Thursday 26 July 2007, 18.00

Directed by Mary Dickinson, Masters of the Canvas explores the relationship between Blake and masked wrestler Kendo Nagasaki.

In 1987 Peter Blake confessed in a magazine article that if there was anyone he would like to be, it would be masked wrestler Kendo Nagasaki.  Poet / TV producer, Paul Yates, read the article and proceeded to research the possibility of Peter painting Kendo’s portrait as a centrepiece for a film which would also, he hoped, include an exclusive interview with Nagasaki himself, something never before achieved as he is well known for never speaking or removing his mask in public, let alone in the press or television. 

The film follows Yates’ quest for the sitting, the interview and the truth behind the myth of Kendo Nagasaki.  Does he exist outside the ring and if so who is he?  Does he really have healing powers?  Has anyone actually seen his eyes turn red and what about his reputation for hypnotising opponents?  What is his taste in clothes and where does he live?  More sinister still, why do so many wrestlers describe him as ‘dangerous’?

Once Yates secured agreement in principle, Dickinson and her crew were sworn to secrecy and taken into the Nagasaki ‘inner circle’ in order to make the film.

Within the mystery of plot and sub-plot, those testifying to their meeting with the Nagasaki persona, both inside and outside the ring, include:  Terence Donovan, The Count Bartelli, Peter Blake and Lloyd Ryan.

 

Tate Liverpool  Education Studio
Free with exhibition ticket, no booking necessary

This event is related to the Peter Blake: A Retrospective exhibition