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Video Title : Nawa, PixCell-Deer#24

Video Description : Met curator John Carpenter on perception in Kohei Nawa’s PixCell-Deer#24, 2011. This taxidermied deer has been completely transformed through the artist’s use of variably sized “PixCell” beads, a term he invented. PixCell is a portmanteau word combining the idea of a “cell” with that of a “pixel,” the smallest unit of a digital image. Whether intentionally or unintentionally on the artist’s part, PixCell-Deer#24 resonates with a type of religious painting known as a Kasuga Deer Mandala, which features a deer—the messenger animal of Shinto deities—posed similarly with its head turned to the side, and with a round sacred mirror on its back. For Japanese artists the deer was depicted often as a companion of ancient sages and had auspicious or poetic associations. View this work on metmuseum.org. Are you an educator? Here's a related lesson plan. For additional educator resources from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, visit Find an Educator Resource.

Video ID : x07ef6158