PRESS RELEASE

2020.6.30

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History andCulture are carrying out this exhibition as part of the Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL.

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

Eiko Ishioka: Blood, Sweat, and Tears—A Life of Design
14 November 2020 – 14 February 2021
The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) is pleased to present the world’s first large-scale
retrospective exhibition dedicated to Eiko Ishioka (1938-2012), an internationally renowned art director
and designer who ignited with her work a new era in various fields including advertising, theater, cinema,and graphic design. The exhibition takes a comprehensive look at Ishioka’s distinctive, incandescentcreations, from her groundbreaking ad campaigns from early in her career, to her design work for films,
opera, theater, circuses, music videos, and projects for the Olympic Games.

Highlights
Introducing Eiko Ishioka’s Design Process though Collaborations
As described in detail in her autobiography, I DESIGN (Kodansha Ltd., 2005), Eiko Ishioka’s work has also been realized
through a series of robust collaborations with great masters in their respective fields, such as Miles Davis, Leni
Riefenstahl, Francis Ford Coppola, Björk, and Tarsem Singh. Along with extensive materials regarding her design
process, the exhibition introduces and attempts to approach the secrets of “Eiko Ishioka’s Practice” which considers
means of exerting individual creativity in the context of group production.

Experience the Overwhelming Fervor of Eiko Ishioka’s Design
This highly enthusiastic exhibition invites visitors to experience Eiko Ishioka’s works and her ongoing creations, which
while harboring the vibrant dynamism of the human body at its core and focuses on “red” as a key color, have a great
visual impact and exude emotion. Also presented on this occasion is a valuable selection of costumes from theHollywood Academy and other archives around the world, centering on those that Ishioka had designed for Bram
Stoker’s Dracula (1992) for which she won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, as well as other cinema andtheater productions including The Fall (2006), Mirror Mirror (2012), and The Ring of the Nibelung (1998-1999) at theDutch National Opera.

Timeless, Original, Revolutionary… The Power of Creation that Ignites a New Era and Traverses Boundaries
In her series of work such as her posters for Shiseido (1966) featuring Bibari Maeda, which could be considered as amilestone in the history of design, and her advertisement campaigns for Parco in the 1970s to 1980s, Eiko Ishioka
ignited a new era by presenting the liberated female image and contrasting and integrating the cultures of the Orient
and the rest of the world. Since relocating her life and practice overseas in 1980, she took it on herself to confront
various difficulties and challenge all areas of design under her motto “survive.” The works of Eiko Ishioka, whoheralded the themes of “Timeless, Original, Revolutionary” as the essence of her design, and constantly continued toexplore and expand the possibilities of “the self,” indeed delivers a powerful message to us living today in 2020.
Contact

Museum: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Public Relations Chiako Kudo / Mihoko Nakajima E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en* All Programs are subject to change.

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Exhibition Overview
1 Timeless: Designing the Times
Eiko Ishioka renewed existing frameworks such as gender, national borders, race, and through visual language served
to propose new ways of life to society. Bringing focus to her graphic, editorial, product designs, and other commercial
projects, the exhibition traces the development and maturity of Japanese popular culture through looking at
consumer behavior, spanning from the nation’s period of high economic growth in the 1960s, up until the 1980s.
Ishioka’s attitude of attempting to both design and transcend the times is that which predicts her activities andpractices thereafter.
Projects:- Advertisement campaigns for Shiseido- Kadokawa Shoten, and Parco (posters, commercials, 1960s-1980s)- Kadokawa Shoten Yasei Jidai (magazine, 1974-1978) and others.

2 Fearless: Designing Encounters
Since the mid-1980s, Eiko Ishioka expanded her activities from Japan to the world through new encounters withvarious creators, also transcending the realm of expression in design to work in graphic design, art direction, costumedesign, and production design. Ishioka opened up possibilities for design through collaborations, while confronting
the question of how to maintain the identity of individual creation and show originality within the mammothentertainment industry.
Projects:- Collaborations with Leni Riefenstahl (exhibitions, publications etc. 1980/1991)- Miles Davis TUTU (record album, 1986)- M. Butterfly (theater production, 1988)- Chushingura (opera, 1997)- MISHIMA―A Life in Four Chapters (film, 1985)- Bram Stoker’s Dracula (film, 1992) and others.

