Arcana:

(MORIMURA, YASUMASA). Morimura, Yasumasa. Santa Monica, CA: Peter Norton Family Foundation, 1995. First Edition. Artists' Multiple. Fine.. "Each year the Norton Family commissions an original artwork as a greeting for the holiday season. This year's is by Japanese artist Yasumasa Morimura. Morimura-san photographs himself in re-creations of important Western cultural images. His work explores the issues of meaning, identity, authenticity, and viewpoint: issues that have become key themes in contemporary cultural dialogue". For 1995's Christmas Project, Morimura contributed "Ambiguous Beauty" - the artist/photographer's rather unsettling, gender bending self-portrait as Marilyn Monroe (in Tom Kelley's iconic 1949 full-length nude against a red background) photomechanically reproduced on the face of an inexpensive Japanese hand-held folding fan. The fan is housed in a paper sleeve inside a silkscreened wooden case. A most handsome example of this charming object issued hors commerce in 1995, and never commercially available for sale. Inventory Number: 027556