Oriental Masterprint #5

Roger Shimomura, artist

born 1939

Oriental Masterprint #5, 1974

Portfolio/Series title: Oriental Masterprints

Where object was made: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Material/technique: wove paper; color screen print

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 559 x 560 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 22 x 22 1/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 609 x 609 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 24 x 24 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 30 x 30 in

Credit line: Gift of the artist

Accession number: 1999.0050

Not on display

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Label texts

Exhibition Label:
"Inspired by Japan," Mar-2003, Cori Sherman
As a third-generation Japanese-American, Shimomura has a unique perspective from which to gauge influence of Japanese art on Western sensibilities. In his own work, Disney characters, comic-book heroes, and pop art motifs are combined with kabuki actor figures, rice cookers, and courtesans. Shimomura’s compositions are so eye-catching and appealing that viewers can be distracted from undertones of racism and xenophobia.

The brick wall has evolved as a metaphor for American culture, in stark contrast to the traditional translucent Japanese sho-ji, the flexible sliding screen for changing demarcations of space. In this print, the brick wall of American art has been overlaid with the most famous Japanese ukiyoe image, Hokusai’s Great Wave off Kanagawa, and the kabuki actor dressed in a kimono printed with orientalized circular yellow “smiley faces.” Shimomura’s works with the continuous cross- referencing of traditional icons of art and history hint at underlying narrative, but any message contained is left to the viewer to interpret.