3 Borderless: Designing the Future
The exhibition introduces Ishioka’s costumes for opera, films, circuses, as well as her uniforms for the Olympic Gamesin order to present a cohesive overview of her work that serves to expand the body, and design unknown visualrealms that transcend individual attributes such as ethnicity, age, and region. Ishioka’s practice in the latter half of herlife, expands human possibilities to the fullest extent with universal themes of eternity, rebirth, dreams, and adventure
as a foothold, and also overlaps with her own life in which she had continued to boldly transgress borders to venture
into new realms.
Projects:- The Cell (film, 2000)- The Fall (film, 2006)- Grace Jones, Hurricane Tour (concert tour, 2009)- Cirque du Soleil, Varekai (contemporary circus, 2002)- Björk, Cocoon (music video, 2001)- Salt Lake City Olympics (uniform, 2002)- Beijing Olympics (opening ceremony, 2008)- The Ring of the Nibelung (opera, 1998-1999)- Mirror Mirror (film, 2012) and others.
Contact

Museum: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Public Relations Chiako Kudo / Mihoko Nakajima E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en* All Programs are subject to change.

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Profile of Eiko Ishioka
Born in Tokyo in 1938. Graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music;
entered the cosmetics company, Shiseido. Ishioka came to the fore with her design for thesummer campaign (1966), which became a social phenomenon. Opening her own firm, she
continued to produce historic ad campaigns for Parco, Kadokawa Shoten, and othercompanies. Relocating to New York in the early 1980s, she worked in fields ranging frommovies to opera, circus, the stage, and music videos. Ishioka won a Grammy Award (1987)
for her design of Mile Davis’s album TUTU and the Academy Award for Best Costume Design(1992) for the movie, Bram Stoker’s Dracula. She served as director of costume design forthe opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Died in 2012.
1 Eiko Ishioka, 1983
Photo by Robert Mapplethorpe©Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation.
Used by permission.

Exhibition catalog
Publisher: Shogakukan Inc.
Price: 3,000 yen (tbc)
Contributors: Tadao Ando, Kazuko Koike ,Seigo Matsuoka, Hiroshi Sugimoto ,Taku Sato ,Yuriko Kuchiki,
Tomoko Yabumae [Interview with Pierre Audi (theater director)]
Design: Hiroyuki Nagai, Ryoko Ishioka
Number of pages: 300*The price, format, and contents are subject to change.

InformationExhibition Period

Sat. 14 November 2020 – Sun. 14 February 2021

ClosedMondays (except 23 Nov., 11 Jan. 2021), 24 Nov., 28 Des. 2020 – 1 Jan. 2021, 12 Jan.

Opening Hours

10:00 – 18:00 (Tickets available until 30 minutes before closing.)

Admission

Adults－1,800yen / University & College Students, Over 65－1,300yen / High School &Junior High School Students－700yen / Elementary School Students & Younger－Free

Venue

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo Exhibition Gallery 1F / B2F

Organized by

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo operated by Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation forHistory and Culture, The Yomiuri Shimbun, The Japan Association of Art Museums

Sponsored byLion Corporation, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., Sompo Japan, Nippon TV, Parco, etc. (tbc)

In Cooperation WithDNP Foundation of Cultural Promotion, Shiki Theater Company, Shiseido, Nanasai etc. (tbc)

Curated by

Tomoko Yabumae (MOT)

Advisory Board

Ryoko Ishioka, Taku Sato, Hiroyuki Nagai

Exhibition Design

Takashi Nakahara + Mariko Abe

Concurrent Exhibitions“MOT Annual 2020”“MOT Collection”
Contact

Museum: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Public Relations Chiako Kudo / Mihoko Nakajima E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en* All Programs are subject to change.

