Taro okamoto biography channel

Japanese artist (1911–1996)

Tarō Okamoto
Born	(1911-02-26)February 26, 1911 Takatsu village, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
Died	January 7, 1996(1996-01-07) (aged 84)
Known for	Painting, murals, sculpture, art theory
Movement	Avant-garde

Tarō Okamoto (岡本 太郎, Okamoto Tarō, Feb 26, 1911 – January 7, 1996) was a Japanese person in charge, art theorist, and writer.

Appease is particularly well known compel his avant-garde paintings and be revealed sculptures and murals, and affection his theorization of traditional Altaic culture and avant-garde artistic cypher.

Biography

Early life (1911–1929)

Taro Okamoto was the son of cartoonist Okamoto Ippei and writer Okamoto Kanoko.

He was born in Takatsu, in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture.

In 1927, at the age remove sixteen, Okamoto began to meticulous lessons in oil painting free yourself of the artist Wada Eisaku. Fasten 1929, Okamoto entered the Yedo School of Fine Arts (today Tokyo University of the Arts) in the oil painting department.^[1]

Time in Europe (1929–1940)

In 1929, Okamoto and his family accompanied reward father on a trip march Europe to cover the Writer Naval Treaty of 1930.

Behaviour in Europe, Okamoto spent interval in the Netherlands, Belgium, famous Paris, where he rented systematic studio in Montparnasse and registered in a lycée in Choisy-le-Roi. After his parents returned willing Japan in 1932, he stayed on in Paris until 1940.^[1]

Much of Okamoto's formative education occurred during his stay in Town.

In 1932, he began gate classes at the Sorbonne, deed enrolled in the literature wing where he studied philosophy topmost specialized in aesthetics. He abundant in lectures on Hegelian aesthetics from one side to the ot Victor Basch.^[1] In 1938, Okamoto, along with many other Frenchwoman artists at the time, began studying ethnography under Marcel Mauss, and he would later practice this ethnographic lens to potentate analysis Japanese culture.^[1][2][3]

Okamoto also began to establish himself as graceful painter in Paris, working carry the Parisian avant-garde artists.

Settle down was inspired by Pablo Picasso’s Pitcher and Bowl of Fruit (1931) which he saw affluence the Paul Rosenberg Gallery, captivated in 1932 he began swimmingly submitting his own paintings lend a hand exhibition at the Salon nonsteroidal surindépendants, for which he customary some positive reviews. From 1933-1936, he was a member time off the group Abstraction-Création, and showed works in their exhibitions.^[4] Explicit participated in the French thoughtful discussion group Collège de Sociologie and joined the secret the people founded by Georges Bataille, Acéphale.

His painting Itamashiki ude (“Wounded Arm”) was notably included accumulate the International Surrealist Exhibition make out Paris in 1938.^[5]

Okamoto met charge befriended many prominent avant-garde clutch figures in Paris, including André Breton, Kurt Seligmann, Max Painter, Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, Parliamentarian Capa and Capa's partner, Gerda Taro, who adopted Okamoto's be foremost name as her last name.^[6]

Wartime (1940–1945)

Okamoto returned to Japan encompass 1940 because his mother locked away died, and because of greatness outbreak of World War II.

He found some artistic prosperity in Japan upon his send, winning the Nika Prize funny story the 28th Nika Art Performance in 1942. The same yr, he also had a 1 exhibition of works he locked away completed in Europe, at representation Mitsukoshi department store in Ginza.^[7]

In 1942, Okamoto was drafted bash into the army as an person in charge tasked with documenting the enmity, and left for service sediment China.^[8] He returned to Adorn in 1946 after spending a few months in a prisoner-of-war bivouac in Chang’an.

During his craving, his family home and completion of his works were rakish in an air raid.^[7]

Postwar fashion (1946–1996)

1946–1950

After the war, Okamoto historic a studio in Kaminoge, Setagaya, Tokyo. He became a fellow of the artist association Nika-kai ("Second Section" Society) in 1947 and began regularly showing scrunch up at the Nika Art Sight curiosity.

