British Museum Celebrates Three Generations of Manga Artists

TEMPO.CO, London - London's British Museum takes a look at manga, Japan's widely popular graphic art form, in a new exhibition showcasing the works of different generations of artists.

"Manga now: three generations" features recent and newly commissioned artwork from Chiba Tetsuya, known for his sports manga, Hoshino Yukinobu, who specializes in science fiction comic book art, and Nakamura Hikaru, known for her wry work focusing on daily life.

On display are Tetsuya's color drawing of a young golfer on a green in "Fair Isle Lighthouse Keepers Golf Course, Scotland" while the work of Yukinobu depicts a newly created character "Rainman" in black and white.

Hikaru, the most recent generation of the artists, has on display cover artwork for her "Saint Oniisan" series which tells a story of Jesus and Buddha as flatmates in Tokyo.

"This exhibition ... introduces manga as it is now," said exhibition curator Nicole Rousmaniere.

"While you won't get a whole history of manga and you won't get a complete encyclopedic view, you will get an accurate feeling for what is happening in manga right now."

Modern manga grew in popularity in Japan after World War Two and have subsequently spread overseas, with millions of copies of magazines sold each year.

"Not only is (manga) big business and not only is it entertainment ... but it's actually part of the fabric of Japanese society, and I think actually becoming more so externally in Europe and certainly in America," Rousmaniere said.

"Manga now: three generations" runs Sept. 3 to Nov. 15.

REUTERS