Tadanori Yokoo
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese graphic designer, illustrator, printmaker and painter.
Tadanori Yokoo, born in Nishiwaki
, Hyōgo Prefecture
, Japan, in 1936, is one of Japan's most successful and internationally recognized graphic designers and artists. He began his career as a stage designer for avant garde theatre in Tokyo. His early work shows the influence of the New York
based Push Pin Studio (Milton Glaser
and Seymour Chwast
in particular) but Yokoo himself cites filmmaker Akira Kurosawa
and writer Yukio Mishima
as two of his most formative influences.
In the late 1960s he became interested in mysticism and psychedelia, deepened by travels in India
. Because his work was so attuned to 1960s pop culture, he has often been (unfairly) described as the "Japanese Andy Warhol
" or likened to psychedelic poster artist Peter Max
, but Yokoo's complex and multi-layered imagery is intensely autobiographical and entirely original. By the late 60s he had already achieved international recognition for his work and was included in the 1968 "Word & Image" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art
in New York. Four years later MoMA mounted a solo exhibition of his graphic work organized by Mildred Constantine
. Yokoo collaborated extensively with Shūji Terayama
and his theater Tenjō Sajiki
. He has also starred as a protagonist in Nagisa Oshima
's film Diary of a Shinjuku Thief
.
In 1981 he unexpectedly "retired" from commercial work and took up painting. His career as a fine artist continues to this day with numerous exhibitions of his paintings every year, but alongside this he remains fully engaged and prolific as a graphic designer.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese graphic designer, illustrator, printmaker and painter.
Tadanori Yokoo, born in Nishiwaki
Nishiwaki, Hyogo
is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.The city calls itself "The Navel of Japan ." Located at the crossing of the 135° East meridian and the 35° North parallel, the city's Nihon no Heso Park marks the center of the nation...
, Hyōgo Prefecture
Hyogo Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...
, Japan, in 1936, is one of Japan's most successful and internationally recognized graphic designers and artists. He began his career as a stage designer for avant garde theatre in Tokyo. His early work shows the influence of the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
based Push Pin Studio (Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser is a graphic designer, best known for the I Love New York logo, his "Bob Dylan" poster, the "DC bullet" logo used by DC Comics from 1977 to 2005, and the "Brooklyn Brewery" logo. He also founded New York Magazine with Clay Felker in 1968.-Biography:Glaser was born into a Hungarian...
and Seymour Chwast
Seymour Chwast
Seymour Chwast an American graphic designer, illustrator, and type designer.Chwast was born in Bronx, New York, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Cooper Union in 1951. With Milton Glaser, Edward Sorel, and Reynold Ruffins, he founded Push Pin Studios in 1954...
in particular) but Yokoo himself cites filmmaker Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
and writer Yukio Mishima
Yukio Mishima
was the pen name of , a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état...
as two of his most formative influences.
In the late 1960s he became interested in mysticism and psychedelia, deepened by travels in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Because his work was so attuned to 1960s pop culture, he has often been (unfairly) described as the "Japanese Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
" or likened to psychedelic poster artist Peter Max
Peter Max
Peter Max is a German-born Jewish American artist. At first, works in this style appeared on posters and were seen on the walls of college dorms all across America. Max then became fascinated with new printing techniques that allowed for four-color reproduction on product merchandise...
, but Yokoo's complex and multi-layered imagery is intensely autobiographical and entirely original. By the late 60s he had already achieved international recognition for his work and was included in the 1968 "Word & Image" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York. Four years later MoMA mounted a solo exhibition of his graphic work organized by Mildred Constantine
Mildred Constantine
Mildred Constantine Bettelheim was an American curator who helped bring attention to the posters and other graphic design in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in the 1950s and 1960s...
. Yokoo collaborated extensively with Shūji Terayama
Shuji Terayama
was an avant-garde Japanese poet, dramatist, writer, film director, and photographer. According to many critics and supporters, he was one of the most productive and provocative creative artists to come out of Japan. He was born December 10, 1935, the only son of Hachiro and Hatsu Terayama in...
and his theater Tenjō Sajiki
Tenjo Sajiki
was a Japanese independent theater troupe led by Shūji Terayama and active between 1967 and 1983 . A major phenomenon on the Japanese underground scene, the group has produced a number of stage works marked by experimentalism, folklore influences, social provocation, grotesque eroticism and the...
. He has also starred as a protagonist in Nagisa Oshima
Nagisa Oshima
is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. After graduating from Kyoto University he was hired by Shochiku Ltd. and quickly progressed to directing his own movies, making his debut feature A Town of Love and Hope in 1959....
's film Diary of a Shinjuku Thief
Diary of a Shinjuku Thief
is a 1968 Japanese New Wave film by Nagisa Oshima.-Synopsis:The film centers around Birdie, a young, Japanese book thief who soon is caught by a woman named Umeko...
.
In 1981 he unexpectedly "retired" from commercial work and took up painting. His career as a fine artist continues to this day with numerous exhibitions of his paintings every year, but alongside this he remains fully engaged and prolific as a graphic designer.