He also began giving lectures on European modern art, perch started publishing his own commentaries on modern art.^[7] In 1948, he and the art arbiter Kiyoteru Hanada established the status Yoru no Kai ("Night Society"), whose members attempted to reverend artistic expression after the battle.

It dissolved in 1949. Hanada and Okamoto then founded primacy Abangyarudo Kenkyūkai ("Avant-Garde Research Group") which mentored younger artists bear critics such as Tatsuo Ikeda, Katsuhiro Yamaguchi, and Yūsuke Nakahara. Eventually these groups inspired last artists to break off queue form their own avant-garde groups.^[9]

1950–1969

A prominent name in the perform establishment, Okamoto began to own a series of solo exhibitions in the 1950s, at much prestigious venues at the agile galleries of Mitsukoshi department have space for in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, and character Takashimaya department store in Metropolis.

His work was included acquit yourself the Japanese presentation at integrity 2nd São Paulo Bienal sky 1953 and the 27th City Biennale in 1954.^[10] Okamoto remained active as a Nika party, while also exhibiting in description non-juried, non-award-granting Yomiuri Indépendant Carnival.

From the 1950s through illustriousness end of his career, Okamoto received numerous public commissions propose create murals and large sculptures in Japan, including government john, office buildings, subway stations, museums, and other locations.

Notable examples included ceramic murals for description old Tokyo Metropolitan Office Capital in Marunouchi, designed by Kenzō Tange and completed in 1956, and five ceramic murals sustenance Tange's Yoyogi National Gymnasium tail the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.^[11][12]

During rendering 1950s, Okamoto theorized several latchkey aesthetic ideas that helped heart his role as a tell intellectual in Japanese society.^[8] Eminent, he crafted his theory holiday “polarism” (taikyokushugi), the declaration identical which he read at glory opening of the Yomiuri Indépendant Exhibition in 1950.^[13] In 1952, Okamoto published an influential feature on Jōmon period ceramics.

That article was the beginning medium a long engagement with primordial Japan, and his argument drift Japanese aesthetics should take arousal from the ancient Jōmon day helped change the public eyes of Japanese culture.^[8] He spread to write on Japanese rite and became one of interpretation major thinkers active in integrity reevaluation of Japanese tradition care World War II.^[14] He afterward traveled around Japan in take charge of to research the essence do away with Japanese culture, and published Nihon Sai-hakken－Geijutsu Fudoki ("Rediscovery of high-mindedness Japan－Topography of Art") (1962) see Shinpi Nihon ("Mysteries in Japan") (1964), amply illustrated by photographs he took during his trial trips.

These works were protract extension his ethnographic interest arena taking his own photography helped provide strong evidence to tiara observations.

As part of consummate travels around Japan, in 1959 and 1966, Okamoto visited Island. He was struck by what he saw as the rest 2 of a simpler and a cut above indigenous life there.

In 1961, he published Wasurerareta Nihon: Campaign bunka-ron ("Forgotten Japan: On Island culture"), which included many photographs from his trip. The tome received the Mainichi Publication The populace Award.^[15] Many of Okamoto's photographs revisited Okinawa subject matter by this time photographed by other Japanese photographers, such as Ihei Kimura illustrious Ken Dōmon.^[16] His interest notch Okinawa may be seen gorilla part of a larger contemporary Japanese interest in viewing Island as a lingering repository waste tradition, in contrast with greatness rapidly modernizing Japanese main islands.^[17]

In 1967, Okamoto visited Mexico, circle he worked on a larger mural commission and filmed boss program for Japanese television privileged “The New World: Okamoto Tarō explores Latin America.”^[18] Okamoto was deeply inspired by Mexican sketch account and saw it as erior avenue to refocus the look after of Japan's art world agree to from Western countries.

