MOT Collection:
Membrane of the Time
Special feature | YOKOO Tadanori-Ever-Changing,
Like Water
100th Anniversary of Birth | Sam FRANCISFRANCIS, of which this year marks his centennial.
We hope visitors will take the opportunity to freely enjoy
the diverse variety of works.
In closing, we would like to express our heartfelt
gratitude to all of those who have honored us with their
unstinting cooperation in realizing this exhibition.

Sat. 15 July – Sun. 5 November, 2023
Collection Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Art
Tokyo

1 MIKAMI Seiko
In Scale (1993), multiple shower heads are lined up on the wall,
and a weighing scale is placed in front of them. The showers areof course fake, and when confronting the work, viewers can only
imagine their bodies being hit by the sheer pressure of the waterthat may potentially be sprayed from them. Nevertheless, itsufficiently evokes the concept of hygiene that demands
excessive cleanliness, and the compulsion of having (or being in)control of one’s body.
The installation consisting of nine plastic suitcases lined up
on a roller conveyor and a yellow container tied to a carry cart
is constructed based on MIKAMI Seiko’s (1961-2015) 1993 solo
exhibition “World Membrane: Disposal Containers.”* Eachsuitcase, whose sides have been replaced with transparent
material, is packed with storage containers for medical orindustrial use, as well as equipment such as protective gloves.
Words such as "Radioactive Waste," "Laboratory Animals:
Infectious Waste," "Biohazard" and symbols indicating
precautions for handling are written on the various labels andtags affixed to the containers, creating somewhat of a grave
atmosphere. The use of suitcases and a scene reminiscent of abaggage inspection area at an airport, implies the possibility thatthe substances stowed in the containers can travel (betransported) across borders. Today, thirty years later, in thecontext of having experienced a global pandemic, the work
appears to convey Mikami’s foresight as it suggests the mannerby which viruses manage to leak out and spread no matter how
much they are sealed and protected.
Mikami Seiko, who passed away suddenly in 2015, had been
active as an artist for around thirty years. Her practice canroughly be divided into two distinct phases: the 1980s, when she
used junk materials (scrap metal, broken machines, electronic
substrates, cables, etc.) to create objects, large-scale installations,stage sets and so forth on the theme of information society andthe human body; and the 1990s onwards, during which she
began producing interactive works using perception as a key
interface after studying computer science in New York.
Mikami’s works that have recently been added to ourmuseum collection were created in the early 1990s, which wasa transitional period. They are valuable examples for exploring
the changes and continuity of Mikami's activities, as an artist who
only has an extremely limited number of extant works.

Foreword
The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo houses
approximately 5,700 artworks in its extensive collection, whichspans the modern and contemporary periods with a focus onart of the postwar years. Each installment of the “MOT
Collection” exhibition introduces artworks in the collection
from various themes and angles in its effort to convey thediverse appeal of contemporary art.
On the 1st floor, works from the end of the 1980s onward
will be presented under the title, “Membrane of the Time.”
Starting with recently acquired works by MIKAMI Seikoproduced in the early 1990s, we introduce a diverse selectionof works that employ a wide variety of media, including painting,sculpture, installation, photography, and video. “Membrane,”mentioned in the title of this section, is one of the keywords
that Mikami had repeatedly used around the time in which she
produced these works. A membrane is literally a thin layer thatis located between the inner and outer surfaces of something.
While it protects what is contained within, it also serves toenshroud and conceal. The exhibition likens this “membrane”
to various things such as the skin covering the surface oforganisms, the ideas that shape individual consciousness andsociety, and the relationship with technology that expands thecapabilities of the human body. As we reflect on the past thirty
years or so in which these works were created, we hopeviewers will take this opportunity to enjoy engaging with eachartist’s endeavors while looking at the shifting sense of thecorporeality and outlook on life that is observed there.
The 3rd floor section titled, “Special feature: YOKOO
Tadanori—Ever-Changing, Like Water” introduces works
spanning from the 1960s to recent, centering on those newly
added to the museum’s collection. Yokoo Tadanori has worked
as a graphic designer and illustrator since the 1960s, continuing
to develop his oeuvre across a wide range of fields after shifting
his focus to painting in the 1980s. In 2021, the Museum ofContemporary Art Tokyo held a large-scale exhibition focusing
on Yokoo’s paintings titled, "GENKYO YOKOO TADANORI.”
On this occasion, we present a combination of works that werecollected in correspondence to his solo exhibition as well as aselection of his graphic works that were not showcased at thetime. Yokoo's work has undergone a myriad of transformations"like water" throughout his extensive career of over 60 years.
The exhibit explores new appeals of his artistic practice throughfocusing on expressions related to “water” that appear in manyof his rich variety of works. In addition, works by artists thatinspired Yokoo will be presented.
Also featured is a series of large-scale paintings by Sam*Held at Gallery NW House in Tokyo (1993).

