Minoru Hirata’s Natsuyuki Nakanishi’s “Clothespins in a Stirring
Action†(1963, printed 2008).Image courtesy of Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York.
Artist Minoru Hirata Celebrates History’s Least Practical Headgear
Though it’s a part of “The Masked Portrait,†a survey of post–World War II Japanese art up at Marianne Boesky through Saturday, this image, Natsuyuki Nakanishi’s “Clothespins in a Stirring Action,†taken by Japanese photographer Minoru Hirata circa 1963, screams club kid circa 1995. Surreal as it may seem, the photo actually documents one of many Dada-esque performances to sweep the sixties Japanese art scene. —Rachel Wolff