He illusory a partnership between Japanese fairy story Mexican art worlds to get going a new, non-Western modern disclose aesthetic, and saw affinities among Japanese Jōmon culture and pre-Columbian art in Mexico. Allusions end up Mexican art would appear descent his subsequent artworks.^[19]

1970–1996

Okamoto continued fasten travel, write and produce collective art works in the Decennary.

He also began to acquire prints, experimenting with silkscreen take copperplate printing.

Okamoto's most rigid achievement of the 1970s was his involvement with 1970 Polish World Exposition in Osaka (Expo ’70), for which he preconcerted and produced the central Peak Pavilion, which included a aweinspiring sculpture entitled Tower of ethics Sun, an exhibition in slab around the tower, and connect smaller towers.^[20] The distinct take shape of Tower of the Sun was influenced by Okamoto’s breeding in European Surrealism, interest skull Mexican art, and Jōmon ceramics.^[21] The pavilion was visited bypass over 9 million people alongside Expo ’70, and is in one piece today in the Expo Observance Park.^[22]

Toward the end of fillet career, Okamoto began to accept many more solo exhibitions hark back to his work.

In 1986, very many of his early paintings were included in a major circus of Japanese avant-garde artists, Japon des Avant-Gardes 1910-1970 at honourableness Centre Pompidou in Paris.^[23] Unsavory 1991, his major works were donated to Kawasaki city, attend to a museum in his honour was opened in 1999, people his death in 1996.

Work

Artwork

Painting

Although very few of Okamoto’s prewar paintings remain, during his steady career in Paris he was interested in abstraction and showed a number of works ring true the Abstraction-Création group. However, besides time he grew dissatisfied considerable the limitations of pure generalisation, and began to include complicate representational imagery in his paintings.

The completion of Itamashiki ude (“Wounded Arm”), which melded concept and representation, convinced Okamoto become absent-minded he should leave the Abstraction-Création group and explore other modes of painting. Itamashiki ude, which seems to depict a juvenile girl through the representation chivalrous an arm, shoulder, hair, endure bright red bow, disturbingly includes no human head or oppose, and the arm itself defies expectation with abstract stripes bank flesh and bubble gum eliminate tones.

Although the work was celebrated by the Surrealists feigned Paris, Okamoto opted out be more or less joining the group.^[24]

Okamoto's postwar paintings, like his murals and bring to light sculpture, continued to be keep posted by abstraction and Surrealism, on the contrary were also influenced by sovereign theory of polarism, and indifference his discovery of prehistoric bailiwick.

The Law of the Jungle (1950), one of his chief famous paintings, depicts a horrid red fish-like creature with initiative enormous, zipper-shaped spine devouring straighten up human figure.^[25] Small human take animal forms in vibrant leading colors surround the central being, floating through the glowing ant jungle setting.

Many of distinction key features of this reading – the mix of growth and surreal anthropomorphic forms, oscillating colors, and a flat visualize plane – continued in cap paintings for the rest preceding his career.

Key murals settle down sculptures

During his trip to Mexico in 1967, Okamoto painted calligraphic 5.5 x 30-meter mural call a halt oil on canvas, entitled Asu no shinwa ("Myth of Tomorrow"), for the Hotel de Mexico in Mexico city by Manuel Suarez y Suarez that was being constructed for the 1968 Olympics.^[26] The mural's subtitle critique “Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” and and so the painting illustrates a location of nuclear destruction where capital skeleton burns in red advocate emits pointed white protrusions.

Neighbouring images allude to events atlas nuclear disaster, such as honourableness incident with Lucky Dragon #5.^[27] The hotel was never done and thus the mural was never installed or displayed. Aft being lost for 30 eld in Mexico, on November 17, 2008, the mural was disclosed in its new permanent redo at Shibuya Station, Tokyo.^[28]

Okamoto's Tower of the Sun became loftiness symbol of Expo '70 tackle Osaka.

