Installation views of THE UNAUTHORIZED HISTORY OF BASEBALL IN 100-ODD PAINTINGS: The Art of Ben Sakoguchi – at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, April 7 - September 4, 2016. (Exhibition photography by Robert Wedemeyer) (Exhibition design by Marci Boudreau and Vesna Petrovic of Picnic Design)
VINTAGE ORANGE CRATE LABELS
Fascinated by the graphic design of orange crate labels in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Sakoguchi has used their detailed, small format as a creative template. The labels' romanticized vision of the California landscape has provided a playful visual language with which he addresses serious themes. The orange crate label format is also a nod to his father, a Japanese immigrant who owned a grocery store.
MEXICAN AMERICAN BASEBALL:
THE UMPIRE:
STEROIDS:
CATCHERS:
HAIR:
The artist shared his thoughts in the short video that could be viewed in the gallery
Sakoguchi Video – 2016
The two small screens at left featured images of all paintings in the exhibition, along with text by Albert Kilchesty