2 FANG Lijun, HIRAKAWA Noritoshi, OZAWA
Tsuyoshi
In China, following the Tiananmen Incident (1989), young artists
who preserved the memory of the incident gave birth to a1

contemporary art movement known as cynical realism, whichcomically portrayed feelings of anxiety, helplessness, andresignation within the context of figurative expression. The
figure floating on the water with their eyes closed in the work
1993 No.11 (1993-1994), painted by FANG Lijun (1963-) who
had embodied this movement, is in fact a self-portrait of theartist himself. A certain kind of uneasiness can be felt even in
the midst of tranquility, if one imagines the painting’s
introspective grey surface as being a membrane that seals within
it the feelings and cries of youths who were left repressed.
“S” which serves as the title for the series of black andwhite landscape photographs by HIRAWAKA Noritoshi(1960- ) derives from first letter of Switzerland where theimages were taken, as well as the word “suicide.” In Switzerland,
where suicide is regarded as a religious taboo, Hirakawa took
bird’s-eye view photographs of locations where suicides had
actually taken place. When gazing at the scenery that the people
who took their own lives would have seen during their last
moments, one may feel a strange sense of lightheadedness, as if
drifting between the realms of life and death.
OZAWA Tsuyoshi (1965- ) uses the term Jizoing in the titleof his series of photographs that capture small hand-made “Jizo”
statues within the various landscapes encountered during his
travels around the world. The "Jizo" were originally threedimensional figures made of clay, but eventually were simplified
to symbols that could be drawn with more ease. Some of thenames of the places he visited are associated with majordisasters and historical events. The dark blue monotone color
scheme inspired by the sky before sunset seems to express theephemerality and meaninglessness of life. The quiet appearanceof the Jizo that have been casually inscribed, also conveys to us
the solemnity of asserting what it means to travel the earth with
one's own feet and experience various locations in person,
despite the contradictions one may harbor.

worked with a variety of materials and techniques, he abstracted
each part of the human body and explored the possibilities ofshapes and forms through combining them. I.S.M. Kit-A #2, I.S.M.
Kit-B #1 (1991) are three-dimensional works made byassembling individual relief parts that have been cut out from asingle PVC sheet "I.S.M. Owned (KIT)" (hereafter referred to as
KIT). According to Ishihara's manual, it is possible to purchase
the KIT itself as a multiple piece and own it without making any
modifications, but should it freely be assembled and signed, it
becomes the owner's own work. On the other hand, if Ishihara“certifies” and signs the assembled piece, it is considered a oneand-only work by Ishihara.*² Ishihara states, “KIT represents therelation between you and me (Ishihara).” Using KIT as a medium,
Ishihara attempts to create a form of relationship surrounding
the work through collaborations with each owner.
*¹ A technique in which a piece of paper, etc. is placed on an
uneven surface and the pattern is transferred onto the paper
by rubbing it with a drawing tool.
*² The works in the museum collection are version that wereassembled by the artist himself.

