Tokyo , Japan ( CNN ) -- Jun Kitagawa 's foray into public art did n't spring from an epiphany or a burst of passion . It came from hundreds of unwanted white T-shirts stuffed inside cardboard boxes in his Tokyo apartment . Seventeen years ago , Kitagawa decided to make T-shirts with images of women in poses so provocative they 'd make American Apparel blush . But no one wanted to buy them . `` It was very disappointing , of course , '' Kitagawa tells CNN . One day , he scrambled into a park and dressed a nude sculpture with one of his unloved white tees . He snapped some pictures then removed the shirt . He showed the pictures to friends . `` Some people would say 'that 's very interesting , ' and some would get mad , '' says Kitagawa . Either way , the photos elicited strong reactions . Obscene vandalism or public art ? Whether he 's dressing nude , Romantic era-styled statues in white tees , creating voluminous balloons shaped like human buttocks or setting up gigantic 3D zippers to protrude out of traditional Japanese gardens , Kitagawa 's public art in Japan is whimsical , erotic and playful . There 's a sense that his work functions like a wink -- a reminder not to take everything so seriously . He takes something vaunted as high art , such as a classical nude statue , with romanticized human proportions and a stately countenance , and mixes it with a white T-shirt . `` I want to make a work that takes two extreme elements -- the highest and lowest elements , '' he says . Some critics say his work is n't even art -- that it 's vandalism or a prank or even obscene . `` Whether the audience sees my work as pleasing or disturbing , the visual impact that jolts people awake is an essential part of my work , '' Kitagawa says . When still in his 20s , Kitagawa quit his job at an architectural firm to become an artist . Since his father was a landscape painter , Kitagawa says he felt becoming an artist would be a practical profession . He became an assistant to a sculptor , learning techniques and working with metals and clay . These days , he asks for permission . Kitagawa is a slender man with a slight goatee , his hair underneath a pink and green newsboy hat . He moves quickly , light-footed , almost like a cat -- a trait that served him well back when he had to sneak a ladder into a park to put a T-shirt on a sculpture . These days , he seeks permission before dressing sculptures in public places . Usually he gets denied , or receives no response at all . He says he 's still surprised when officials approve his requests . In the spirit of pop-up art , he removes the shirt from the sculptures after about 7-10 days . `` I just want to let people walking by know something is going on , '' Kitagawa says . `` I want to change something from the ordinary . '' Kitagawa also does more traditional work , decorating Japanese festivals , cultural events and the occasional shopping mall . In several temporary installations , Kitagawa has toyed with zippers . One giant zipper stretches through a quiet Japanese garden at the Chinzanso Hotel in Tokyo . Another ran through a house in Tokyo , exposing its flooring and structure beneath . ( The house has since been demolished . ) One of his zipper works currently on display at the Roppongi Tunnel was commissioned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to clean up graffiti . `` The zippers convey that what we are actually seeing in this real world is just a surface , and that once we peel it off , we see there 's another hidden space , which is completely different from our side , '' he says .
Jun Kitagawa has created pop-up installations throughout Japan . The artist got his start dressing sculptures with racy T-shirts . Hide Caption 1 of 10 Photos:Photos: Japan's most popular artists