Skip to Main Content

Glass - Shadow Abstraction #2

c. 1930s
(Japanese, 1897–1966)
Japan, 20th century
gelatin silver print
Image: 19.6 x 27.5 cm (7 11/16 x 10 13/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1992.335
Edition: unique print
Location: not on view
This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Download, Print and Share

Description

During the 1930s Shikanosuke Yagaki pursued a vocation in banking and an avocation in photography, an interest begun in his teens. A member of a number of photography clubs and associations, he enthusiastically absorbed the latest Western trends and ideas in contemporary photography, including the use of strong contrast, elevated points of view, dynamic angles, spontaneity, and reliance on common subject matter. This simple still life of two glasses of water reveals the artist's keen interest in rendering abstracted shapes and nuances of light. Yagaki's work is one of the few existing expressions of the dynamic photography practiced in Japan during the 1930s. Since he lived in Kyoto, an ancient capital of Japan that survived World War II, his work was not lost in the bombings that destroyed an estimated 80% of the art created during this productive period.
Glass - Shadow Abstraction #2

Glass - Shadow Abstraction #2

c. 1930s

Shikanosuke Yagaki

(Japanese, 1897–1966)
Japan, 20th century

See Also

Visually Similar Artworks

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.