Pictures of Belonging at the Smithsonian American Art Museum spotlights Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo, three ...

It’s no surprise that Hello Kitty doesn’t turn up among the nearly 200 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and other high art objects in “Every Living Thing,” but cats certainly do.

Her background in Japanese painting, which does not employ gradation, led to her stark black and white photographic style. “By drawing in black, the white of the paper becomes the equal ...