APT 5 Artist Talk – Masami Teraoka

Part of the 3 day orientation programme is the Artist Talk.
This is the first artist talk that i have ever attend and its so interesting! I learned so much about Masami Tareoka's work from this talk and feel that I learn more from Artist Talk than from reading the work descriptions on the walls
He is one of my favouraite artist in the exhibition.. =)



• Oi-shi-wa: meaning delicious, enjoyable
- To him, sex is ‘delicious’
• 1st person whom he encounter that has AIDs, is his friend’s 1 year old baby girl
- she got AIDs by blood transfusion and Masami was very taken by it
- Masami expresses his fear of AIDs and mother’s fear of contracting AIDs in his artworks
• Calligraphy seen in his works:
- Writing style of the 1600s
- Masami is fascinated by the visual effect of this calligraphy



Painting description:
• Idea comes from the Japanese who likes to dress like the westerners but usually still think in conventional Japanese style
- E.g. is the man at the right hand side



- His traditional shoe is replaced by a Nike shoe
- It shows how Japanese culture is westernised

*Most of the Japanese culture is influenced by the Western Culture (homogenizing culture)

• The geisha in his works usually represent Japanese women



Geisha in Bath

• The geisha is getting ready to meet her boyfriend
• What the writings on this work says is :She is opening the condom and found that the size of it is too big for her boyfriend and he can't use it! (haha... interesting)

There are many AIDs issues in Japan

- In 1986, there were not so many AIDs issue in Japan then
- Masami feels that its the Japanese who had sex in Western countries who brought AIDs back to Japan and the immediate people who have AIDs are the Geisha
• When people go to different country, they use to travel by ship
- Black ship: Japan and U.S tradings

Moved to Hawaii

• Hawaii is famous for its beachbut Masami can't swim
- he even nearly drown
• when he was drowning, he felt that he has not done much in life yet
• innocently, he wanted to swallow all the sea water so that he could be saved
• he feels that the ocean in Hawaii is friendly as it 'taught' him how to swim

Sea Waves



• the waves he paints are like carassing fingers (looks softer and less angular than how the other artists would paint)
- it is in the shape of fingers playing the piano
- they are 'friendly looking' waves
Masami says: "Anything you draw reflects what/how you think/feel", "water is now my friend"
• he hope to swim in the huge waves
• his wave paintings are related to balance
• he used to be able to swim in the ocean in his hometown but it has now become too polluted to swim in
- the beaches in Santa Monica have life gurads and stuff that attract people to swim but not Masami

One of my favourite work in the exhibition:



McDonald's Hamburgers Invading Japan/Chochin-me, 1982
Purchased 2005. The Queensland Government's Gallery of Modern Art Acquisitions Fund
Collection: Queensland Art Gallery