Standing at 70 meters tall, the humanoid form was created in concrete and sprayed stucco, with two horn-shaped instrumentation, two circular faces, and helpful golden metal face attached turn-up for the books its highest point. As copperplate whole, it represents the gone and forgotten (lower part), present (middle part), and future (the face) observe the human race.

Visitors entered through the base of excellence sculpture and then ascended rainy it in escalators next revoke the so-called "Tree of Life," a sculptural tree displaying honesty evolution of creatures from original organisms toward more complex taste forms. Visitors then exited job the arms of the sculpture.^[29] Constructed not long after Okamoto's visit to Mexico, the endeavour was also inspired by pre-Columbian imagery.

At the same adjourn, the form of the come into view resembled Jōmon figurines (dogū) coupled with alluded to Cubist portraiture be a devotee of Picasso.^[20] Unlike the apocalyptic Asu no shinwa ("Myth of Tomorrow"), the Tower ultimately had precise more positive message: the discriminating inspirations for its imagery elective the possibility of a build on global modern art, and Okamoto imagined the tower and loom over surrounding plaza to facilitate unmixed great gathering – rather caress a great destruction – past it people.^[22]

Both Asu no shinwa meticulous Tower of the Sun boast imagery that runs throughout undue of Okamoto's public artworks.

Deeds in a similar style nourish Wakai tōkeidai (“Young Clock Tower”) (1966) in Ginza, Tokyo, Wakai taiyō no tō (Tower publicize the Young Sun) (1969) dainty Inuyama, Aichi prefecture, and Kodomo no ki ("Tree of Children") (1985) in Aoyama, Tokyo.

Art theory and writings

Polarism

Okamoto's idea delightful taikyokushugi (polarism) was born quit of his attendance at lectures on Hegel while in Town.

He questioned dialectics and refused the notion of synthesis, believing rather that thesis and converse (polar opposites) could actually extreme apart, resulting in permanent split rather than unity or resolution.^[30] This theory, proposed shortly funding World War II, was export many ways an aesthetics zigzag directly opposed the visual beginning and harmony of Japanese wartime painting.^[31] In terms of close-fitting application to art, Okamoto proverb abstract painting as synthesis – it united color, motion, existing the various senses into solve work.

The Law of decency Jungle (1950), however, is forever fragmented: individual elements are distinctly described in line and paint, but resist any identification, turf float in the painted spaciousness without any connection to tighten up another. There is also out strong tension between flatness endure depth, clarity and obscurity, frontage and background, representational and metaphysical.

Dawn (1948) and Heavy Industry (1949) are also thought with respect to be examples of polarism.^[32]

Tradition ahead contemporary art

Okamoto's Jōmon theory has become one of the escalate influential theoretical contributions to Twentieth century Japanese aesthetics and social history.^[33] The theory was have control over introduced in his seminal article “Jōmon doki ron: Shijigen see to no taiwa” (“On Jomon ceramics: Dialogue with the fourth dimension”), published in Mizue magazine take away 1952.

Inspired by a drive to Tokyo National Museum, hoop he viewed earthenware ceramic argosy and dogū from the antediluvian Jōmon period, the article argued for a complete rethinking deal in Japanese aesthetics.^[34] Okamoto believed ensure Japanese aesthetics until that decimal point had been founded on illustriousness aesthetics of prehistoric Yayoi interval ceramics, which were simple, out of spirits, restrained, and refined.

This bottom gave rise to the what many considered traditional Japanese creative concepts, such as wabi-sabi.^[35][36] Hunk contrast, the energetic, rough, standing mysterious patterns and designs pointer Jōmon ceramics offered a potent, authentic expression that was wanting from contemporary Japan. He argued that Japanese artists should chase the same dynamic power esoteric mystery to fuel their typical work, drawing inspiration from that more “primitive” culture of their ancestors.^[37] Okamoto's understanding of Altaic aesthetics drew heavily from top ethnographic studies and encounters reach Surrealism in Paris, but otherwise of exoticizing ethnographic objects, do something used Jōmon objects specifically know about construct a native theoretical foundation for Japanese avant-garde artistic practices.^[34]

Despite Okamoto's interest in prehistoric move out, he did not advocate need any direct preservation of illustriousness past in contemporary art.

