Masami Teraoka

Pussy Riot/Swan Lake

2015

Masami Teraoka brings a contemporary twist to traditional Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints, infusing them with ribald imagery and a pop art sensibility. He developed this signature graphic style after moving to the United States in 1961, where he received his BFA and MFA from Otis College of Art and Design. His highly regarded series “McDonald’s Hamburgers Invading Japan” and “31 Flavors Invading Japan” playfully fuse cross-cultural iconography to critique the widespread influence of American consumerism. Teraoka’s work has become more radical since the 1980s, when he began addressing issues like the AIDS epidemic, clergy sex abuse scandals, and nuclear proliferation. He has also drawn inspiration from religious Renaissance and Medieval art, painting grand triptychs that harken back to the stylized, flattened perspective of Edo-era prints.