Take a Bow: The Power of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

Local Power Japan is a fine example of what an artist with creative stamina and a strong sense of social responsibility can achieve and may well be the most sophisticated and accomplished iteration of Pop Art. The ambitious initiative couldn’t have been helmed by just any artist as it’s made possible by a rich visual grammar tenaciously established over more than a decade by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ) whose multi-media manifestation has transcended initial cult status to become a cultural icon. Her practice encompasses audio-visual, costumed performance, music, dance, fashion, hype-art, painting, sculpture, graphic work, gaming, broadcast, commerce, and the J-Pop arena. Her motivations? Seemingly to fuel dreams, increase happiness, and bring people together, regardless of gender, age, class, or persuasions. Needing no introduction in her homeland where she’s a top tarento and bona fide ‘household name’, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is now gaining global traction beyond her standing as Japan’s Kawaii Harajuku Ambassador (that’s an actual honorary title awarded her by the Mayor of Shibuya) and undisputed Queen of the J-Pop scene — a culture she’s repeatedly deconstructed, redefined, and revitalised. Probably because of Kyary’s relentlessly positive focus on self-expression, she also manages to embody cultural democracy and is the hub for a hive of creatives that are, for modern Japan, what Andy Warhol’s Factory could’ve been for twentieth-century USA. As the figurehead of this prodigiously creative collective, she instigated several strands of Tokyo subculture before infiltrating the mainstream and making mass media her canvas. <a href="https://medium.com/signifier/take-a-bow-the-power-of-kyary-pamyu-pamyu-1fc84cc7cf42">Learn More</a>