Portlandia’s Carrie Brownstein Loves Yoshitomo Nara’s Art

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Portlandia star Carrie Brownstein, formerly one third of the riot grrrl band Sleater-Kinney, digs the art of Yoshitomo Nara so much she once wrote a short story, “Light My Fire,” inspired by one of the Japanese artist’s sculptures, according to the Huffington Post‘s “The Blog.”

“I went to this giant show that was an introduction to contemporary Japanese art called ‘Superflat’ [in 2001] and I was drawn to Nara’s work,” Brownstein told The Blog. “I loved the almost haunting but also very exhilarating juxtaposition between the child-like quality of his work and an almost punk rock fierceness — with a wisdom beyond their years, and the threat of mischief that’s just bordering on malevolence.

“His work spoke to me in a way where I thought about how adults underestimate kids all the time,” she continued. “When you are a child, you feel underestimated. And as an adult, you underestimate the power and the acuity or the abilities of children in certain ways, especially for them to have a dark side, a mischievous side. I wrote a little bit about that with ‘Light My Fire.'”

For more of the interview, head to The Blog.

About Michael Goldberg

Michael Goldberg is a distinguished pioneer in the online music space; Newsweek magazine called him an ‘Internet visionary.’ In 1994 he founded Addicted To Noise (ATN), the highly influential music web site. He was a senior vice-president and editor in chief at SonicNet from March 1997 through May 2000. In 1997, Addicted To Noise won Webby awards for best music site in 1998 and 1999, and also won Yahoo Internet Life! awards for three years running as best music site in 1998, 1999 and 2000. Prior to starting Addicted To Noise, Goldberg was an editor and senior writer at Rolling Stone magazine for 10 years. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Esquire, Vibe, Details, Downbeat, NME and numerous other publications. Michael has had three novels published that comprise the "Freak Scene Dream trilogy": "True Love Scars," "The Flowers Lied" and "Untitled" which can be ordered here. His new book, "Wicked Game: The True Story of Guitarist James Calvin Wilsey," can be pre-ordered from HoZac Books. In November Backbeat Books will publish "Addicted To Noise: The Music Writings of Michael Goldberg," which can be be pre-ordered here.

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