Description

The design of Kabuki Actor was inspired by the kumadori make-up used in certain Kabuki plays. The image is not meant to suggest any particular role or actor, unlike traditional ukiyo-e prints. Shinagawa, who greatly admires the prints of Pablo Picasso, reconciles tradition and innovation, a disparity that has caused much tension in modern Japanese art. "Japanese art can't stay aloof from world currents," Shinagawa confides, "but that doesn't make a Japanese artist any less Japanese." His goal is to realize the essence of traditional ukiyo-e prints-the qualities of line and color-in a modern idiom.