Kurumabiki (Kabuki Series)
Artist
Elliott, Reiko
Date
Circa 1990-Circa 1996
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Object Detail
Description
Artist Reiko Elliot (nee. Hayakawa) was born and raised in Japan during the Second World War. She studied fine arts and theatre in Tokyo. Elliott had short stints as a journalist, DJ and a minor film star. By the early 1970’s, she had taken up a full-time career as an entertainer. Performing vocals in the chanson style, Elliot toured Japan, Taiwan and Spain, performing popular songs in both French and English. She then met New Zealander Robert Elliot and after a whirlwind romance retired from her career as an entertainer and moved to Aotearoa New Zealand.
In the late 1970s, Elliot returned to her first love, print making. She etched her own printing plates with acid, hand-engraved the plate and then printed the final product in her studio using a printing press. The final works were limited editions, each individually hand finished.
This series of prints calls back to Elliott’s earlier career as a theatre performer. Kurumabiki (pulling the carriage apart) is the third act of Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami. While the original play was done with puppets, this scene was performed in the Kabuki style. Kabuki is a traditional Japanese theatre form that originated in the 17th century Edo period. Kabuki plays are largely about historical events and moral conflicts. Elliot’s prints capture Keshÿ, the makeup used in Kabuki to heighten the visual style of the form.
Reiko Elliot’s artworks have been exhibited various times in New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. The incredible true story of her life is documented in a two-part memoir Don’t Come Back (2003). Elliot lost her life to leukaemia in May 2000.
In the late 1970s, Elliot returned to her first love, print making. She etched her own printing plates with acid, hand-engraved the plate and then printed the final product in her studio using a printing press. The final works were limited editions, each individually hand finished.
This series of prints calls back to Elliott’s earlier career as a theatre performer. Kurumabiki (pulling the carriage apart) is the third act of Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami. While the original play was done with puppets, this scene was performed in the Kabuki style. Kabuki is a traditional Japanese theatre form that originated in the 17th century Edo period. Kabuki plays are largely about historical events and moral conflicts. Elliot’s prints capture Keshÿ, the makeup used in Kabuki to heighten the visual style of the form.
Reiko Elliot’s artworks have been exhibited various times in New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. The incredible true story of her life is documented in a two-part memoir Don’t Come Back (2003). Elliot lost her life to leukaemia in May 2000.
Media
5 colour etching with ?aquatint & embossing, on ?Arches ragpaper
Measurements
Image: hxw; 253 x 159mm
Frame: hxw; 273 x 515 x 35mm
Breadth circa 20mm
Frame: hxw; 273 x 515 x 35mm
Breadth circa 20mm
Registration number
ART00384
Artist
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