4 HOMMA Takashi, KAIHATSU YoshiakiEver since the nation’s period of high economic growth, Japan’s
suburbs have developed concentrically around urban areas. This
movement has been observed not only in Tokyo’s metropolitan
area but also in rural regions due to public infrastructure
projects that were carried out during the bubble period, as wellas road constructions implemented as an economic measure
after its collapse. Residential and commercial neighborhoods
with homogeneous and artificial appearances devoid of local
character had thus emerged across various parts of Japan.
TOKYO SUBURBIA (1995-1998) is a series of photographs
by HOMMA Takashi (1962-). Here, ubiquitous urban andresidential areas around Tokyo, as well as the youths andchildren who live there, are captured in bright and translucent
colors. Brand new asphalt laid out on rezoned plots of land,houses that give a similar impression while employing slightly
different designs and building materials, plants that are yet totake root and appear like some estranged foreign object, andthe innocent expression of young boys and girls that neither
seem to resist nor abide. While such landscapes are detachedfrom the land’s history like some fictional concoction, for thegenerations of those who were born and live there, they aresimply places within which their everyday lives unfold. Homma
attempts to capture the surface of these landscape from aneutral perspective while maintaining a certain distance.
KAIHATSU Yoshiaki (1966- ) creates performances andinstallations based on familiar events and interests with thetheme of communication. Since he was a student at art
university, he has regularly exhibited his works in various spaces
centering on rental galleries in Tokyo’s Ginza district. While
there are some works that he produces meticulously on his own,
he also carries out various large-scale projects that are realized
as a result of the participation and cooperation of viewers, madepossible by lowering their defenses through his unpretentious
style and personality. One of his early video works, Roll (1998),
presents unedited footage of the artist simply engaging in the

3 ISHIHARA Tomoaki
ISHIHARA Tomoaki (1959- ) does not adhere to a particular
style or technique, but instead always creates what he wishes
using methods that appear most appropriate. Many of his works
reflect his interest in the body (human body), a theme which hehas continued to explore while repeatedly changing his
approach.
In Engagement (1988), the distinct fresco-like texture of theblue color surface that extends throughout was obtained byfrottaging *¹ the surface of the square floor tiles in Ishihara’s
studio at that time with oil paint. Placed in one corner, is aspindle-shaped canvas which appears to resemble a boat or aseed. The artist describes this shape as alluding to an extremely
simplified representation of the human body, with the spine as
the center line. An almost life-size photographic image of a
naked man (the artist himself) standing in a reclined pose isprinted onto its surface which is coated with photosensitive
emulsion. The organic form of the human body depicted within
is emphasized by its contrast with the geometric outline of the
shaped canvas. Ishihara himself envisioned shape of things to be
determined as a result of the conflict between internal andexternal forces.
In the "I.S.M." series (around 1987-1992), in which he2

act of rolling forward in the middle of a road that extends fromthe back of the screen to the front. In the background of the
footage filmed in New York during his artist residency, is theWorld Trade Center, which collapsed several years later due tothe 9/11 terrorist attacks.

the files that lie open and abandoned offhandedly to the metersand gauges with no writing on them whatsoever, everything
seems to have a matte and unnaturally uniform texture, while
also embodying an air of anonymity. The scene closely resembles
that of a serious incident yet is somewhat vacant.
Thomas DEMAND (1964- ) collects images found innewspapers, magazines, and the internet, using them as
references for building elaborate full-scale paper models ofscenes he wishes to create. His works, made by further
photographing these models with a large-format camera,present fictional “places” that harbor a sense of reality that is atonce different from the source photograph and is also by nomeans a product of 3D computer graphics or photomontage. In
these abstracted spaces, human figures are intentionally
removed as if to eliminate any unwanted interference.
FUKUDA Miran (1963- ) is an artist who focuses on theact of “seeing,” and through her works repeatedly encourages
viewers to question what it is that they are looking at. Presented,
is an oil painting with vermilion lines in a grid pattern painted in
the foreground of the image as if to obstruct one’s sight. At firstglance, the bold lattice pattern looks like an abstract rendering,
yet when reading the title, one realizes that the composition
depicts a specific motif -the packaging of a condiment productthat is all too familiar that we take no notice of it in our everyday
lives but is that which many people can easily imagine.
Although working with different methods and media, both
Demand and Fukuda seem to access images through multiple
layers, discovering things that otherwise would have remained
unseen, and persistently engaging in an attempt at their analysis.

