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Yasumasa
Morimura also layers his digital sendups of traditional Japanese prints
by mixing ancient techniques with 21st century technology. The layering
here not only crosses time but cultural space as well. Yasumasa Morimura,
in his best known work, photographs himself impersonating American screen
goddesses. In the series of images in the exhibition Morimura first produced
sketches for the eventual placement of photographic self-portraits which
were then registered into traditional wood block images cut and printed
in Japan. These partial images of traditionally clothed bodies, with spaces
for faces, were then sent to Cone Studios where Jon Cone morphed Morimura's
face to fit into the existing prints. The digital faces were then registered
directly on the Iris drum to match perfectly and drop into the open space
on the wood block print.
Finally the prints were sent back to Japan where hair was printed over the
digitally produced face, once again by wood block technique. Not only is
the project a printing tour de force, but an exercise in technological dŽtant.
Cone's unique expertise in combining traditional printmaking practices with
digital technology, and his commitment to the collaborative form in printmaking
combines with Morimura's ability to play the chameleon and enter multiple
cultural time frames.
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