Ginza Graphic Gallery
Closes in 12 days
The Ginza Graphic Gallery (www.dnp.co.jp/gallery/) is holding an exhibition of the works of Keiichi Tanaami, a pioneer of Japanese magazine design and a veteran of avant-garde and underground poster culture. Born in 1936 in Tokyo, Tanaami has been working in art, graphic design and experimental film since the early 1960s. Each of his works -- be it a poster, an experimental animated video, or a sculpture -- encapsulates a distinctive design style that includes illustrations, eye-catching typography and the liberal use of outrageous fluorescent colors. With these methods, Tanaami lures us into a psychedelic universe of deranged characters and recurrent iconography.
Tanaami employs a "psychotherapeutic" approach in that he externalizes his deepest memories and dreams. In 1981, he came down with pleurisy and was hospitalized for three months, during which he experienced unrelenting hallucinations of pine trees. Dream sequences, goldfish, wide eyes and, of course, pine trees, have since propagated themselves in many of his works.
Using free hand illustrations, color blocking and printing techniques such as silk screening, Tanaami's surreal and fantastical posters not only have a strong visual impact, they also hold wide commercial appeal. Without compromising his unique style, his designs have been used in advertising campaigns, notably for the Edinburgh Film Festival, London designer Mary Quant and Japan's Seibu department stores. This exhibition includes posters, films and sculptures dating from the 1960s to the present, including as a highlight, "City in the Sky," an original objet d'art created especially for the exhibition.