5 MURASE Kyoko, KATO Mika, IBA Yasuko
The paintings by MURASE Kyoko (1963- ) often feature young
girls (or human-like figures that evoke such presences). In
Carousel (2003), the shape of the figure who appears to fling
their body around as if spinning in large circles, is not necessarily
depicted with a definitive outline. Rather, it manifests throughthe boundaries between the fluid areas rendered by means of
the artist’s vibrantly gestural brush strokes, breaking off here
and there to coalesce with the surroundings. The figure with
their eyes closed and lips lightly pursed suggests an air of
introspection, as if trying to perceive the world with every fiberof their being through sharpening their senses other than sight.
The girl in the painting, while stirring the sensibilities of theviewer, is perhaps entrusted with the enticing role of connecting
to the indescribable feelings and ambience that Murase attempts
to capture.
Canary (1999), which depicts a young girl whose
expression appears somewhat mature for a child, is so elaboratethat from a distance it may be mistaken for a photograph.
However, upon close observation it is possible to see thateverything from each individual eyelash to the small freckles
have been painted meticulously by hand. In producing her work,
KATO Mika (1975- ) begins by collecting images of faces cut out
from magazines, and creating a clay doll with a facial expressionthat fuses all of them together. This doll is then photographedfrom different angles for reference and serves as the model forher oil painting which is executed in painstaking detail. Viewers
may perhaps notice the miniscule dots of color that are
scattered throughout the painting like a fine spray. Thisparticulate membrane that does not actually exist in reality,
instills the lifeless doll with the texture of raw skin and flesh, as
if she were a living and breathing being.
IBA Yasuko (1967- ) also begins by taking photographs ofher subjects, and then creates oil paintings based on thosephotographs. Untitled 2009-02 (2009) which depicts a close-up
of a cushion, does not harbor the coldness and hardness thattends to be observed in hyperrealist painting. The matte finish,achieved by layering and blurring the paint with a brush used fornihonga (Japanese-style painting), preserves the painting in an
exquisite place between austerity and overelaboration. The
contours of the plant patterns on the cushions blur softly, taking
on a unique three-dimensional effect, and appearing to be
somewhat independent and organic in themselves. The artist
places significance not on what is depicted, but on the qualities
that are felt with the body.

7

NAWA Kohei

When peering into PixCell-Bambi #3 (2014) by NAWA Kohei(1975- ), it is possible to capture glimpses of a fawn on thesurface of the acrylic box. However, when trying to confirm thepresence of this fawn that is supposedly contained within thebox, one’s focus shifted as a result of the prism sheet attachedto the surface, and thus any attempt to perceive it in one placeis rendered futile. The complex shape of this small animal as wellas the tactile texture of its fur, is reduced to a rectangular acrylic
plane and its smooth surface.
In PixCell-Deer #17 (2009) and PixCell-Bambi #10 (2014),
the surface of a taxidermized deer is covered with transparent
spheres (cells) of various sizes. Each sphere, with an effectequivalent to a lens, changes the appearance of the color, texture
and size of what lies beyond it. Taxidermy by nature are objects
in which only the skin is preserved in a realistic state, as theinside is empty. The spheres that cling to the exterior of thedeer as if tracing the contours of its form, create a further
membrane of light, encapsulating the raw reality of the animal
while abstracting its presence.
PixCell, mentioned in the title of the work, is a neologism
devised by the artist, and is a combination of the words Pixel
and Cell. It illustrates Nawa's thoughts on the body and thenature of its perception in times when we are forced to update
our understanding of reality in the realm between digital andanalog as information technology continues increasingly
penetrate our lives.

6 Thomas DEMAND, FUKUDA Miran
What is seen here is a control room where the louvers of theceiling lights have become dislodged and are left hanging. From3

To our sense of sight and touch, the world appears to be acontinuous series of surfaces, with objects covered by various skin thatallows us to determine conclusively whether something feels real ornot. This ‘skin’ is the interface connecting our sensibilities with matter,and images are produced from the interaction between them.

compares the female body including her own, with the presenceof such goats that were involuntarily made an object of malesexual desire and traded like goods. In doing so, she attempted
to engage in a “dialogue” with the goat as an ‘other.’ In the work,
two pieces of footage are played alternately. One shows
Momose in her room in Tokyo painstakingly copying a caricature
she found online onto a sheet of paper using edible paint, while
the other shows her traveling to a field in a foreign country insearch of a goat. Ultimately, her one-sided enthusiasm fails, andher gestures of atonement and sympathy are completely
rejected by the goat. This unscripted, absurd performance isfilled with a cynical sense of humor and a pathos that seems toaccept the futility of life as it is.
I.C.A.N.S.E.E.Y.O.U (2019) is a video performance thatreconsiders the classic relationship between seeing and being
seen. The content itself is a simple act of converting the stringof letters "I.C.A.N.S.E.E.Y.O.U" into morse code and repeating
it through blinking her eyes. However, unlike signals that aretransmitted mechanically, the video signals that Momose
communicates using her own living body add non-verbal
information such as her overall appearance and facial
expressions as multi-layered interferences. Momose wasinspired to create this work after having seen a video on theinternet in which a person who was unable to speak while being
held hostage overseas, while seemingly obeying theperpetrators, communicated an SOS message in morse code
through blinking.

