Tokyo, 1955-1970: a new avant-garde

Abstract

Tokyo 1955-1970: A New Avant-Garde explores the extraordinary convergence of artists, intellectuals, and creators in Japans capital city during the radically transformative postwar period. Examining works from a range of media paintings, sculpture, photographs, drawings, prints, videos and films, as well as graphics, architecture, musical compositions and dance this is the first publication in English to focus in depth on the full scope of postwar art in Japan. The city during this period was a vibrant hub that attracted such critical artistic figures as Taro Okamoto, Hiroshi Nakamura, Ay-O, Yoko Ono, Mieko Shiomi and Tetsumi Kudo; photographers Daido Moriyama, Eikoh Hosoe and Shomei Tomatsu; illustrators and graphic designers Tadanori Yokoo, Kohei Sugiura and Kiyoshi Awazu; and architects Arata Isozaki and Kisho Kurokawa; as well as many important artists collectives. Curator Doryun Chongs introductory essay investigates Tokyos sociopolitical context and the massive urban changes that redefined the city as a vital node in the international avant-garde network. Essays by scholars Hayashi Michio and Miryam Sas and curator Mika Yoshitake discuss central notions of postwar Japanese art, including design and graphics; the development of new sculptural languages; and the intermedia trend that engendered experimental performance works and cross-pollination among artistic modes.