Synopsis
The artistic journey of a renowned graphic designer and artist. A pioneer of Japanese graphic design in the 1960s and 1970s, Tadanori Yokoo first became known through his posters and illustrations. A number of artists, including Issey Miyake and the writer Yukio Mishima, spotted his talent and requested his collaboration. In the early 1980s, painting became the art form through which Tadanori uncompromisingly began to explore various subjects rooted in personal and collective memories, such as life, death, society, sex, and religion. Impervious to criticism, bent on giving inspiration full rein, he never shrank from shocking his contemporaries as he varied stylistic and thematic approaches. Published to accompany a French exhibition, the book includes recent paintings as well as older work. 100 color illustrations., A major avant-garde figure in 1960s and '70s graphic design, Tadanori Yokoo (born 1936) started his career in advertising and illustration and rapidly garnered international recognition. Playing on styles from different eras, he has developed a singular language that adopts graphic elements from classic Japanese culture and Western references alike. Published in 2006 for the Tadanori Yokoo exhibition at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, this catalog is a window onto the extraordinary world of his painting, still relatively unknown today, the highly diverse imagery of which is based repetition and borrowing.