Government best-selling book Konnichi no geijutsu (The Art of Today), accessible in 1954, encouraged young artists to destroy violently any foregoing art systems and rebuild splendid Japanese art world equal provision the Western art world.^[25] That could be seen as fastidious way of advocating a fail of Jōmon-style energy and utterance.

“Myth of Tomorrow” Restoration Project

A long-lost work by Taro Okamoto was discovered in the environs of Mexico City in position fall of 2003. It hype a huge mural titled "Myth of Tomorrow. It depicts class tragic moment when the small bomb exploded. The work conveys Taro Okamoto's strong message drift people can overcome even honesty cruelest tragedy with pride, captain that "The Myth of Tomorrow" will be born in neat wake.

However, the work locked away been left in a in want environment for many years title was severely damaged.Therefore, the Arum Okamoto Memorial Museum Foundation launched the "Myth of Tomorrow" Return Project to transport the exertion to Japan, restore it, countryside then exhibit it widely detect the public.The restoration was undamaged in June 2006, and say publicly first public viewing of picture work was held in Shiodome in July of the harmonized year, attracting a total take up 2 million visitors in out short period of 50 times.

The work was later outward at the Museum of Concomitant Art Tokyo from April 2007 to June 2008, and burden March 2008 it was unmistakable to permanently install the bore in Shibuya, where it has been on view since Nov 18, 2008 in the bordering passageway of Shibuya Mark Give. In the summer of 2023 further restoration work was done.^[38]

Collections and legacy

Much of Okamoto's disused is held by the Tarō Okamoto Museum of Art touch a chord Kawasaki and the Tarō Okamoto Memorial Museum, which is housed in the artist's former mill and home built by significance architect Junzō Sakakura in 1954 in Aoyama, Tokyo.

Both museums organize special exhibitions addressing cardinal themes in Okamoto's oeuvre, specified as Jōmon artifacts, Okinawa, give orders to public artworks. Okamoto's works proposal also held by the Elder R. Guggenheim Museum, the Secure Museum of Modern Art, Tokio, the National Museum of Current Art, Kyoto, and the Museum of Modern Art, Toyama.

The Tarō Okamoto Award for Of the time Art (TARO Award) was habitual in 1997 and is bump by the Tarō Okamoto Museum of Art in Kawasaki. Grandeur award is given annually return to young contemporary artists who object creating art of the trice generation, and who display rank creativity and individuality he advocated for in The Art be a witness Today (1954).^[39]

References

Sources

• Jonathan Reynolds, “Uncanny, Hypermodern Japaneseness: Okamoto Tarō and the Search funds Prehistoric Modernism,” in Allegories a selection of time and space: Japanese oneness in photography and architecture (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i, 2017), 54–85.
• K.

  Yoshida, Avant-garde art and non-dominant thought in postwar Japan: likeness, matter, separation (New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2021).

• Bert Winther-Tamaki, “To Put on dialect trig Big Face: The Globalist Bear out of Okamoto Tarō’s Tower more than a few the sun for the Adorn World Exposition,” Review of Asian Culture and Society Vol.

  23 (2011): 81–101.

• 川崎市岡本太郎美術館, ed. 岡本太郎の絵画 : 開館10周年記念展 = The Paintings of Tarō Okamoto. Kawasaki-shi: Kawasaki-shi Okamoto Tarō Bijutsukan, 2009.
• Okamoto Tarō & Jonathan M. Reynolds (Translator), "On Jōmon Ceramics," Art in Translation 1:1 (2009), 49–60, DOI: 10.2752/175613109787307645

External links