Sekino's Bunraku Puppet isolates the carved figure from its human manipulator, allowing viewers to contemplate the puppet as both art object and performer. All impressions are original artist-pulled prints. Market prices range from $200-$600, with the Bunraku theme maintaining steady collector interest.
The Bunraku puppet — a genre of Japanese theater in which large, half-life-size dolls are operated by three puppeteers visible to the audience — here becomes a subject for Sekino's graphic analysis. The puppet's face, with its fixed expression calibrated for legibility at stage distance, acquires a different quality in the stillness of a woodblock print: the stylized features read simultaneously as mask, face, and sculpture.
歌舞伎
Woodblock print
1955
Woodblock print
1928
Color lithograph
1930
Color lithograph
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Bunraku Puppet was created by Jun'ichiro Sekino (関野準一郎) in 20th century.
Bunraku Puppet uses Nishiki-e, Moku-hanga, and Kento, on color woodblock print.
Bunraku Puppet depicts kabuki.
Bunraku Puppet measures 21 × 30.5 cm.