* Nawa Kohei, KOHEI NAWA－SYNTHESIS, exhibition catalogue, 2011,
p.168

8

CHIBA Masaya, KANEUJI Teppei

In his paintings, CHIBA Masaya (1980- ) directly depicts thatwhich he sees in front of his very eyes. However, they aretemporary artificial landscapes arranged by the artist like a stage
set, bringing together miscellaneous items including handcrafted
objects made out of paper clay and pieces of wood, articles fordaily use, tools, machines, and plants, as well as different
materials such as wood, glass, plastic, metal, and fabric. Turtle’sLife #3 (2013) is one out of a series of works in which Chiba
depicts his pet turtle viewing various imagery that he wishes it
to see. The work was produced publicly in the museum’s
exhibition gallery, based on a set that the artist had made onsite using objects brought from his studio. Multiple spaces are
displayed on the monitors in the painting, indicating the fact thatfootage from multiple locations were broadcast in real time
during its time of production. In addition, multiple perspectives
randomly coexist in this landscape, as evident in the subtly
placed photographs and sketches, objects with faces, camera
lenses, and the turtle’s point of view. While skillfully painting thedifferent textures of each and every object, Chiba seems tohumorously convey the complex aspects of society that cannot
be grasped from a single perspective.
A familiar cityscape may appear different when covered insnowfall. The white blanket of snow generates a different
landscape as the contours of various things ambiguously blend
together. To create works inspired by this curious phenomena,
KANEUJI Teppei (1978-) covered assemblages of miscellaneous
objects (such as toys, tools, furniture, and junk) first with white
powder, followed by experiments with melted plaster, and finallyarriving at white resin which drips down from top to bottom asseen in White Discharge (Built-up Objects) #4 (2009). Fluid things
have the ability to transform the subject into an uncontrollable
amorphous state and encourage the creation of something new.
Kaneuji himself mentions that he had been able to overcome
difficulties and challenges in his life and practice as an artist
through responding flexibly to each situation, rather thanattempting to control it.

10

HAN Ishu

HAN Ishu (1987- ) has created numerous short videos takenwith a fixed-point camera that capture simple actions
performed by himself in various landscapes of choice. The ocean
in particular, has been repeatedly used as a symbolic location for
the artist. Han describes the ocean as “not a distant memory, as
in a nostalgic landscape. Rather, it is a formless place that reflects
our present life itself”. * What the ocean implies changes
according to each work, at times conveyed as a borderline realm
that both separates and connects the places that lie beyond it
and where one is now, while in other instances, it is tied to thesociety one must fight and resist or is described as a place tomeasure the relationship between humans and nature.
Place to Return (2010) is Han’s first video performance inwhich he engages with the ocean. The artist is seen on adeserted beach, crawling towards the ocean. He crawls slowly
towards the water’s edge like a sea turtle while maintaining a
low profile, but is eventually pushed back by the waves and isunable to venture further. In A person as a territory (2016)
comprised of four consecutive photographs, the artist is shown
laying down on a small uninhabited island, with the rising tide
gradually covering the island’s surface with seawater until finally,
his body becomes a plot of land floating upon the ocean. The
sheer simplicity of Han’s work allows for multiple
interpretations.
Han was born in Shanghai and grew up in the Aomori
Prefecture in Japan’s Tohoku region with his family since the ageof nine. Following the Great East Japan Earthquake, unable tobear his helplessness and frustration, he traveled by bicycle from
Tokyo to Aomori while engaging in volunteer work in the

9 MOMOSE Aya
MOMOSE Aya (1988- ) who began producing videos as a means
to document her performances, traveled all the way to Mongolia
to create the work To Cuddle a Goat, a Poor Grammar Exercise(2016), inspired by a historical anecdote that she had I stumbled
across on the internet. The anecdote described how the British
Navy sent a large number of goats to the Japanese army as aform of aid during WWI, yet the Japanese army, unable tounderstand that the animals were intended to provide soldierswith sexual relief, had instead used all of them for food. Momose

