Perrier 1986

Editor: This is "Perrier," a painting created by Hiro Yamagata in 1986 using acrylic paint. It feels like such a whimsical snapshot of city life, almost like a scene from a storybook. All these vibrant colours, especially the sky-blue palette... What is your reading of this piece? Curator: Indeed. First, consider the flatness, the two-dimensionality rigorously maintained by the artist. Space is constructed not through illusionistic depth, but through overlapping planes of colour and form. Notice the simplification of architectural details: buildings are rendered as blocks of colour, prioritising geometrical forms over realistic depiction. What effect does this stylisation achieve? Editor: It makes the scene feel a little abstracted and dreamlike. It distances the image from mere representation. Curator: Precisely. The high-key palette, dominated by blues, whites, and reds, contributes to this effect. We might observe how Yamagata employs line—thin, controlled—to delineate shapes and define edges. What about the relationship between the human figures and their environment? Editor: Well, there are lots of people, but none of them really stand out as the subject of the work, so that our eyes are drawn back to the structural elements – the buildings and even the blimp overhead. Curator: Yes, the human figures are integrated into the cityscape as elements of visual interest, rather than serving as the focal point. This integration emphasises the artwork's formalism. It prioritises surface design and the interplay of colour and shape. The depiction invites scrutiny. Now, how does the interplay of shapes animate the cityscape, then? Editor: Seeing that shapes bring everything into view with the overlapping. The structural integrity holds even the sky elements as still within the parameters. This wasn't what I was looking for upon initial observation, so this was illuminating! Curator: It invites new understandings and visual experience. Yes.