LogFAQs > #945889054

76. Suguru Tanaka, The Man on the Right is Lying (16.5 points)
Nominated by: Ihatethiscpu (0/5 remaining)
https://surrealandcreepy.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/20190515191332_1.jpg


Importance: 1
Fear: 6.5
Snake: 9

I honestly had no idea the artworks featured in Yuppie Psycho were real works, and now I'm seriously kicking myself for not looking into Tanaka & his artworks more in depth. This artwork is incredibly reminiscent of my favorite painter ever, Zdzislaw Beksinki, whose work took macabre surrealism to new, almost unmatched heights, crafting imagery that connects to the soul through viciously detailed works of body horror that exposed the sinew, bone, and flesh of our fragile mortal word. I feel like Tanaka tackles similar themes of cosmic uncertainty but more in a modern sense that connects to the current generation's lack of confident direction and attachment to nostalgia. In The Man on the Right is Lying, Tanaka uses the concept of a liminal space, a transitional, often familiar area that we feel an inexplicable connection to and memory of, to create a mood that's easily relatable. Combined with the professional attire of the intimidating, alien-like being, the location feels like the lobby of a tall skyscraper, business taking place on all floors, dark doorways representing elevators to take us to all matter of unknown futures, and none of them seemingly good. Tanaka then uses this tall being to make us feel small, looked down upon, as if we were going for our first job interview and we are being judged harshly and unfairly for being a so-called outsider. Even the title of the piece questions our reality, as if some unseen force is watching our every move, its tendrils of influence encroaching on our minds to make us feel paranoid and anxious while it tries to assimilate us into the conformist ways of "normal" society. The lighting and coloring here is impeccable, a deep red glow emanates from the piece which intensifies emotion and transfixes our eyes first to the chandelier, as we then follow its radiance to the man and then over to the glowing light of an unknown variable off-frame, these two battling light sources casting shadows over to the dark crevices on the opposite side. Look even longer and you'll notice a wide door frame that might make you question what other sort of rooms this hellish structure might contain, and then two smaller holes in the very back that are so mysterious you can't even fathom their use or purpose.

However you interpret it, this is a magnanimous piece that I could honestly look at for hours and ponder all manner of questions about the piece and myself. It pairs especially well with other Tanaka pieces, especially one in a train station, again reinforcing Tanaka's themes of times to come, nostalgic places, and the identity shattering world of business. I highly recommend his art to anyone and there's a whole gallery devoted to his work in Yuppie Psycho (which ties into the business themes perfectly), which is nice because it's actually impossible to find any sort of reference or bio about him unfortunately, so anyway you can spread his work is extremely valuable!

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Is this girl the cat or is she the canary?
https://imgur.com/1e1e70S - https://imgur.com/XObpAjw