4disaster-struck areas along the Pacific Ocean. return (2011) is awork that he made upon returning from this trip. Han stands infront of the ocean naked, as his clothes are thrown back at himfrom its waters (it is in fact reversed documentation footage ofthe artist throwing the clothes he has taken off into the ocean).
In this work, Han seems to express his fear of the ocean whichharbors an enormous energy as exemplified by the tsunami that
can instantly take the lives of many people, and at the same time
accepts the smallness of human beings who are empowered bynature. While serving as a requiescat for those who lost theirlives, it seems to affirm that even after an irrational calamity,
those who are alive have no choice but to live on while
harboring their weaknesses and contradictions.

Asahi Group Japan Ltd.) that are deposited in the museum
collection.
Sam Francis's career as a painter began in 1944, while being
hospitalized with spinal tuberculosis due to an accident during
his flight training for the US Army Air Corps. It while bedridden
in hospital that Francis started painting with watercolors as aform of therapy, eventually leading him to pursue his studies inart. After moving to Paris in 1950, he came to attract attention
as an up-and-coming painter in Europe, where art informel was
flourishing at the time. Furthermore, Francis was also a painterwho developed his artistic practice while maintaining a deep
connection with Japan, ever since visiting for the first time in1957 during his travels around the world. The paintings in thisroom, produced in 1985, are large-scale works that boldly andgenerously incorporate various elements observed in his pastoeuvre, and were brought to Japan as a result of a solo
exhibition that traveled around the country.
In the mid-1960s, Francis, while keeping studios in Europe
and Japan, relocated his life and practice to his hometown of
California. It was soon after this move that he began to place his
canvases on the floor and paint with fast-drying acrylic paint. As
observed in Untitled (SFP85-95), Untitled (SFP85-109), and Untitled(SFP85-110), the aqueous blotches of color and the undulating
streaks that harbor white void-like spaces within, along withsplashes of paint, vivid cluster of hues, and fine lines that seemto dance in the air, create a unique floating sensation. The artist
once stated, “I am fascinated by gravity...I like to fly, to soar, tofloat like a cloud, but I am tied down to place. Painting is a way
in and out.”* By committing ourselves to the spaces that unfold
within the paintings, we may find our senses to also be newly
expanded and reawakened.

＊Han Ishu, “Scenaries Drifting Ashore,” A sea, a living room, and askull, exhibition catalogue, 2021, p.36

11

UMEZAWA Kazuki

UMEZAWA Kazuki (1985- ), whose parents run a painting class,specialized in art in high school and studied imaging arts andsciences at university. He has also enjoyed games and anime
since childhood, belonging to a generation that grew up
familiarizing themselves with digital devices and directly
experiencing new cultures conceived in tow with the
popularization of the internet. Umezawa had originally engaged
in collecting large amounts of images of popular anime and gamecharacters that he loved on the internet, making collages out ofthem using digital image processing software. Eventually, hearrived at the production method of further processing,deconstructing, and reconstructing these digital collages totransform them into works. Umezawa's work, which traverses
between internet space and the real world, otaku culture andart, is attracting attention as a means of expression that issymbolic of the post-internet generation.
The Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred in 2011not only physically destroyed the sceneries of the affected areas,
but also led many people to confront the fact that virtual space,which was thought to be free and infinitely expandable, wasbased on physical reality. A Certain Mankind’s Super Landscape(2011) is a work that Umezawa produced after visiting the areas
devastated by the earthquake while struggling with how to
respond to this major incident that had occurred.* In his
previous works, images multiplied and proliferated within virtual
spaces detached from any sense of gravity. Here however, basedon the perspective spaces of landscape photographs of theactual disaster-stricken areas, he depicts the accumulation ofvirtual images as evoking a massive surge of energy, all the while
blending fiction and reality on the same plane.

