Tokyo 1955–1970: A New Avant-Garde

07/12/2012. MoMA. [NY] USA. 18/11/2012 > 25/02/2013
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA

From the mid-1950s through the 1960s, Tokyo transformed itself from the capital of a war-torn nation into an international center for arts, culture, and commerce, becoming home to some of the most important art being made at the time.

Kurokawa Kishō. Helix City Plan for Tokyo (Helix keikaku). 1961. Ink, tracing paper, and gelatin silver prints collaged on paper. 21 1/2 x 17 1/2″ (54.6 x 44.5 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the architect. © 2012 Kurokawa Kishō. Courtesy of MoMA.

Kurokawa Kishō. Helix City Plan for Tokyo (Helix keikaku). 1961. Ink, tracing paper, and gelatin silver prints collaged on paper. 21 1/2 x 17 1/2″ (54.6 x 44.5 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the architect. © 2012 Kurokawa Kishō. Courtesy of MoMA.

Yokoo Tadanori. Diary of a Shinjuku Thief (Sōzōsha) (Shinjuku dorobō nikki [Sōzōsha]). 1968. Screenprint. 39 1/4 x 28" (99.7 x 71.1 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the designer. © 2012 Yokoo Tadanori.

Tomatsu Shomei. Untitled, from the series Protest, Tokyo (Purotesuto Tōkyō). 1969. Gelatin silver print. 16 1/8 x 23 1/8″ (40.9 x 58.7 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the photographer. © 2012 Tomatsu Shomei. Courtesy of MoMA.

Moriyama Daidō. Baton Twirler (Baton towarā). 1967. Gelatin silver print. 18 7/8 x 14 11/16″ (48.1 x 37.4 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the photographer. © 2012 Moriyama Daidō. Courtesy of MoMA.

Hosoe Eikō. Sickle-Toothed Weasel, No. 5 (Kamaitachi sakuhin 5). c. 1968. Impresión con gelatina de plata. (20.2 x 29.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, Nueva York. Regalo del fotógrafo. © 2012 Hosoe Eikō. Cortesía de MoMA.

Click above to see larger image - Hosoe Eikō. Sickle-Toothed Weasel, No. 5 (Kamaitachi sakuhin 5). c. 1968. Gelatin silver print. 7 15/16 x 11 1/2″ (20.2 x 29.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the photographer. © 2012 Hosoe Eikō. Courtesy of MoMA.

Ay-O. Pastoral (Den’en). 1956. Oil on panel. 72 1/16″ x 12′ 1 13/16″ (183 x 370.4 cm). Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. © Ay-O, courtesy Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. Courtesy of MoMA.

Lee Ufan. Relatum (Kaidai kankeikō) (formerly Phenomena and Perception A [Genshō to chikaku A]). 1969. Three stones and chalk on rubber measuring tape. Dimensions vary with installation. Collection of the artist, Kamakura. © and courtesy Lee Ufan. Courtesy of MoMA.

Hi Red Center. Hi Red Center poster (verso). Fluxus Edition, edited by Shigeko Kubota, designed and produced by George Maciunas, New York. Edition announced 1965. Offset printing on paper, double-sided. 22 1/16 x 17″ (56 x 43.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Gilbert and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection Gift. © The Estate of Takamatsu Jirō, courtesy Yumiko Chiba Associates, Tokyo. Courtesy of MoMA.

Tokyo 1955–1970: A New Avant-Garde Ichiyanagi Toshi. IBM for Merce Cunningham. 1960 (Fluxus Edition announced 1963). Score. Master for the Fluxus Edition, typed and drawn by George Maciunas, New York. Ink, typewriting, and graphite on transparentized paper. 8 1/4 x 11 9/16″ (21 x 29.3 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Gilbert and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection Gift. © 2012 Ichiyanagi Toshi. Photograph by Peter Butler. Courtesy of MoMA.

Yamaguchi Katsuhiro. Vitrine: Deep into the Night (Vitorīnu: Yoru no shinkō). 1954. Watercolor on paper, oil on wood, corrugated glass. 25 3/4 x 22 1/4 x 3 9/16″ (65.5 x 56.5 x 9 cm). Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. © Yamaguchi Katsuhiro, courtesy Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. Courtesy of MoMA.

