名和晃平作|PixCell-Deer#24

Kohei Nawa 名和晃平

2011 · Mixed media; taxidermied deer with artificial crystal glass · Asian Art

Kohei Nawa has transformed this taxidermied deer through the application of glass beads called “PixCells,” a term the artist invented that conflates the idea of a pixel (the smallest unit of a digital image) with a biological cell. Perhaps intentionally, Kohei evokes a type of Japanese religious painting known as the Kasuga Deer Mandala, in which a deer is similarly posed with its head turned to the side and a round mirror on its back. Deer were understood to be messengers for Shinto deities and were closely associated with the Kasuga Shrine, in Nara.

Artist

Kohei Nawa 名和晃平

Date

2011

Medium

Mixed media; taxidermied deer with artificial crystal glass

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Acquisitions Fund and Peggy and Richard M. Danziger Gift, 2011