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Dog with Coffin Dog with Coffin 簽名後背：な '93 題識後背：Dog with Coffin；Kaulquappenhund mit Sark Signed on the reverse Na in Japanese, dated '93, titled Dog with Coffin, inscribed OT and Kaulquappenhund mit Sark in German 背起了全世界的悲傷獨自遠行 「28歲在德國的我彷彿跨越了時空，開始和身在青森8歲的我對話。」 1988年後的12年間，正是奈良美智前往德國杜塞道夫藝術學院留學，置身於有如與故鄉青森與世隔絕氛圍相仿的科倫旅居的重要時期。時值壯年的他，在廣受新表現主義啟蒙，以及龐克搖滾樂曲風的影響之下，藝術家創作生涯迄今最為膾炙人口—於童真的臉龐上，飽受憤怒與孤獨情緒左右的彆扭小女孩圖騰，便於此時此刻蓬勃地萌發著。.無論畫筆下揮灑的是小女孩或小狗，都是奈良美智內心孤寂感的延伸、對於美好世界抱持純真想法的一種體現。「小狗溫馴服從的特質，常令我不自覺地想起孩子的形象。」若你經常觀看奈良美智，在小女孩和小狗作為主題的眾多作品當中，都會有如同此件拍品《Dogwith Coffin》，雙眼呈現一條簡單直線的神態，當其上揚時會令觀者感到主角像是在夢遊抑或展露出愉悅滿足的情緒；若是出現其他種眼神，再搭配上嘴角或肢體狀態，將會帶來全然不同的氛圍。而此件《Dog with Coffin》，在顯露出藝術家濃烈的鄉愁、那種無從抒發，僅能用畫筆表達的內心孤寂。 「據說狗狗在去世之前，並不希望主人過於傷心，將離開原本熟悉的生活環境，找個靜僻的角落獨自面對死亡的到來。」此件《Dog with Coffin》的創作緣由，便是奈良美智想要傳達人類與寵物間長年相識相知的親密，不願對方面臨別離時出現難過之情，在生命的終點到來前，用僅餘的些許氣力一肩將棺木扛起同時離去的最後體貼。畫作中的小狗兩手前掌因用力而曲起，搭配著臉上的堅毅之情，像是寵物於一生備受寵愛後，即將展露最後一次忠誠的決心，背起了全世界的悲傷獨自遠行。而此作的顏色表現更是超卓，小狗嘴巴上的一抹紅，配上兩條肩背帶的黃與腳底一襲綠，完美地平衡了棺木深層且沉重的 色澤，藝術家運用了看似簡單的幾個顏色，點綴出極為協調的畫面，並以極具個人特色的粗黑俐落線條勾勒出主角體態。其背景大量的留白，更留給了人們對於「有限生命」的無限想像。在堪稱艱難的直向三分式構圖中，仍能表現得極為生動，不落於僵硬俗套，奈良美智的創作功力於此作上可見一斑。 「就算想哭，也不能哭的時候太多了。」旅居德國期間前後長達了12年，離鄉背井的奈良美智與故鄉間的距離有著好幾萬公里之遙，在語言全然不通的情況下，猶如一場長年自我放逐的創作之旅。「語言方面我依然自卑，和人會面就會感到痛苦。」於那段期間內，藝術家的纖細內心有如擴張到了極限，因而產生了此件作品—將棺木負重於肩上，欲就此遠離人世的感受，同時將一切的無奈、憤怒與難過⋯⋯等，全數寄情於藝術。「平靜」是奈良美智為德國時期所下的簡短註解，然而性格敏感又內向的他，一路自童年時期以來飽受的成長與孤獨，是那麼樣真切地，在一張張的作品上如實呈現。「我畫畫，只是 為了自己。」像寫日記一般，於畫布上紀錄下每日令他有所感觸的事物，直率地表達專屬於自身的喜怒哀樂。而這正是你我所熟知的奈良 美智，以及那深蘊於作品的療癒力量。 Travelling Alone with the World's Sorrow "At the age 28, I was in Germany where I seemed to transcend time and space to begin a conversation with my 8-year-old self in Aomori." In the 12 years following 1988, Yoshitomo Nara travelled abroad to study at Kunstakademie Dusseldorf in Germany. It was an important period of time when Yoshitomo Nara lived in Cologne, a city that has an isolated atmosphere similar to his hometown Aomori. As an adult, Yoshitomo Nara was enlightened by Neo- Expressionism and influenced by punk rock music. Under these influences, Yoshitomo Nara developed the widely popular trademark of his creative career as an artist during this time period—the portrait of an awkward little girl with angry and lonely expressions on her childish face. "There are too many occasions when people need to refrain from crying even if they really want to cry." Yoshitomo Nara had lived in Germany for as long as 12 years, where he was tens of thousands of kilometers away from home. In a place with unfamiliar language, the journey for creation was like a long-term self-exile. "I still feel inferior about the language and I feel painful when I meet other people." During that period of time, the artist's delicate inner world was expanded to reach its maximum limit. That is what led to the birth of this piece of work—the feeling of carrying the coffin on his shoulders and going away with the whole world behind him. At the same time, all of the helplessness, anger, and sadness are committed to art. "Tranquility" is the brief remark that Yoshitomo Nara made about his stay in Germany. Nevertheless, with a sensitive and introverted personality, his growth and loneliness since childhood are truthfully displayed in his works. "I only paint for myself." Like writing a diary, Yoshitomo Nara records everything that impresses him on canvas to directly express his own emotions. And this is exactly the Yoshitomo Nara that we know, with a healing power deeply rooted in his works. "I heard that dogs would not want their owners to be heartbroken about their death. Hence they would leave their familiar environment before they die and find a quiet corner to confront the arrival of death on their own." Yoshitomo Nara's creative concept for Dog with Coffin is to express the long-term companionship and intimacy between humans and pets, who do not want the other party to feel sad when the time comes to part ways. The painting expresses the dog's final contribution as it carries the coffin with its remaining energy and leaves before the end of its life. In the painting, the dog's forepaws are curved, which combine with the determined look on its face to demonstrate a pet's last chance to show loyalty after living a well-loved life. Now the dog is ready to travel alone with the world's sorrow on its shoulders. Moreover, this painting has an exceptional combination of colors. The touch of red on the dog's lips along with the two yellow shoulder straps and green shade on the ground perfectly balance out the coffin's deep and murky color. The artist applied a few seemingly simple colors to produce a highly coherent image. In addition, the artist used extremely unique bold black lines to outline the character's posture. The blank space in the background leaves viewers with infinite imaginations about "a finite life." In a difficult composition with the rule of thirds, the painting still looks vividly real and refreshing. This nicely demonstrates Yoshitomo Nara's creative skills. The portrayal of both little girls and dogs is an extension of Yoshitomo Nara's sense of inner loneliness, as well as a reflection of his pure belief in a wonderful world. "A dog's gentle, obedient characteristics often remind me of the image of children." If you follow Yoshitomo Nara, you would always find something like this auction item titled Dog with Coffin among his numerous works with little girls and dogs as themes. In these works, the character's eyes are drawn by a simple, straight line. When the line curves up, the character appears to be sleepwalking or expressing a pleasurable, satisfied emotion. A different expression in the eyes can be combined with another lip shape or body posture to present a whole different atmosphere. This work titled Dog with Coffin expresses the artist's strong nostalgia—an indescribable kind of inner loneliness that can only be expressed through painting.