The Changing Face of Contemporary Japanese Art: Morimura Yasumasa’s Henshin as Performance

Over the course of a career that has spanned more than 20 years, artist Morimura Yasumasa has used a variety of performative gestures to alter his appearance. This lecture will discuss the tricks Morimura uses to change his body into the form of another, while positioning these acts into the greater spectrum of Japanese art history and contemporary art production. In numerous ways, Morimura’s henshin (literally, “changing of the body”) can be read as a precursor to the works of many of Japan’s emerging contemporary artists.

Photo credit: M’s self-portrait No. 56 (or “as Marilyn Monroe”). 355 x 279mm. Gelatin Silver Print. 1995. Courtesy of the artist and MEM, Inc., Osaka.