Participating Artists
|
Yasumasa Morimura
Born in 1951 in Osaka. He lives in Osaka.
Chosen for this exhibition are the portraits of Chaplin in the role of The Great Dictator, Lenin, and Yukio Mishima, all from the "Requiem" series.
In 1970, Mishima forced his way into a Japan Self-Defence Forces camp and gave a speech intended to inspire members of the Self-Defence Forces to stage a "coup d'etat". His call unheard, he committed suicide. Morimura makes the theme of his own speech art. The portrait of Lenin was photographed in a district of Osaka where there is a large concentration of day labourers and cheap lodging houses. The people shown standing around Lenin (as portrayed by Morimura) in the photo are actually day labourers and homeless people who were hired as extras. With the portrait of Chaplin in his role as The Great Dictator, attention is called to the fact that in the 21st century dictators are transparent. As suggested by the display of the Chinese character for ‘laughter' behind the dictator while he is delivering his speech, Morimura seems to have come to the conclusion that laughter will save the world.
|
