Skip to main content
Collections Online Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Morning Light, Bloomington, Indiana

Artwork Tombstone
ArtistOsamu James Nakagawa (Japanese-American, b. 1962)
TitleMorning Light, Bloomington, Indiana
Plate NumberNo. 17
SeriesKai: Following the Cycle of Life
DateSpring 1999
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 13 7/8 × 13 7/8 in. (35.2 × 35.2 cm)
Sheet: 17 1/16 × 15 15/16 in. (43.3 × 40.5 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds from the Clarence W. and Mildred Long Art Purchase Fund, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number2017.85
This artwork is currently off display. You may be able to see this artwork by filling out an art viewing room request.
Sun shining through windows falls across a carpeted floor, where a child sits surrounded by toys and holding a small camera above her head. There are cast shadows of a man and woman on the wall on either side behind the child.

Sun shining through windows falls across a carpeted floor, where a child sits surrounded by toys and holding a small camera above her head. There are cast shadows of a man and woman on the wall on either side behind the child.

Created by Indiana University photography professor Osamu James Nakagawa, these works highlight themes central to his Kai: Following the Cycle of Life series: family, culture, and the passage of time. In Morning Light, his baby daughter, Hikari, sits in the center of the frame holding a camera above her head as if taking a selfie. The shadows on either side represent her parents, whose ghost-like appearances also suggest the spirits of their ancestors.

Additional Titles
Plate NumberNo. 17
Series TitleKai: Following the Cycle of Life

2017, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University purchase from Pictura Gallery, Bloomington, IN

Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

Request this image
The Eskenazi Museum of Art provides images of its collection, free of charge, upon request.
This artwork is under copyright protection. You can request the image and it will be emailed to you when the request is complete.

Cite this page
"Morning Light, Bloomington, Indiana | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=2017.85