Artwork Page for Kabuki Actor

Details / Information for Kabuki Actor

Kabuki Actor

1953

Takumi Shinagawa

(Japanese, 1908–2009)
Culture
Japan
Medium
color woodcut
Support
Japanese wove paper
Measurements
Sheet: 56.7 x 35.7 cm (22 5/16 x 14 1/16 in.); Image: 54 x 33 cm (21 1/4 x 13 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of John Bonebrake 2015.127
Copyright
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

The design of Kabuki Actor was inspired by the kumadori make-up used in certain Kabuki plays. The image is not meant to suggest any particular role or actor, unlike traditional ukiyo-e prints. Shinagawa, who greatly admires the prints of Pablo Picasso, reconciles tradition and innovation, a disparity that has caused much tension in modern Japanese art. "Japanese art can't stay aloof from world currents," Shinagawa confides, "but that doesn't make a Japanese artist any less Japanese." His goal is to realize the essence of traditional ukiyo-e prints-the qualities of line and color-in a modern idiom.
A vertically oriented color woodcut presents a geometric, abstracted profile through interlocking shards of purple, blue, and black. A white, wood-grained section bisects the face, revealing a sharp profile with one almond-shaped eye. Sharp triangular planes of blue overlay wavy textures, while the composition fragments the features into a rhythmic mosaic. Dark, rectangular blocks frame the left side, grounding the textured face within a segmented field of color.

Kabuki Actor

1953

Takumi Shinagawa

(Japanese, 1908–2009)
Japan

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