FWM is the site where Jun Kaneko first experimented with screenprinting. Kaneko approached FWM in 2004 to work collaboratively with him on a new project: the original fabric components for a traveling production of Madame Butterfly that he was creating for Opera Omaha. Kaneko wanted to consider the design possibilities and costume elements that were appropriate to the opera and consistent with his artistic practice.
Kaneko incorporated his signature mark-making (the strokes and hand-painted polka dots that appeared in both his first FWM project and his ceramics) into the fabric produced by FWM. The fabrics printed at FWM appeared largely in the opera’s first act; their bright colors and active patterns echoed the romance and joy of Butterfly and Pinkerton’s “wedding” and their Love Duet. This collaboration allowed Kaneko to maintain a sense of personal handiwork in a large-scale undertaking. The artist’s hand is visible in the non-uniform circles and brushstrokes of his designs. Madame Butterfly with all its magic and ceremony is a fitting and elegant work in which Kaneko’s hand and vision flourish.
