Roger Shimomura and Anne Collins Goodyear spoke in August 2012 about his most recent series of paintings---An American Knockoff---portions of which had recently been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. (2011-12), and in Santa Fe at Eight Modern Gallery (2012). With a characteristic mix of humor and seriousness, Shimomura explained the motivation behind this work in an artist’s statement developed for the exhibition “Asian American Portraits of Encounter,” organized by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery (2011-12): “Since living in Kansas, I have found it to be routine to be asked what part of Japan I am from, or how long I have lived in this country. Just as common, subtle references continue to connect me to stereotypical ‘oriental’ traits, both physical and behavioral. Far too many American-born citizens of Asian descent continue to be thought of as only ‘American knockoffs.’

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