Shizu Saldamando’s “Nao, the Wooden People” Acquired by Princeton University Art Museum

Shizu Saldamando, Nao, The Wooden People, Oil, glitter, washi paper on wood panel, 152.1 × 121.9 cm (59 7/8 × 48 in.), 2022. Museum purchase, Hugh Leander Adams, Mary Trumbull Adams and Hugh Trumbull Adams Princeton Art Fund

Congratulations to Shizu Saldamando on the acquisition of “Nao, the Wooden People” by the Princeton University Art Museum.

Special thanks to Mitra M. Abbaspour and the entire team at Princeton University Art Museum for their support of Shizu and her work.

Words from the artist on "Nao, the Wooden People": 

“I’ve been a huge fan of Nao Bustamante’s work for a while now. Her work blends humor political socio-drama and everything in between into seemingly random yet overtly radical performances and videos. I got to know her some when she hired me to teach drawing at USC and through art events. Seeing the roster of friends/ performers she had with her play “The Wooden People” was just another excuse to be there the first night of the performance. I caught her after the show in full makeup and had to document it. The gold in the kaftan and makeup she was wearing again, looked like a readymade composition steeped in camp and craft. I’ve never been one to seek out documenting over the top performative art practices as I’ve always stressed in documenting the mundane and everyday but there was an aspect to Nao that led me to accept this “over the top majestry” was their actual every-day self.”