The Art for One and for All: Yoshitomo Nara’s Construction of Emotional Community TIAN YANG Columbia University, Class of 2020 ABSTRACT A child standing in an empty field, full of innocence deep in reverie, is the image that populate Yoshitomo Nara’s works. His images are opened up to different interpretations by various communities. This paper talks about how Nara engages viewers at three different levels. First, Nara’s direct expression of his personal sentiment and memory crystalizing the sense of collective emotion through his images and serves as an emotional call to his audience. Second the paper shows the influence of popular culture on Nara’s artistic creations. His incorporation of associative cues is personalized by viewers based on their individual experience. Third the paper argues that through the use of medium and structural composition, Nara captivates viewers in a direct visual dialogue with the painted figure. Nara addresses viewers in these ways that his work becomes a mirror where viewers encounter their inner selves. Yoshitomo Nara is an internationally prominent artist with an established reputation in the global art world. One of his symbolic pieces The Little Star Dweller sold recently in 2015 at Christie’s New York for 3,413,000 USD. Besides high market value, Nara’s works also enjoy tremendous popularity with a diverse and wide-ranging fan base. The “A