Maita Masafumi
Lumière No. 2

ExpandFavorite

Images(2)

Artist Maita Masafumi (Japanese, 1944–2009)Japanese, 1944–2009

CultureJapanese

Titles

Lumière No. 2

Date1977

MediumGelatin silver print collages on artist's mounts

DimensionsOverall: 39 3/8 × 53 1/8 in. (100 × 135 cm)
Overall (each): 12 7/8 × 15 1/2 × 3/4 in. (32.7 × 39.4 × 1.9 cm)
Overall (OVERALL CASE DIMENSIONS): 42 × 66 1/2 × 6 in. (106.7 × 168.9 × 15.2 cm)
Other (BLUE BOX DIMS (2 TO EA., 8 TOTAL)): 19 3/8 × 15 3/8 × 2 3/16 in. (49.2 × 39.1 × 5.6 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Manfred Heiting and The Francis L. Lederer Foundation, courtesy of Sharon Lederer

Object number2014.713.A-.L

Not on view

Explore Further

Department

Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

DescriptionFor Lumiere No. 2, Masafumi Maita photographed the floor and walls of his studio in a thatched-roof farmhouse, and then collaged together two different prints of each image, each with different exposures and densities. Maita is best known for his later sculptures, which consist of such materials as earth, stone, wood, and water, and inspire calm reflections on the natural world. In other earlier projects, he juxtaposed photographs with objects to play with the nature of things. However, for this work, which reflects the artist’s relationship with a more intimate realm, he chose to work exclusively with photographic prints. By collaging together prints that represent variations of the same imagery, he enables the viewer to experience the studio through his perspective, as a construction made entirely by the artist.
ProvenanceEstate of the artist (Mitsue Maita), Fujimi, Nagano-ken, Japan; Yumiko Chiba Associates, Tokyo; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, 2014
Exhibition History“For A New World to Come: Experiments in Japanese Art and Photography, 1968-1979 Japan,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March 8–July 12, 2015.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Signed in pencil lower right below the image on the mount: 77 / Masafuni Maita

Marked in ink on verso board forming four vertical columns:
A / NO. 1 / Lumiere No 2
NO 2 / A / Lumiere No 2
A. / NO. 3 / Lumiere No 2
B. / NO. 1 / Lumiere No 2
B. / NO.2 / Lumiere No 2
B. / NO. 3 / Lumiere No 2
C. / NO.1 / Lumiere No 2
C. / NO. 2 / Lumiere No 2
C / NO. 3 / Lumiere No 2
D. / NO. 1 / Lumiere No 2
D. / NO.2 / Lumiere No 2
D. / NO. 3 / Lumiere No 2

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.