BUST A MOVE
By Steve Gray
December 2, 2014
Japanese artist Taku Obata has his first United States solo show entitled Bust a Move now showing at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York. Bust a Move features Taku Obata’s life size sculptures, created from wood and acrylic and influenced by classic b-boy style and the artists own involvement in the b-boy scene. The colourful sculptures capture a range of figures caught in the act of break- dancing, mid battle in their dance offs, a moment caught in time with exaggerated hats and glasses emphasising movement against the static sculptures creating a slightly surreal images.
Taku Obata for this exhibition has combined his cultural roots in the use of traditional Japanese wood-carving, with his love of the modern culture of urban dance, that he was heavily involved with in the form of Unityselections, the hip hop dance crew he formed in 1999. His understanding of how the body moves during the dances has led Taku Obata to create strong sculptures full of energy, ready to burst to life before your eyes and embellished with old style b-boy jumpsuits and essential fashionable accessories that also gives it a slightly humorous feel. Also on show are a range of ink and coloured pencil drawings capturing b-boys in mid dance, again full of the energy and movement that can be seen in the urban dance form along with bright and garish hues in classic break dancing style. Taku Obata is redefining the b-boy genre with his involvement in art, music and dance.
