LA BREA TAR PITS DISASTER

In Masami Teraoka's dramatic works of startling beauty, the artist has relentlessly skewered cultural pluralism and political currents, creating in satirical art that exemplifies diversity and eccentricity. Born in Japan in 1936, the artist had completed a degree in Aesthetics at the Kwansei Gwakuin University in Kobe, and later furthered his studies in Los Angeles, where he has resided until today. Teraoka skillfully needled contemporary issues into a state of inspiration for his paintings, which initially appear to be ukiyo-e prints are in fact critical comments of global crises, that had yet to be identified as such in the murky currents of public attention. Since becoming part of the artistic milieu of America in the 60s, Teraoka has had over 80 exhibitions around the world. His works were collected by major museums - Whitney Museum of American Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Tate Modern, Singapore Art Museum and National Gallery of Australia. With international appeal as such, the art of Teraoka is at once widely celebrated and critically acclaimed. La Brea Tar Pits Disaster (Lot 465) is rendered in even washes of color reminiscent of a traditional ukiyo-e print, in which Teraoka ingeniously depicts the phenomena of environmental pollution in Los Angeles of the time. As in a traditional scroll, the narrative reads horizontally, illuminating a scene on The La Brea Tar Pits formed in urban Los Angeles. Where the asphalt is often covered with layers of dust and leaves, over centuries, the remains of animals that were trapped in the pits were preserved and fossilized. In the illustration, various species are getting mired in the oil slick; the wooden bridges perched on tar waters are beckoned by flames. This image of ecological travesty also includes the omnipresent Teraoka as a Zen priest, boldly sweeping the edge of the pits with a broom. In the conscious manner of ukiyo-e artists, Masami Teraoka blends a degree of wisdom with much absurdity, to indicate a syncretic criticism on social turbulences and religious attitudes. His art has meticulously honed a distinctive sensibility on Japanese-Western culture. As one may notice, his pictures are often completed with calligraphic inscriptions and decorative cartouches. Teraoka has adapted his own roots and a peripheral vision for inspiration; keen wit and nuances of hidden meaning pervade his theatrical narratives, are put into universal terms anyone can immediately grasp.