Photos By Gail

Japanese artist Tomio Miki (1937 — 1978) was part of a generation of artists who addressed social and political shifts in Tokyo, following the end of World War II and the United State’s occupation of Japan. The human ear became the dominant subject of the artist’s sculptures. Miki often cast his ears in aluminum, as in this work, Untitled (Ears) (1964), in which the body part appears in neat rows and at different scales, from life-size to enormous. Although the artist once dreamt of being assaulted by hundreds of ears on a train, he denied any symbolism, saying instead: “I can hardly say I chose the ear, more precisely isn’t it that the ear chose me?”

Photographed in The Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Ears (Detail)