Superman, used in Seven Kabuki Plays Project, Roger Shimomura

Artwork Overview

Roger Shimomura, Superman, used in Seven Kabuki Plays Project
Roger Shimomura, Superman, used in Seven Kabuki Plays Project
Roger Shimomura
Superman, used in Seven Kabuki Plays Project
1988
Roger Shimomura
born 1939
Superman, used in Seven Kabuki Plays Project, 1988
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: foamboard; paint; wood
Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 211 x 224 x 5 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 83 1/16 x 88 3/16 x 1 15/16 in
Credit line: Gift of the artist
Accession number: S2019.012.a
Not on display
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Images

Label texts

Staging Shimomura
Shimomura intentionally appropriates Superman to subvert the significance of this iconic superhero. In Seven Kabuki Plays where this gigantic prop was first used, Superman embodies the looming threat of the U.S. government and the eventual incarceration of Shimomura’s family under the War Relocation Authority created through Executive Order 9006 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942. During WWII, Superman appeared in anti-Japan propaganda urging Americans to “Stamp Out the Japanazis.”
Staging Shimomura
Shimomura intentionally appropriates Superman to subvert the significance of this iconic superhero. In Seven Kabuki Plays where this gigantic prop was first used, Superman embodies the looming threat of the U.S. government and the eventual incarceration of Shimomura’s family under the War Relocation Authority created through Executive Order 9006 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942. During WWII, Superman appeared in anti-Japan propaganda urging Americans to “Stamp Out the Japanazis.”

Exhibitions

Staging Shimomura
Kris Ercums, curator
2020