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MASAMI TERAOKA (b. 1936)

 
MASAMI TERAOKA - Los Angeles Sushi Ghost Tales/Flying Sushi - watercolor on paper, mounted as a scroll - 90 x 17 1/4 in. MASAMI TERAOKA - Los Angeles Sushi Ghost Tales/Flying Sushi - watercolor on paper, mounted as a scroll - 90 x 17 1/4 in. MASAMI TERAOKA - Los Angeles Sushi Ghost Tales/Flying Sushi - watercolor on paper, mounted as a scroll - 90 x 17 1/4 in. MASAMI TERAOKA - Los Angeles Sushi Ghost Tales/Flying Sushi - watercolor on paper, mounted as a scroll - 90 x 17 1/4 in. MASAMI TERAOKA - Los Angeles Sushi Ghost Tales/Flying Sushi - watercolor on paper, mounted as a scroll - 90 x 17 1/4 in. MASAMI TERAOKA - Los Angeles Sushi Ghost Tales/Flying Sushi - watercolor on paper, mounted as a scroll - 90 x 17 1/4 in. MASAMI TERAOKA - Los Angeles Sushi Ghost Tales/Flying Sushi - watercolor on paper, mounted as a scroll - 90 x 17 1/4 in. MASAMI TERAOKA - Los Angeles Sushi Ghost Tales/Flying Sushi - watercolor on paper, mounted as a scroll - 90 x 17 1/4 in. MASAMI TERAOKA - Los Angeles Sushi Ghost Tales/Flying Sushi - watercolor on paper, mounted as a scroll - 90 x 17 1/4 in. MASAMI TERAOKA - Los Angeles Sushi Ghost Tales/Flying Sushi - watercolor on paper, mounted as a scroll - 90 x 17 1/4 in.
Los Angeles Sushi Ghost Tales/Flying Sushi197990 x 17 1/4 in.(228.6 x 43.82 cm) watercolor on paper, mounted as a scroll
Provenance
Private Collection
Literature
Teraoka, M., Hoffman, K., Heartney, E., Bing, A., & Clark, C. (2012), Ascending chaos: The art of Masami Teraoka 1966-2006, San Francisco, Calif: Chronicle Books LLC, illustrated

95,000

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“…I wanted to sort of introduce ukyo-e style in contemporary context, so I felt like that could be my mission.” – Masami Teraoka

History

Is this a Japanese antiquity, a centuries old scroll painting? It certainly has all the hallmarks of one but on closer inspection, there are surreal and contemporary aspects such as the tissues symbolizing sexual desire. In fact, this is a work by Japanese American artist Masami Teraoka.

Born in Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture, Teraoka studied at what is now Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. His works are inspired by Japanese Ukiyo-e woodcut prints. However, Teraoaka infuses the style and techniques of the traditional art with American Pop Art. The mass-produced nature of Japanese woodcut prints alligns with the obsession with mass production and consumption of Pop Art. Additionally, Ukiyo, meaning “the floating world” in Edo period Japan reflected the transitory nature of Kabuki theater and pleasure houses. This transitory sense of consumerism and pleasure was also evoked in the works by Pop Artists. Teraoka’s works are a collision of two cultures and histories of art finding affinities through similar themes.

Teraoka’s pieces blend humor and social commentary. He has often touched upon subjects as diverse and urgent as the AIDs crises, consumerism, the attacks on September 11th, and more. Teraoka notes of his own work, “Integrating reality with fantasy, humor with commentary, and history with the present became my challenge.”

What is particularly special about this work is that it takes the form of a scroll painting. The tradition of scroll painting reaches back centuries in China where it was then introduced to Japan as a way to spread Buddhism. Hanging scroll paintings have been a central focus of art in China and Japan, a vehicle for a diverse range of artistic expression – visual translations of poetry, meditations on life and death, collaborations between friends – and for a variety of reasons – simple interior decorations, tokens of special relationships, even erotica. The earliest extant erotic scroll in Japan dates back to 1321.

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“Mere depiction of social and cultural issues is not enough. My work has to create something that goes beyond simple perception. To make a strong statement, art needs timeless aesthetic qualities. These can take any subject matter to a higher level of experience. That is the essence of what I am pursuing.” – Masami Teraoka

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Other Works by Masami Teraoka

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