| Maker(s): | Studio Swine (Murakami, Azusa and Groves, Alexander)
| | Culture: | British (active since 2011); (Japanese, 1984- ); British, 1983- )
| | Title: | Untitled (reimagined work for Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)’s Kabuki Actor Onoe Kikugorō III as Yakanbei, 1827, 2005.651)
| | Date Made: | 2016
| | Type: | Sculpture
| | Materials: | wood, marbleized concrete, rubberwood, brass, branch, bronze with black patina, branch
| | Measurements: | overall: 46.5 x 17.5 x 15 3/8"
| | Accession Number: | AC 2016.24.a-e
| | Credit Line: | Museum Purchase
| | Museum Collection: | Mead Art Museum at Amherst College
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Label Text:
Many yakusha-e (actor prints) were made as single figure designs that could be connected to form larger scenes, enabling publishers to sell them both as complete sets or almost as “trading card” pictures of single celebrities, such as Onoe Kikugorō III, one of the most famous actors of his time. In responding to this print, art collective Studio Swine sought to explore the varied textures and materials depicted. In so doing, they emphasize the importance of material objects (and their fantastic simulation) in the kabuki theater. Indeed, in this role as the footman Yakanbei, the actor holds a sacred sword, to which is tied a box containing its certificate of authenticity. The entire drama, which features magical foxes and clever thieves, is centered around the possession of these two material objects.
Tags:
theater; nonrepresentational art; conceptual art; actors; abstract; sculpture Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=AC+2016.24.a-e |
