14 - Sadao Hasegawa (Japanese, 1945-1999)

Sadao Hasegawa (Japanese, 1945-1999) Shishi Odorii II [Deer Dance II], 1982 / Printed 1985. Offset lithograph. Signed and dated in plate on the lower left. Published byKL-Pacific Graphics, San Francisco, in collaboration with the artist for distribution via IN TOUCH For Men Magazine (No. 107), thisprintwasamong the earliest of Hasegawa’s work to be presented to a western audience. Hasegawa rarely published or exhibited his work outside of Japan, only briefly collaborating with IN TOUCH for Men Magazine to distribute the more overtly sexual works shown here, and later publishing a short-run monograph through Gay Men’s Press in 1990. This print was erroneously published in English as Lion Dance, but more accurately translated as Deer Dance, representing an erotic renditionof the traditional folk dance of Miyagi Prefecture. Featuring performers dressed in antlered costumes with taiko drums at their side, these works exemplify the artist’s use of traditional Japanese mythology and spirituality within his homoerotic scenes. Prints from this 1985 set were thensoldthrough International Wavelength, a San Francisco-based publisher and mail order company which producedgay Asian interest magazines and media throughout the 1980s-early 1990s. 22 x 16 1/4 in. (55.9 x 41.3 cm) Literature (Illustrated): Mills, Jerry. "The Erotic Art of Sadao Hasegawa." IN TOUCH For Men. October, 1985. Illustrated. Condition Nothing adverse to note. For further condition details or additional images, please contact info@vallots.com Provenance International Wavelength. San Francisco, CA. Property of a Private Texas Collection, purchased from the above in 1991.