Proof of Concept

Morimura has always managed to make the best kind of art: art that can find the intersection of humor, critically and truth. He was a favorite of mine as a student for this reason, later as an instructor of photography I loved to scandalize and delight my class by showing a smart Japanese cross dresser.

In his show at Lurhing Augustine Morimura has redirected his witty criticism from the Imperialist export of Western Art and comments on the western world's ideals of feminine beauty to focus ideologues of the 20th century. The back part of the gallery features Morimura's foray into video. It is an effective medium as you see Morimura strain to continue posing as Einstein in his iconic photo with his tongue sticking out. We see Morimura vacillate from a convincing living meme of Einstein, to some bizarre version of Gene Simmons, to something far more obscene, when for a moment, face remaining still he lightly wiggles the tip of his distended tongue.

Also feature is Requiem: Mishima 2007. Morimura reenacts Yukio Mishima's speech from 1970 addressed to a group of young soldiers. Morimura modifies the speech to young Japanese artist. In his impassioned speech he says he no longer has faith in art, and accuses the audience of spiritual bankruptcy. The focus on dictators such as Hitler and Stalin is an obvious criticism of the culture of fear and misinformation happening in present day America, but Morimura brings it back home to us in the arts in his version of Mishima's speech. We are all aware of how complacency led the German's imperceptibly into Hitler's Nazi's, and the Russian people into a fascism twisted by fear from the lofty principles of socialism. But are we in the arts allowing capitalism to first lull us into vapid producers and then twist us into commodities of status, void of innovation and substance?