Atsuko Tanaka (1932–2005): Electric Dress (1956). Tanaka, a member of the irreverent Dada and zen-inspired Gutai (concrete) art…
Atsuko Tanaka (1932-2005): Electric Dress (1956).
Tanaka, a member of the irreverent Dada and zen-inspired Gutai (concrete) art group, created her Electric Dress from notes that connected electrical wiring and the human physiological system, then modelled her sculpture like the bride in a Japanese marriage ceremony. Hundreds of hot light bulbs painted in bright primary colours, with electrical cords weaving in and out like dangerous snakes, created a beautiful but disturbing effect, a mirror of technological ambivalence in a silently incandescent vision: potential electrocution by the neon lights of the postwar consumer revolution.