Portrait & Figurative Drawings
〜花魁の微笑み〜
Oiran
Graphite on Paper
30” x 40”
2013
Portrait I-5
Graphite on Paper
23” x 29”
2005
Portrait II-5
Black and White Pastel on Toned Gray Paper
19” x 25”
2005
Portrait III-5
Black and White Pastel on Toned Brown Paper
20” x 25”
2005
Portrait IV-5
Graphite on paper
23” x 29”
2005
Portrait VI-5
Graphite on paper
23” x 29”
2005
Life Drawing I-20
Black and White Charcoal Pencils on Toned Paper
11” x 14”
2020
Psychological Self-Portrait
Vine & Willow Charcoal on Paper
30” x 40”
1996
Art Statement
This is one of my works that I drew just after I moved to the United States from Japan. This work represents my psychological feelings of how uncomfortable I was being a foreigner surrounded by a different people, a different culture, and speaking a different language.
You might be familiar with the entire image of the drawing--it’s based on Rembrandt’s painting “The Syndics of the Clothmakers' Guild”. Rembrandt Van Rijn is one of my favorite artists. When I was 16 years old, I was very impressed when I first saw his paintings and I greatly admired his work. His paintings made me want to become an artist. Therefore, I chose one of his paintings to draw and then I added my self-portrait at the center of these figures.
The young girl in the drawing seems uncomfortable being surrounded by these aged gentlemen, which represents the uncomfortable feeling I had when I just moved to Wyoming from Tokyo, Japan. I didn’t see any Japanese or any other Asians for that mater and I was very uncomfortable going out to restaurant since I always was the only an Asian in the Restaurant. The hat the girl in the drawing is wearing is a cowboy hat instead of the Dutch hats that the other gentlemen are wearing since I was in Wyoming in one of the cowboy towns. She is trying to blend in with others but she just doesn’t fit in with the others in the drawing and that represents how I tried to be like the other Americans. The picture at the background of the figures is one of Japanese woodblock prints from Bijin-ga by Kitagawa Utamaro who is one of my favorite Japanese old masters. I included the image in the drawing to indicate my original identity.
This drawing is one of the few self-portraits that I have done. It is a very personal work. Every time I see it, I am reminded of my feelings when I just moved to the United States.