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On Friday, Dec. 11th, Seattle's pop surrealism art gallery,[1] Roq La Rue, opened two exhibitions:
"Bonjour, Daschund!," which featured acrylics on found objects by the Femke Hiemstra (the Dutch creator of the art book
Rock Candy, published by my employer) and
"Desert Woman," acrylics on canvas with accompanying pencil reproductions by
Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu manga-ka Junko Mizuno. Both artists were in attendance and were readily available to answer questions about their work. Roq La Rue's website featured the two artists' signature pieces: Hiemstra's
"Der Huter" ("The Guardian"), and
"Mother Cactus" by Mizuno.
Probably the biggest advantage of seeing Mizuno's paintings in the gallery setting was the color-work, which doesn't come across over the Web or in print, especially the metallic golds of the flames (which looked textured, due to the canvas). To better suit her theme, Mizuno's palette was a little lighter and dirtier, as if she had mixed her day glo paints with a fine desert dust. (And her blues were very different blue from the oceanic blues reproduced in her
Princess Mermaid graphic novel.) The coral of "Desert Woman: Iguana"'s hair, in particular, made that piece a standout.
(We had a little difficulty communicating, but Mizuno's English was much improved since
Ema Nakao and I interviewed her in The Comics Journal #273 in 2006. My Japanese remains nil, so I was no help. There was a lot of hand-gesturing.) Mizuno was apparently tired from finishing her sketches only that morning, for which she used an ordinary mechanical pencil. (As someone who is primarily accustomed to looking at comic-art originals, I looked for what she had erased.)
I was also able to ask Mizuno directly about the voodoo imagery in the paintings (the two candles strapped to the forehead that three in the Desert Woman series wear) which she explained did not necessarily represent the Ushinokokumairi cursing ritual.[2] She said that she liked the way the candles looked, however, and was thinking of energy from/around the head area. Mizuno was also sporting this
necklace in the shape of one of her own drawings, which is only available in Japan. We spoke a little bit about merchandising, and she explained that she would like to do more (but not too much). A couple had brought their daughters. The little girls were enthusiastic about the paintings and spoke to Mizuno as well.
The "Bonjour Daschund" and "Desert Woman" exhibit will be held at the Roq La Rue art gallery through Jan. 30, 2010.
Kristy Valenti currently works for The Comics Journal and Fantagraphics Books, Inc.
Uncharted Territory is © Kristy Valenti, 2010