*Peter Selz, Sam Francis, New York, 1975, p. 14

13 The Artists that Inspired YOKOO Tadanori

In conjunction with the special feature on YOKOO Tadanori(1936- ), we introduce works by artists who inspired Yokoo.
In 1967, Yokoo traveled to New York for the first timeand visited the "Factory," the studio of artist Andy WARHOL(1928-1987) who at the time was an unparalleled superstarof the art world. Warhol, who printed silkscreens while
donning his characteristic long silvery hair and sunglasses,
was a man of few words and lacking in emotions. Yokoo
mentions, “He seemed so disembodied, that I felt as if I weremeeting one of several copies of Andy Warhol." A Set of 6
Self-Portraits (1966) is a series of six self-portraits in different
combinations of colors and plates, all framed in one. As theimages are repeated, they seem to emphasize Warhol’s
presence as an idol or feigned fantasy of sorts, while
foreshadowing a sense of death.
Yokoo, who was inspired by the nude figures depictedby Tom WESSELMANN (1931-2004), had scheduled ameeting with the artist upon his second visit to the UnitedStates in 1968. Wesselmann offered to exchange his own
prints for the book Tadanori Yokoo’s Posthumous Works, which
Yokoo had brought with him. In particular, Wesselmann
expressed a fondness for the series of pink female nudes that
Yokoo had painted in 1966. The work Bathtub Collage #2*The work in the collection is a version partially revisedby the artist between 2018 and 2019.
12 100th Anniversary of Birth | Sam FRANCIS
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth ofCalifornian abstract expressionist painter Sam FRANCIS (19231994), we present a series of large-scale paintings (owned by5(1963) recreates a bathroom by incorporating towels,
cosmetics, and other actual objects into the picture plane,
but at the same time, it appears to be an abstract painting
with a calculated balance of color surfaces.
Yokoo was introduced to Jasper JOHNS (1930- ) by
Japanese avant-garde composer and pianist ICHIYANAGI
Toshi (1933-2022), with whom he was spending time withduring his stay in New York in 1967. Yokoo recalls learningfrom Johns how to be absorbent as an artist, that is, how to
be inspired by the works of other artists and incorporate
those responses into one’s own work. He also paid attention
to the way in which Johns employed the same motifs
repeatedly in his work, at times developing variations of them.
Initially produced as a painting in 1955, Target (1974) is a motifthat brought Johns to the forefront of attention, and has been
depicted in a variety of different methods and techniques in
his later works. This work was produced in collaboration
with Simca Print Artists, a printmaking studio run by
KAWANISHI Hiroshi. As many as 27 plates were used tomake the work appear as if it were directly painted by hand.
Yokoo attributes his appreciation for the works ofDavid HOCKNEY (1937- ) to the “white light” thatpermeates them. He also mentions feeling a certain“sensuality” as well as “the scent of the Californian sun” inthis light which in itself “does not play a psychological role.”
Lithograph of Water (1978-1980) is a series of prints depicting
a swimming pool that changes its appearance in various ways
according to the light reflecting upon the water’s surface,realized through the technique of overprinting that enables
variations of the same scene to be produced. Hockney's
work reveals his interest in such techniques and in painting
itself. In his lithograph of his friend Ann, Hockney
demonstrates the way in which a mirror that reflects a threedimensional object into two-dimensional, functions in thesame way as a picture.

The majority of Yokoo’s works are landscapes. In
particular, many of his works depict scenes with water, fromoceans to waves, horizons, waterfalls, caves, rain, and flooded
interiors*. Such scenes with water may to some extent beconnected to the fact that Yokoo grew up near the Kako
River in Nishiwaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, and that he wasborn under the star sign of Cancer and the Flying Star Feng
Shui star of 1 white water, which are both recognized ashaving deep connections to water.
Many of his works produced in the 1960s feature a large
motif in the center of the picture plane, or are rendered in asymmetrical composition. The water depicted in them isaccompanied by things that remind us of incidents andaccidents, such as charging airplanes and sinking ships, or attimes surround the characters as if it were a device toenhance the development of the narrative. These elementsof water enter the images and collide with other fragmentarymotifs, creating a sense of movement that disrupts the orderand harmony of the original composition. As implied by theidiom, to “pour [throw] cold water” on something, water isalso regarded as "that which stands between things andinterferes with their smooth interaction (progression).”
Perhaps the water in his work constantly fascinates andattracts people’s attention because of the way in which it
disrupts its surroundings while creating an unsettling
atmosphere.
* The depiction of horizons is discussed in detail in Dehara Hitoshi,"The Introduction of a Pictorial Perspective," Yokoo Tadanori: Beyond
Graphic Work, exhibition catalogue, Yokoo Tadanori Museum ofContemporary Art, 2014.