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PRESS IMAGES

3 Eiko Ishioka, Production design for the movie
MISHIMA―A Life in Four Chapters (Directed by Paul Schrader, 1985)
Mishima ©Zoetrope Corp. 2000. All Rights Reserved. /©Sukita2

Eiko Ishioka, Art direction for the poster,
Can West Wear East ? (Parco, 1979)

4 Eiko Ishioka, Art direction for the album package,
TUTU (Miles Davis, 1986)©The Irving Penn Foundation
5Eiko Ishioka, Costume design for the movie,

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, 1992)©David Seidner / International Center of Photography

6 Eiko Ishioka, Costume design for the opera, The Ring of the Nibelung(Composed by Richard Wagner, directed by Pierre Audi, Dutch National Opera, 1998-1999)©ruthwalz

Contact

Museum: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Public Relations Chiako Kudo / Mihoko Nakajima E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en* All Programs are subject to change.

47 Eiko Ishioka, Costume design for the contemporary circus,
Varekai (Cirque de Soleil, 2002)
Director: Dominic Champagne /Director of creation: Andrew Watson /Set designer: Stéphane Roy / Courtesy of Cirque du Soleil

8 Eiko Ishioka, Costume design for the movie,
The Fall (Directed by Tarsem Singh, 2006)©2006 Googly Films, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

9 Eiko Ishioka, Costume design for the movie,
The Fall (Directed by Tarsem Singh, 2006)©2006 Googly Films, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

10 Eiko Ishioka, Costume design for Beijin 2008 Summer Olympics
Opening Ceremony (Directed by Zhang Yimou, 2008)©2008 / Comité International Olympique(CIO) / HUET, John

11 Eiko Ishioka, Costume design for the movie,Mirror Mirror (Directed by Tarsem Singh, 2012)©2012-2020 UV RML NL Assets LLC.
All Rights Reserved.

12 Eiko Ishioka, Costume design for the movie,Mirror Mirror (Directed by Tarsem Singh, 2012)©2012-2020 UV RML NL Assets LLC.
All Rights Reserved.

Contact

Museum: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Public Relations Chiako Kudo / Mihoko Nakajima E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en* All Programs are subject to change.

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IMAGE REQUEST FORM

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We have prepared 12 PR images for members of the press for the purpose of creating or supporting timely news stories related
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The images can be obtained upon request using the following image request form. Please provide the following information via
e-mail or fax (+81-3-5245-1141). With regards to the usage of these images in your publication, we would like to make thefollowing requests:* We would much appreciate it if we could be provided with a copy of respective article texts for us to check for errors before thefinal print.
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1 Eiko Ishioka, 1983 Photo by Robert Mapplethorpe ©Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation.
Used by permission.
2 Eiko Ishioka, Art direction for the poster, Can West Wear East? (Parco, 1979)
3 Eiko Ishioka, Production design for the movie, MISHIMA―A Life in Four Chapters (Directed by Paul Schrader, 1985)
Mishima ©Zoetrope Corp. 2000. All Rights Reserved. / ©Sukita
4 Eiko Ishioka, Art direction for the album package, TUTU (Miles Davis, 1986)©The Irving Penn Foundation
5 Eiko Ishioka, Costume design for the movie, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, 1992)©David Seidner / International Center of Photography
6 Eiko Ishioka, Costume design for the opera, The Ring of the Nibelung (Composed by Richard Wagner, directed byPierre Audi, Dutch National Opera, 1998-1999) ©ruthwalz
7 Eiko Ishioka, Costume design for the contemporary circus, Varekai (Cirque de Soleil, 2002) Director: Dominic Champagne /Director of creation: Andrew Watson / Set designer: Stéphane Roy / Courtesy of Cirque du Soleil
8 Costume design for the movie, The Fall (Directed by Tarsem Singh, 2006) ©2006 Googly Films, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
9 Costume design for the movie, The Fall (Directed by Tarsem Singh, 2006) ©2006 Googly Films, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
10 Costume design for Beijin 2008 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony (Directed by Zhang Yimou, 2008)©2008 / Comité International Olympique (CIO) / HUET, John
11 Costume design for the movie, Mirror Mirror (Directed by Tarsem Singh, 2012)©2012-2020 UV RML NL Assets LLC. All Rights Reserved.
12 Costume design for the movie Mirror Mirror (Directed by Tarsem Singh, 2012)©2012-2020 UV RML NL Assets LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Contact

Museum: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Public Relations Chiako Kudo / Mihoko Nakajima E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en* All Programs are subject to change.

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