In September 2015, POV asked Cutie and the Boxer filmmaker Zachary Heinzerling and subject Noriko Shinohara what's happened since the cameras stopped rolling.
Noriko, can you share an update on shows and exhibitions where your work, Ushio's work and your son, Alex's work, has been featured — together or solo — since "Love is Roarrr" and the end of filming?
Noriko Shinohara: Ushio showed his work and performed at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013. We were also invited to Basel, Switzerland by the Basel Art Fair because Cutie showed there. We had two artists exhibitions at Parco Museum in Tokyo in 2013 at the time when the film began playing Japan, and at Tokyo Gallery in Tokyo, a little after the Academy Awards in 2014.
We had a three artists' exhibitions, including work by our son, Alex, in Chelsea, New York City in autumn 2014. Ushio and I had an exhibition at Kirk Hopper Fine Art in Dallas, Texas in March 2015 and the show traveled to Houston in May. Alex had a solo show at a gallery in the West Village of Manhattan this spring.
Ushio's 1960 works were featured at Walker Art Center's International Pop exhibition in April 2015. Ushio's 1960s pop work is featured at Tate Modern in London from September 17 to January 24, 2015. The banner, catalogue cover — everything is Ushio's work.
Coming up this fall, Alex has a solo show at the end of October and a group show in November. I will travel from the Walker Art Center to Dallas Museum of Art in October. We will also have a two artists' exhibition at Kirk Hopper Fine Art at the same time.
Do you feel that Cutie and the Boxer has brought a new audience to your work?
Noriko Shinohara: Yes, we have new audiences and different opportunities, but continuing work is always difficult.
Zachary, what conversations do you hope the public television broadcast of Cutie and the Boxer will inspire?
I hope people debate the choices that Ushio and Noriko have made over their lives. Certainly, a lot of people will think that Noriko should have left Ushio, and would have been better off without him. But there is also an argument to be made that she loved him, and was inspired by him, and that love overcame a lot of the struggles she had with their relationship.
I remember a lot conversations with older women talking about how they related to Noriko's story. They could see themselves in her, and their long relationship. Having to sacrifice a lot of their own ambitions to take care of not only their children, but their husband as well.
It's a lot harder to leave someone when you're with a child in a new city and country with not a lot of friends and family to support you. There are a lot of layers to the story, that can be weighed out and discussed, but ultimately it was her choice and we as the audience can learn from that choice and think about our own lives and similar choices we've made.
I also hope people will consider the rationale of being an artist — sacrificing a more comfortable or safe way of life for a career that is very volatile and unpredictable. Some would argue that Ushio is completely delusional in his quest to be a successful artist and move people through with his art. Others find his journey and relentless spirit inspiring.
What are you working on next?
Zachary Heinzerling: I'm working on a narrative script that I hope to shoot next year, as well as a new documentary series that is in the development stage.