4. Artist Report – Jun Kaneko

“I call it the spiritual scale. I am trying to… pull the viewer into it. Then the physical scale is not the issue. You become one with it.”

Jun Kaneko in an interview for THE Magazine

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Subject vs. Content Statement HW

Jun Kaneko is a Japanese American artist who works in the abstract art field in a grand scale. Viewers are captivated by the extreme scale of his works and his piece titled Bonze, Head, 2004 is no acceptation to this as it sits at 73 inches high by 67 inches wide and 52 inches deep. This bronze casted human head is not to scale as the facial features appear to be flattened and slightly exaggerated. Sporadically around the entire head are pieces jutting out a few inches that look as if there are the squared tail end of a zipper pull. With all this chaos around the head, the facial expression on the face shows peace, tranquility and possibly deep thought or meditative state.

This piece could be expressing the chaos that surrounds our lives everyday, and how we need to find focus and peace while being bombarded with external factors. Humans have many troubles and problems around them, but finding inner peace to manage these threats is a necessary part of life. Perhaps the artist wants the viewer to remember that although they feel small, they are bigger than the challenges they are facing and they must find heir own way. After viewing this piece and understanding the pure intensity of its size, it is also something one could compare to African art as well as the massive heads found on Easter Island. Could the artist have been inspired by these two cultures and want to create a modern perspective on the historical and ritualistic works? There is a deep appreciation and level curiosity associated with these pieces which can easily be connected with the piece by Kaneko.