"Kimono for Modern Girl", 2020, oil, collage on stretched canvas, 36" x 36"
While the Jazz Age was flourishing in America during the 1920’s, the “moga” (short for modan gaaru) or “modern girl” emerged in the urban areas of Japan.
Inspired by the American Flapper, the modern girl cast off her traditional kimono and morés, adopting Western-style fashions, makeup, and hairstyles, while indulging in a social nightlife of dancing, smoking, drinking sake, and riding in cars with “mobos” (modern boys), much to horror of her traditional Japanese parents.
In this painting, I've relaxed the rigidity of the traditional kimono, and "fleshed" it out with a sense of the female form. The Japanese writing in the upper left hand corner is the title of a popular novel of the day, "Naomi (A Fool's Love)", about a man's obsession to marry a "modern girl"and encourage her Westernized ways.
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In this painting, I've relaxed the rigidity of the traditional kimono, and "fleshed" it out with a sense of the female form. The Japanese writing in the upper left hand corner is the title of a popular novel of the day, "Naomi (A Fool's Love)", about a man's obsession to marry a "modern girl"and encourage her Westernized ways.
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Text and Image ©2020 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.
