Keiichi Tanaami, an artist who left a significant mark on Japan's contemporary art world, passed away on August 9, 2024, at the age of 88. Since the 1960s, Tanaami had crossed a wide range of genres including graphic design, art direction, and filmmaking, gaining international recognition for his unique visual expression. His death has sent shockwaves through the art world.
In this final summer of his life. The "Keiichi Tanaami: Adventures in Memory" exhibition, currently on display at the National Art Center, Tokyo, is the first large-scale retrospective showcasing over 60 years of creative work by Keiichi Tanaami, one of Japan's most prominent artists. Tanaami's works are widely known for their vibrant colors and unique visual expressions, strongly reflecting memories of war and the influence of American pop culture. At the core of these works lies the theme of "memory."
“PARAVENTI: KEIICHI TANAAMI”, Prada Aoyama, 2023 ©Keiichi Tanaami / Courtesy of NANZUKA
This exhibition brings together a wide range of genres, from silkscreen poster works to collages, animations, paintings, and recent three-dimensional pieces. It also features dream diaries and drawings that Tanaami has been recording since the 1970s, as well as new installation pieces created specifically for this exhibition, offering insight into his inexhaustible creativity. On the occasion of this exhibition, 'Gen de Art' had interviewed the 88-year-old Tanaami, who was continuing to engage in vigorous creative activities until his passing.
-- This exhibition, "Adventures in Memory," displays various forms of work, including new pieces such as dream diaries and installations. How do these diverse methods of expression contribute to your exploration of the theme of memory?
Tanaami: All of my works are based on memories and dreams. Many people might think their memories are accurate, but that may not actually be the case. Memory could potentially be a fiction created by one's own brain. By turning these memories into artworks, I confront myself objectively. For me, memory is something to be explored, and I express it in various forms such as sculptures, animations, collages, and installations.
-- Your work is characterized by vivid and dynamic visual expressions. How do you feel American pop culture and your experience at Musashino Art University influenced your artistic style?
Tanaami: I didn't learn anything particular at university, but I was greatly inspired by Andy Warhol's approach of applying design and advertising techniques to create art. In the mid-1960s, I decided to work without distinguishing between design and art. Looking back, I think my choice was correct.
The Story of Death and Rebirth, 2019, Pigmented ink, acrylic silkscreen medium, crashed glass, glitter acrylic paint, acrylic paint on canvas, 200 x 400 cm (quadriptych) ©Keiichi Tanaami / Courtesy of NANZUKA
Gold Fish, 1973 Acrylic on illustration board 36.4 x 51.5 cm ©Keiichi Tanaami / Courtesy of NANZUKA
-- What role do dreams and hallucinations play in your creative process? Can you tell us about your new works in particular?
Tanaami: For this exhibition, I created a new bridge installation. It was inspired by Hokusai's "Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyô Ichiran)" (1823). While Hokusai depicted non-existent landscapes, my installation focuses on various stories related to bridges, giving it a different meaning. In Japan, red arched bridges are often the setting for yōkai stories, but this bridge also includes symbolic meanings of connecting this world and the afterlife.
-- How have your experiences in various fields such as graphic design, art direction, and filmmaking influenced your visual art?
Tanaami: Basically, they're all the same. I'm just applying flashes of imagery to different media, crossing over and complementing each other's domains. As I continue creating, there are always new discoveries.
-- Memory and its reconstruction are central themes in your work. Can you talk about a piece in this exhibition that symbolizes this theme and its significance?
Tanaami: My recent works, whether collages, paintings, or animations, are all based on my memories. The painting based on Picasso's Guernica that I exhibited at the Prada Foundation last year, and the animation work "Red Phantom," might be particularly deeply related to my memories.
Red Shadow, Installation View: Keiichi Tanaami, Memorial Reconstruction, NANZUKA, Tokyo,2020 ©Keiichi Tanaami / Courtesy of NANZUKA
The "Keiichi Tanaami: Adventures in Memory" exhibition offers a valuable opportunity to experience Tanaami's rich world of creation. It displays a collection of works closely tied to post-war Japanese cultural history, recent works themed on memory, and various collaboration pieces. Tanaami's works construct a unique visual universe that transcends the boundaries between individual and collective memory, reality and fantasy, East and West. This exhibition invites viewers into Tanaami's labyrinth of memory, providing an opportunity to confront our own memories and imagination. It truly is an experience worthy of being called "Adventures in Memory."
Keiichi Tanaami: Adventures in Memory
Dates：August 7 (Wed), 2024 – November 11 (Mon), 2024
Venue：The National Art Center, Tokyo Special Exhibition Gallery 1E
(7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8558)
Opening hours：10:00-18:00 (Fridays and Saturdays, 10:00-20:00) *Closed on Tuesday
Admission fee：2,000 yen (Adults) 1,400 yen (College students) 1,000 yen (High school students)
*Visitors who are junior high school students or younger will be admitted for free.
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