Nara's "Miss Forest" on Wilshire

Yoshitomo Nara, Miss Forest (LACMA Version), 2016-2020

Yoshitomo Nara's Miss Forest, a 26-foot-high painted bronze sculpture, has been installed at LACMA, facing Wilshire. It's part of the Nara retrospective that's been placed on hold. A smaller, 16-foot version of the sculpture was shown at the Japan Society (New York) last year.

Appropriate for the moment, Miss Forest was born of catastrophe. The 2011 Fukushima earthquake and nuclear meltdown prompted Nara to reimagine some of his rebellious kids as Earth-mother Shinto sages. As shown at LACMA, Miss Forest echoes the scale and verticality of Urban Light and Robert Irwin's palms, yet presents a more inward, close-eyed take on cosmic rootedness. 

Miss Forest with Chris Burden's Urban Light and Robert Irwin's Primal Palm Garden