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MASAMI TERAOKA ON THE CUSP
From culture clashes and environmental degradation ...
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by Charles Mason Photos courtesy of The Allen Memorial Art Museum |
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... to the AIDS epidemic and the increasingly invasive role of technology in modern life |
Sometimes
amusing, sometimes distressing, always provocative, Masami Teraoka's
paintings and prints combine elements drawn from traditional
Japanese ukiyo-e,
American Pop Art, and, more recently, late Gothic and
Renaissance religious paintings
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The Allen Memorial
Art Museum has brought to campus a rich collection
of the work of one of the most original and exciting artists active
in America during the last quarter century. Masami Teraoka
continues to challenge the world with his unique artistic vision. Numerous
attempts have been made over the last 25 years to pigeon-hole him--as
a Japanese artist, as an American artist, and as an Asian-American artist.
Yet while he is all of these, his highly individual combination of wit,
imagination, and skill defies simplistic categorization. Teraoka's images
transcend the boundaries of time, space, and culture, and must be interpreted
by each viewer on their own terms.
The essentially immediate, open-minded nature
of Teraoka's art is perhaps best explained by the artist himself. "I
don't want my paintings to preach," Teraoka has said, "I am interested
in that moment of confrontation with life when our psyche becomes shocked
and naked--a vacuumed mind-set situation. A strong art is direct, but
does not have any facade. It comes in a raw state."
Much of his early work, done in a Pop-influenced
ukiyo-e style, commented wryly on the glaring differences between Japanese
and American cultures, a theme that has appeared regularly in his works
ever since. During the late 1970s and early '80s, Teraoka's work began
addressing more controversial issues, such as the global spread of mass
consumerism and the destruction of the natural environment. These new
themes were still presented with irony and humor, but the overall tone
of the images became decidedly darker and less whimsical than previously.
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