Kusama Yayoi. No. 19 H.S.W. 1956. Pastel and gouache on paper. 23 ½ x 18″ (59.7 x 45.7 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Sally and Wynn Kramarsky. © 2012 Kusama Yayoi. Courtesy of MoMA.

Nakamura Hiroshi. Upheaval (Nairanki). 1958. Oil and pencil on plywood. 36 1/4 x 72 7/16″ (92 x 184 cm). Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Nagoya. © Nakamura Hiroshi, courtesy Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Nagoya. Courtesy of MoMA.

Nakamura Hiroshi. Circular Train A (Telescope Train) (Enkan ressha A [Bōenkyō ressha]). 1968. Oil on canvas. 71 5/8 x 89 9/16″ (182 x 227.5 cm). Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. © Nakamura Hiroshi, courtesy Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. Courtesy of MoMA.

Akasegawa Genpei. Sheets of Vagina (Second Present) (Vagina no shītsu [Nibanme no purezento]). 1961/1994. Vacuum tube, car-tire tube, car wheel, and wood. 71 5/8 x 35 13/16″ (182 x 91 cm). Collection of the artist (long-term loan to Nagoya City Art Museum), courtesy SCAI THE BATHHOUSE, Tokyo. © Akasegawa Genpei, courtesy SCAI THE BATHHOUSE, Tokyo. Courtesy of MoMA.

Murakami Saburō. Work Painted by Throwing a Ball (Tōkyū kaiga). 1954. Ink on paper. 41 5/8 x 29 3/4″ (105.7 x 75.6 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Committee on Drawings Funds and funds provided by Hanjin Shipping. © Estate of Murakami Saburo, courtesy Artcourt Gallery, Osaka, and McCaffrey Fine Art, New York. Courtesy of MoMA.

Catalogue cover. Tokyo 1955-1970: A New Avant-Garde Doryun Chong, with essays by Michio Hayashi, Miryam Sas, and Mika Yoshitake.

Tokyo 1955–1970: A New Avant-Garde provides a focused look at the extraordinary concentration and network of creative individuals and practices in this dynamic city during these turbulent years. Featuring works of various media—painting, sculpture, photography, drawings, and graphic design, as well as video and documentary film—the exhibition offers a story of artistic crossings, collaborations, and, at times, conflicts, with the city as an incubator. It introduces the myriad avant-garde experiments that emerged as artists drew on the energy of this rapidly growing and changing metropolis.

Tokyo 1955–1970: A New Avant-Garde brings together some of the most iconic works from the period as well as works recently discovered or reevaluated by new scholarship. A significant number are already part of MoMA’s collection, while others are on loan from important public collections in Japan and the United States. Artists in the exhibition include artist collectives such as Jikken Kobo (Experimental Workshop), Hi Red Center (Takamatsu Jiro, Akasegawa Genpei, Nakanishi Natsuyuki), and Group Ongaku (Group Music); critical artistic figures such as Okamoto Taro, Nakamura Hiroshi, Ay-O, Yoko Ono, Shiomi Mieko, and Tetsumi Kudo; photographers Moriyama Daido, Hosoe Eikoh, and Tomatsu Shomei; illustrators and graphic designers Yokoo Tadanori, Sugiura Kohei, and Awazu Kiyoshi; and architects Tange Kenzo, Isozaki Arata, and Kurokawa Kisho, among others.

In conjunction with Tokyo 1955–1970: A New Avant-Garde, MoMA presents a 40-film retrospective of the Art Theatre Guild, the independent film company that radically transformed Japanese cinema by producing and distributing avant-garde and experimental works from the 1960s until the early 1980s. The retrospective features such filmmakers as Teshigahara Hiroshi, Shindo Kaneto, Imamura Shohei, Oshima Nagisa, Matsumoto Toshio, and Wakamatsu Koji. This exhibition runs December 7, 2012–February 10, 2013, and is organized by Go Hirasawa, Meiji-Gakuin University; Roland Domenig, University of Vienna; and Joshua Siegel, Associate Curator, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art.

In conjunction with the film exhibition Art Theater Guild and Japanese Underground Cinema, 1960–1986

Venue.- MoMA.The Museum of Modern Art. 11 West 53 Street New York, NY 10019. USA.
Dates.- November 18, 2012–February 25, 2013..
Organized by Doryun Chong, Associate Curator, with Nancy Lim, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition is co-organized and supported by the Japan Foundation.