The Fascinating Display of the “Kunisada Eclipsed” Painting

The exhibition involved here is “Floating Realities” that was held at CSUF. The exhibition was curated by Mike McGee and Amena El-Mekhgiange. Floating Realities was meant to focus on the Japanese influence on Teraoka’s work by way of displaying his drawings and paintings alongside the Japanese paintings and prints. Masami Teraoka was Japanese-born and used to combine the influences of traditional Japanese art forms with American Pop art. The aspect used to “exploit temporal and cultural disparities between contemporary ideas and traditional style which form his subject matter” (Tate.org).

All the paintings in the exhibition were placed on the wall. The spacing between the artworks at the “Floating Realities” was approximately 50 meters. Given the spacing, the artworks were independently visible to the viewers. Each artwork had a description card at the bottom or side of the relevant piece of art. Having a note description ensured that the details of each artwork were accessible to the viewers present in the exhibition. Jazz music was in the air during the exhibition. The sound being produced was quite soft. The music in play ensured that there is the creation of a calm environment to make it possible for the audience to enjoy what the exhibition had to offer.

From the exhibition, “Kunisada Eclipsed” captured my attention more. The painting was developed in 1993 by Masami Teraoka. The dimensions of the painting are 26 * 45.5 inches. Masami Teraoka used varied mediums in the development of the painting such as etching, woodcut, aquatint and hand coloring. The painting was also classified as prints.

The painting depicts a fantasy scene. This is evidenced by the number of activities taking place given the environment. The painter was not present in the “Floating Realities” exhibition; therefore, the information regarding the painting could only be sourced from the curator. The response was that “the painting depicted Kunisada in Hawaii who was watching the solar eclipse.” The sight of an American woman in a bikini obscures his sight as he diverts his attention by changing his sightseeing plans.

Other people’s reactions toward the painting were an indication that it was fascinating. They stood there trying to analyze it, and different opinions were coming out. Everyone was trying to analyze what the painting represented. Viewers tried to discuss among themselves. At some point I could here two women discussing on how men are easily distracted by attractive women. That sounded very true given that on the painting, the man had deviated from glimpsing on the solar eclipse and transferred all his attention on the lady with the bikini.

 

Works Cited

Tate.org. “Kunisada Eclipsed, Masami Teraoka 1993 | Tate”. Tate, 2017, http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/teraoka-kunisada-eclipsed-p12386.

 

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