Shigeko Kubota

Shigeko Kubota was a japanese american artist who was mostly active in the 60s and seventies
before dying of cancer, she used a portable 8mm camera to capture a large amount of
revolutionary video installation work after she met Yoko Ono. she is most well known for her public
art piece called vagina painting when she attached a paint brush to her skirt and moved around on
a canvas to make a small mockery of Jackson Pollocks Action Art.
Duchampiana Series
Kubota from the 60s to 1981 produced work in homage to Marcel Duchamp such as Nude
descending a stair case which takes the same name as the Duchamp painting. it was made up of
four small monitors embedded in four steps of wooden staircase on the screens a super 8 film of
the filmmaker Sheila McClaughlin walking down stairs loops in the monitors. on the wall it read
"Video is Vacant Apartment/ Video is a Vacation of Art./ Viva Video.
other notable installation work includes video poem in which a self portrait of the artist could be
viewed through a vulva like opening of a purple bag. the bag was bought as a gift for an ex
boyfriend who she supported by working three jobs. this installation was set up to act as a
commentary on the male dominated world.
kubota in most of her installations used an interesting style of presentation and aimed to create an
immersive space for the audience to enjoy her work such as one of her pieces being placed on five
inch monitors attached to motorised bike wheels.