JOJO in Paris was a special exhibition held from April 10 to April 30, 2003 at the Odermatt-Vedovi Gallery in Paris. It is remarkable for being the first time Hirohiko Araki publicly exposed his artworks.[1]
Summary
The exposition happened from April 10 to April 30, 2003, in the modern art gallery Odermatt-Vedovi (now closed). It featured more than 40 original artworks related to the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series from Phantom Blood to Stone Ocean. Araki himself was present for the Vernissage of the exhibition.
JOJO in Paris is the first time Hirohiko Araki has publicly exposed his artwork and is one of the rare times a mangaka has exposed their work out of Japan. Araki mentions that he realized that even people who didn't read his manga would appreciate his artwork when he met a little girl and an old man who never read his work before who praised him for his art.[2] Going from that, Araki chose France as the first place where he'd expose his artwork because France was, according to him, a country where his manga wasn't famous but where art was held in high esteem.[3] He also mentions that he also knew someone there, which facilitated his choice for making an exhibition in this city.[4]
To commemorate his exposition, Araki has made two exclusive artworks for the occasion featuring Giorno Giovanna and Jolyne Cujoh, the two most recent JoJo protagonists of the series at the time.
Interviews
Gallery
Jolyne commemorative artwork
Giorno commemorative artwork
Facade of the art gallery
View of the interior
Hirohiko Araki attending the event
References
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20030523204259/http://dvdanime.net/articleview.php?id=46
- ↑ 2003 Cosmo Politan interview
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2UklisoYPY&t=57s
- ↑ Interview:JOJOnicle Interview (December 2019) " I've always been fond of Paris, but another factor was I knew someone there. I don't think people put much importance on manga art exhibitions at the time. I think both creators and editing departments went in the direction of wanting to become an anime. But, in my case, I knew someone in Paris. Call it fate or whatever, but everything in Paris just naturally came together, and I got to hold an exhibition in an independent art gallery in one of Paris' finest regions. So it's not like I had to push hard to have it in Paris."