two-fold screen; seated figure with a staff behind bamboo blind at left; brown umbrella at center; yellow flowers in LRQ; blue sheet in background; gold at top

%C2%A9 Yamamoto Tar%C5%8D

Blue Sheet and Yellow Flowers [left of a pair], 2008

expand_more
Not on Viewexpand_more

The figure in the screen references Ono no Komachi, a famously beautiful waka poet from the Heian period who became a popular character in Noh theater. In the play Sotoba Komachi (Komachi on the Stupa), the poet devolves into a haggard beggar wandering the countryside, a storyline that Tarō adapted to a contemporary setting. Though she sits in a blue tent of the sort erected in Japanese parks today by the homeless, Komachi retains an ethereal beauty, clothed in layers of blankets or perhaps the robes of the Heian court. A deferential reference to Japanese culture, the work is also a critique of Japanese disregard for the country’s growing homeless population.

Details
Title
Blue Sheet and Yellow Flowers [left of a pair]
Artist Life
born 1974
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2013.29.1317.1
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know

two-fold screen; seated figure with a staff behind bamboo blind at left; brown umbrella at center; yellow flowers in LRQ; blue sheet in background; gold at top

© Yamamoto Tarō

Because of © restrictions, we can only show you a small image of this artwork.