Art Fairs
Artist Ken Kagami Wants to Draw Your Genitals at Frieze London
That's one way to make art fairs fun again.
That's one way to make art fairs fun again.
Cait Munro ShareShare This Article
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Ken Kagami has descended upon this year’s edition of Frieze London to ensure that no one is bored. At the Misako & Rosen booth, the Japanese artist will greet you, ask your name, stare at your face, and then draw a cartoon interpretation of your genitals (if you’re a woman, he opts for a depiction of your mammary glands, and he tends to include long, stringy hairs).
When he’s finished, he rings a bell to summon his next subject.
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According to the Guardian, the whole process takes about 30 seconds, but you’re left with a lifelong reminder of that time you went to Frieze and were made to feel simultaneously uncomfortable and amused. Plus, who knows what these might be worth someday?
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The performance is billed as “a free one-on-one intimate portrait session with artist Ken Kagami for all interested exhibition visitors,” and a sign cautions that “there is no need to undress!!”
To set the mood, the artist, it appears, is also sporting a bright blue baseball hat with plush genitalia mounted on the cap.
“I was inspired by public park portrait painters and caricature but while in public situations it’s not typical to see people’s penises and breasts, in this case (art context) I can present such images,” Kagami told artnet News via email.
“Art fairs can be stuffy, and this lightens things up a bit,” gallerist Jeffrey Ian Rosen told the Guardian.
Needless to say, the results of Kagami’s portrait sessions and spreading like wildfire on Instagram and Twitter, where men and women are sharing Kagami’s cartoon interpretations of their family jewels.
So far, no word on how accurate or not the artist’s drawings have turned out to be, but based on the looks of some of these sketches, we’re thinking (and hoping) that accuracy isn’t the goal.
See images from the event below.