Tatsumi Orimoto, Performance Artist Known as Bread Man, Dies at 79

Tatsumi Orimoto, the Japanese performance artist who created the Bread Man persona, has died. Born in 1946, Orimoto first developed his signature character in 1991 by attaching various bread types like baguettes and rolls to his face. He performed as Bread Man in over two hundred documented happenings across multiple countries including Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Turkey, Nepal, and Germany, often with assistants recording the events. His artistic path began after six consecutive art school rejections, leading him to travel to the United States where he encountered Nam June Paik and was influenced by Yoko Ono and John Cage, becoming involved with the Fluxus movement. Returning to Japan, a conversation with a Christian friend about bread's symbolism inspired the creation of his distinctive mask. Orimoto's other performances included working with animals, such as carrying pigs in a baby harness and ducks in trays around his neck. In his later years, caring for his mother Odaï Orimoto (1919–2017), who had Alzheimer's disease, limited his travels but resulted in collaborative photographic works featuring her and other dementia patients in unexpected settings, often alongside his Bread Man character.