Artwork copyright Roger Shimomura. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Matinee Idols No. 3, 1989

Roger Shimomura
American (born 1939)

Location: Connell High School, Connell

About the Artwork

Matinee Idols No. 3 is part of artist Roger Shimomura's body of work investigating cultural metaphors and irony. The painting's title references a term used for adored film and theater stars, while the layered imagery points to and subverts stereotypes.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with North Franklin School District.

About the Artist

Celebrated artist Roger Shimomura creates thought-provoking paintings, prints, and performance pieces. His art practice investigates identities and stereotypes, especially as a person who was born and raised in the U.S. and is Asian American.
Born in Seattle, Washington, Shimomura spent two early years of his childhood imprisoned in Minidoka, Idaho, in a World War II Japanese-American internment camp in the 1940s. His family later returned to Seattle. Shimomura was a distinguished military graduate from the University of Washington, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in commercial design. He served in the Korean War (1950-53). In 1967, he earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University in New York state.
Shimomura was a professor of art at the University of Kansas, Lawrence for 35 years until 2004. He was honored with a Kansas Governor’s Arts Award in 2008. His artworks are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), Smithsonian Museum of American Art (Washington D.C.), the National Portrait Gallery (Washington D.C.), and more. His personal papers are being collected by the Smithsonian Institution.