UMBILICUS

UMBILICUS is a body of photographic work that was created by Californian artist Ithaka Darin Pappas in 1992. The project comprises approximately one-hundred and twenty-five navel portraits. According to Ithaka Darin Pappas in a short 2020 documentary (also called UMBILICUS), the UMBILICUS project was conceived in 1988 but was not executed until 1992 while the artist was briefly living in Tokyo, Japan.[1][2]

"Mother Of Twins", a photograph from the project, UMBILICUS.
Ithaka Darin Pappas on April 29, 1992 in Awa-Kamogawa, Japan working on his navel-portrait photography series UMBILICUS

Says Ithaka, I didn’t photograph tourists for the project, only residents of Tokyo. The end result wasn’t only a study of human anatomy, but was an anthropological observation of Tokyo’s population in 1992.[3][4]

Shortly after completing and printing the project, while still living in Japan, Ithaka Darin Pappas and the photographs were presented in issue #11 of the prominent quarterly Japanese photographic art volume Déjà-Vu (published by Photo-Planète) along with features about renowned photographers Sasatani Takahiro, Shimose Nobuo, Inose Kou, Frederick Sommer and Nobuyoshi Araki.[5][6]

A photograph from UMBILICUS as featured on the cover of Speak Magazine in 1996. The image was considered disturbing, making it the worst-selling issue the magazine had published.

Speak Magazine

In 1996, UMBILICUS and Ithaka Darin Pappas were as the cover story of the American culture publication Speak Magazine (founded by Dan Rolleri and graphically designed by renowned art director, Martin Venesky).[7][8]

A close-up navel photograph from the UMBILICUS series appeared on the cover of issue #3. The image was considered controversial and disturbing causing the edition to be immediately returned by hundreds of distributors and newsstands. It was the worst-selling issue in Speak Magazine's history.[9][10]

Exhibitions

Also in 1996, UMBILICUS was exhibited at Lisbon's Instituto Português da Juventude, with selected images printed as large as two-meters wide and toned with deep blues.[11]

Later in 1998, UMBILICUS was shown again, this time at Galeria Zé dos Bois (ZDB) in Lisbon, as part of Ithaka's larger photographic exhibit entitled, Quality Time: Part I.[12][13]

Documentary
  • 2020 UMBILICUS - short subject photo-documentary by Sweatlodge Films about the project (USA)[14]

Exhibit Showing Locations
  • 1996 "UMBILICUS" at Instituto Português de Juventude - Lisbon, Portugal[15][16]
  • 1998 Galeria Zé dos Bois "Quality Time: Part I" and "UMBILICUS"

Magazine, Newspaper, Book and Web features
  • 1993 Déjà-Vu (Japan) published by Photo-Planète[17]
  • 1996 Speak Magazine - cover story Issue #3[18]
  • 2012 Belong by Jennifer Morton - published by Insomniac Press (December 15, 2004)[19]

References
  1. "Umbilicus". Coffin Alley Gallery. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  2. "Umbilicus". www.imdb.com. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  3. "UMBILICUS (the Tokyo belly-button project 1992)". Coffin Alley Gallery. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  4. "Ithaka Darin Pappas "UMBILICUS" (the Tokyo belly-button project 1992)". Artworks By Ithaka. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  5. "Japan photography edition "Déjà Vu" #11 1993 featuring Inose Kou/Frederick Sommer /Nobuyoshi Araki". floating-world.or. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  6. ""Déjà Vu" Kou Inose #11 1993". vincentborrelli.com. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  7. "Speak Magazine 03". appetiteengineers.com. 15 April 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  8. "Speak, 1995-2001". magculture.com. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  9. "SPEAK-ISSUE-031". behance.net. 15 April 1996. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  10. "Fall 1996". speakmag.com. 15 April 1996. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  11. "Works By Ithaka Darin Pappas". mvcdeio11.com. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  12. "The Infamous Belly Button". speakmag.com/. 23 June 1996. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  13. "Exemption from classification". floating-world.or. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  14. "Umbilicus". www.imdb.com. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  15. "Umbilicus". muralsonoro.com/. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  16. "Exhibits". ithakaofficial.com. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  17. Morton, Jennifer (9 June 2012). Déjà-Vu Issue #11 1993. books.google.com. ISBN 9781897415702. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  18. "Speak Magazine, Issue 03". behance.net. 23 June 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  19. Morton, Jennifer (13 June 2015). Belong by Jennifer Morton. books.google.com. ISBN 9781897415702. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
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