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Goddesses - Mayumi Oda, Japanese
Contemporary Artist
We are currently featuring some
works of
Mayumi Oda, an internationally
recognized artist whose work
embodies traditional Eastern
iconography and bold Western
influence.
Liberation is the theme of
Mayumi Oda's life, standing
strong for the rights and
liberation of women. This theme
is carried over to her artwork.
Drawing her images from old
Japanese woodblock prints, she
transforms the traditional
masculine Buddhist Gods into
their joyous female
counterparts.
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Aphrodite
Size:
23”x32”
Date:1978
Edition
#46/60
Published:
Goddesses by
Mayumi Oda,
Page 44
How do I
approach
Aphrodite? I
give myself
golden skin
and long
black hair
and I am
Aphrodite
herself. I
let the
Aegean Sea
and the
South Wind
wash me to
Cypress. All
of us create
our own
legends.
Sappho
said: "You
may forget
but let me
tell you
this.
Someone in
some future
time will
think of us.
She knew
that she was
creating her
own myth."
Below:
Screen
- Garden of
Love
Size:
24”x36”each
panel
Date: 1986
Edition:
#40/50
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Treasure Ship - Goddess of
Earth
Size: 23”x32”
Date: 1976
Edition # 35/50
Published: Goddesses by Mayumi Oda, Page 22 When I see a plant or
vegetable growing, I wonder where it comes from.
I am a gardener but I do not really garden. Nature is certainly so
generous and fertile, she does the job for us. George Bernard Shaw once told
Alan Chadwick, "If you want to encounter God, go to the garden." to me, the
image of the creator has to be female. Chinese Tao is the mother of the
universe who embraces us all.
I named my house "Spirit of the Valley," from the poem in the Tao Te Ching:
"The spirit of the valley never dies. It is called the mysterious female,
Gateway of the creating force. It flows continuously. Use will never drain
it."
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