Title
31 Flavours Invading Japan/French Vanilla IV
1979
Artist
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Details
- Place where the work was made
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Japan
- Period
- Shōwa period 1926 - 1988 → Japan
- Date
- 1979
- Media category
- Materials used
- colour screenprint
- Edition
- A.P.
- Dimensions
- 28.0 x 139.5 cm image; 46.0 x 156.0 x 4.4 cm frame
- Signature & date
Signed l.l., in Japanese, ink [printed] "Teraoka Masami ga [picture by Teraoka Masami]".
Not dated.- Credit
- Thea Proctor Memorial Fund 1989
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 343.1989
- Copyright
- © Masami Teraoka
- Artist information
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Masami Teraoka
Works in the collection
- Share
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About
Masami Teraoka draws on his unique blend of Japanese/American heritage to comment on contemporary society. Teraoka moved to Los Angeles in 1961 and made his reputation through his witty prints which, drawing stylistically on traditional 'ukiyo-e' prints, satirise contemporary lifestyles. His sophisticated works warrant close study, so rich are they in wit, nuance (often salacious and erotic) and visual and verbal puns. The print '31 flavours invading Japan' perfectly exemplifies his style. The title is a reference to the marketing onslaught of the American firm Baskin-Robbins on the Japanese consumer market. In a successful attempt to get Japanese eating icecream cones, brightly coloured stalls offering '31 flavours' sprang up all around Tokyo. The main figure resembles a typical 'ukiyo-e' courtesan, particularly those by Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1864). The courtesan, over-adorned with hair combs, holds a melting icecream cone while reaching for napkins, a modern version of a favourite 19th century erotic convention.
The Asian Collections, AGNSW, 2003, pg.256.
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Places
Where the work was made
Japan
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Exhibition history
Shown in 3 exhibitions
Japanese prints of the 20th century, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 23 Jun 1990–12 Aug 1990
The Floating World: Japan's World of transient pleasures, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 25 May 1994–17 Jul 1994
The Way We Eat, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 03 Apr 2021–13 Jun 2022
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Bibliography
Referenced in 3 publications
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Jackie Menzies, The Floating World: Japan's world of transient pleasures, Sydney, 1994, not paginated. catalogue no: C27
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Jackie Menzies, Look, 'Asian Favourites', pg. 24-27, Sydney, Sep 2003, 24-25 (colour illus.).
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Jackie Menzies (Editor), The Asian Collections Art Gallery of New South Wales, 'The Floating World', Sydney, 2003, 256 (colour illus.). The colour illus. on page 256 is a detail of this work.
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