Yasumasa Morimura
A Japanese artist who masterfully impersonates figures from Western art and history to dissect identity, power, and cultural stereotypes.
Born 1951 (age 75)·Japanese artist·Birthday: June 11·Baby Boomers
Biography
Yasumasa Morimura operates as a one-man theater of the world, using elaborate costumes, prosthetics, and digital manipulation to insert himself into the canon of Western imagery. Since the 1980s, he has meticulously recreated famous paintings, film stills, and historical photographs, from Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' to portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Che Guevara, always with his own face gazing back at the viewer. This act of artistic cross-dressing is more than parody; it is a sharp, provocative inquiry into the construction of identity and the enduring dominance of Western perspectives in global culture. By becoming Frida Kahlo, Van Gogh, or a glamorous Hollywood starlet, Morimura questions fixed notions of gender, race, and nationality, creating a playful yet deeply critical dialogue between East and West, past and present.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Yasumasa was born in 1951, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Yasumasa Was Born
The biggest hits of 1951
#1 Movie
Quo Vadis
Best Picture
An American in Paris
#1 TV Show
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts
Yasumasa's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1951Born
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1956Started school
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1964Became a teenager
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Could drive
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1969Could vote
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1972Turned 21
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1981Turned 30
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1991Turned 40
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2001Turned 50
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
2011Turned 60
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2021Turned 70
January 6 Capitol breach; COVID vaccines roll out globally
Gas: $3.01/galHome: $298,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Levitating" — Dua LipaBest Picture: CODA
2026Age 75 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Gained international recognition with his 'Portrait (Futago)' series in the late 1980s, where he inserted himself into Manet's 'Olympia'.
- Had a major retrospective, 'The Self-Portraits of Yasumasa Morimura', which toured from Japan's National Museum of Art to the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.
- Created expansive series like 'Requiem for the XX Century', placing himself alongside figures like Hitler and Mao.
- His work is held in permanent collections of institutions like the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Tate Modern in London.
Did You Know?
He founded the Morimura Museum of Art in his hometown of Osaka in 2020.
His studio process involves building intricate, full-scale sets to photograph himself in.
He was the artistic director for the opening ceremony of the 2021 Rugby World Cup in Japan.
“I am not interested in simply copying masterpieces. I am interested in the act of becoming the masterpiece.”
