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These paintings evoke the 1980s in all its plastic neon-pastel cocaine glory
02.09.2015
04:25 pm
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Yoko Honda was a teenager in the 1980s, a fact that is evident everywhere in her work. Her images unstintingly evoke Los Angeles and Miami of the coked-up Miami Vice years when Michael Jackson and Madonna dominated the pop landscape, when Corey Hart wore his sunglasses at night and Frankie Goes to Hollywood urged listeners to “Relax.” Patrick Nagel‘s sleek women adorned the cover of Duran Duran’s Rio as well as the living rooms of many a day trader.

As Rachel Shearer writes,
 

This particular series of 80s inspired images are testament to her artistic knowledge and interpretive skills. Having grown up as a teen in this era, she was immersed in the art, movies, commercials and TV series that formed the distinctly recognizable flavor, color and style. Listening to the musical strains of a range of classics, the 80s moods return to mind and allow her to transfer these images from memory to print.

A painter at heart, Honda also uses Photoshop to amplify her prints with a strong, modern punch that simultaneously exaggerates the old-school vibes and catapults the designs into the 21st Century. Hoping to inspire feelings of nostalgia and love in her audience, Honda pulls on the heart strings of those who long for the lost era with gentle nods to pop cult trends of motels, Michael Jackson (circa “Thriller”) and playful tacky shades of Boogie Nights that make us yearn for a disco pool-party where it was completely acceptable to wear feather boas, sequins and heels.

 
Her work reminds me an unholy combination of David Hockney and Wayne Thiebaud with a soupçon of the interiors of Bojack Horseman, perhaps.

Her book Summertime Love will be available in June, but you can preorder it now.
 

 

 

 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Martin Schneider
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02.09.2015
04:25 pm
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