Work Cited

Glader,Paul. " Video Artist Sputniko! On Japan, Creativity And Her New Gig At The MIT Media Lab." Forbes. 27 May. 2014. Web. http://onforb.es/1jWYTMw