3．A Vessel for Landscapes
Water can take on any form depending on the vessel in which
it is contained. Yokoo employs several techniques to create
vessels for containing the landscape. (1) Bordering. As
already noted, many of his graphic design works are framedwith a border. Such brings to mind a black-edged obituary ora somewhat ominous looking tourist poster. (2) Repetition.
Repetitions of motifs and compositions is the mostcharacteristic technique observed in Yokoo’s work*. Works
utilizing the printmaking process can be considered as an
example of this technique. (3) Emphasis on central axis andsymmetrical composition. In particular, his 1970s series ofwork that depicts the ideal world of “Shambhala,” ischaracterized by their balanced composition based on
triangles (△). (4) “Yare”. A technique inspired by surprint.
Yokoo mentions that he found surprise and beauty in the“Yare” made by surprinting on discarded printed materials
until the printing ink would settle on the paper—a sight hewitnessed when working at a printing press after graduatingfrom high school. He described the images created as “likeexpressions of a four-dimensional world.” Many of his
collages combining various images can be seen as adevelopment of such “Yare”.

14 Special feature | YOKOO Tadanori

Ever-Changing, Like Water

1．Introduction
YOKOO Tadanori (1936- ) worked as a graphic designer andillustrator in the 1960s, continuing to develop his oeuvre acrossa wide range of fields after shifting his focus to painting in the
1980s. This special exhibition introduces his works spanningfrom the 1960s to recent, centering on those newly added tothe museum’s collection.

Yokoo’s first collection of works, Paintings, Prints andDrawings by TADANORI YOKOO (1981), published subsequent
to him expressing his decision to become a painter, featured
a conversation with art critic TONO Yoshiaki (1930-2005)
titled "Like Water: The Transformation of Tadanori Yokoo."Indeed, Yokoo’s works, “ever-changing, like water,” haveundergone a multitude of changes. The exhibit explores new*Yokoo Tadanori: HAN-HAN-PUKU-PUKU-HAN-PUKU, exhibition
catalogue , Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporar y Ar t,2012.

appeals of his artistic practice through focusing on expressions
related to “water” that appear in many of his rich variety ofworks.

4．Water / Mirrors
Water can also serve as a mirror that reflects a different

2．Scenes with Water
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world from the one in which we are in now. Yokoo uses thepower of such mirrors to open up worlds that seem familiar
but have never been seen before. It is possible to identify
each and every element of what is depicted in his work. Many
include reproductions of or references to something.
However, mysterious worlds unfold before one’s eyes, as the
texts featured are reversed or combined with other things.
Yokoo's works are like mirrors, capturing everything within
the picture plane, repeating and multiplying images as if itwere a kaleidoscope. For Yokoo, “Yare” (also written in
Japanese as “Yabure,” meaning “rupture” or “crevice”) is
what informs the overlapping of miscellaneous images, yetconnections could also be drawn between “Yare” and his
works in which motifs are rendered transparent, withwaterfalls appearing to flow through them. Like theunexpected worlds glimpsed through these chasms andcrevices, Yokoo creates landscapes in which this world andotherworldly realms intermingle and coalesce.
5．Similar Shapes
The front cover of Yokoo’s 1994 essay Heaven and Earth Are
Similar (paperback edition titled, I and Intuition and Alien)features the ace of hearts superimposed onto an image of Mt.
Fuji, which is similar in shape due to being reflected in water.
This book, written with love to Mt. Fuji that he had gazedupon whilst writing, appears to play between heaven andearth. This is indicative of Yokoo's practice that attempts toconnect this world and otherworldly realms through art. His
attitude of not choosing one or the other, but rather both, isalso expressed in the two subjects that appear in his works,
such as a waterfall and cave, a man and a woman. The “Yjunction,” recognized as a representative series within
Yokoo’s oeuvre, are of two roads branching off into different
directions, while the “Hanshan and Shide” (known inJapanese as Kanzan and Jittoku) series feature two legendarymonks. Such works perhaps reflect his idea that the two
subjects both exist and continue to change forever while
influencing one another.
“I personally feel that it is necessary to be fluid in theact of living.” This way of life, “like water,” as mentioned in his
1981 portfolio of works, has served as an impetus for his
artistic practice that moves freely here and there.

Texts by
OKAMURA Keiko (1-11),
MIZUTA Yuko (12),FUJII Aki (13-14)
Translated by Benger Kei© Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo 2023

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