Each bookstore will act as a concierge, recommending "must-read books" to FASHION HEADLINE readers. Every Thursday, each branch of the art bookstore "NADiff" will introduce a recommended book. This time, we'll be looking at NADiff Contemporary, a branch in Kiyosumi Shirakawa, Tokyo (located inside the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 4-1-1 Miyoshi, Koto-ku, Tokyo).
■ "All Y-Junctions" by Yokoo Tadanori
Yokoo Tadanori began working as a graphic designer in the early 1960s, interacting with and influencing many contemporary artists, including Yukio Mishima, Shuji Terayama, and Nagisa Oshima. While receiving high praise both at home and abroad, including a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1972, he was so shocked by the work of Picasso in 1980 that he declared himself a painter and subsequently shifted his focus from design to painting. This book focuses on Yokoo's signature painting series, "Y-Junction," which has become his life's work since 2000. One night, Yokoo visited the site of a former model shop at the sharp corner of a three-way intersection in his hometown, a place he often visited as a child. He discovered the site was simply a ubiquitous Y-junction, unconnected to any personal memories. "At that moment, I realized that a landscape detached from my own consciousness should be the subject of my paintings," he says of his encounter with the Y-junction motif. The collection includes 153 paintings, arranged chronologically. This luxurious volume also includes photographs and sketches that reveal the creative process. The Y-shaped three-way intersection, sometimes fantastical, sometimes eerily erotic, inspires an endless array of stories. The sheer variety is overwhelming, and one cannot help but sense the rich potential of painting.
Tadanori Yokoo is one of the most important artists in the history of Japanese contemporary art, frequently featured in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, where NADiff Contemporary is located, including his solo exhibition "Shinrabansho" in 2002.
His paintings will also be exhibited at the museum's next exhibition, "TOKYO Art Meeting VI "TOKYO" - Revealing the Invisible City," which will be held from November 7th. NADiff Contemporary also carries a wide range of apparel and miscellaneous goods that are full of Yokoo's unique worldview, created in collaboration with manufacturers.
【Book Information】
"All Y-Junctions"
Author: Yokoo Tadanori
Publisher: Iwanami Shoten
Language: Japanese
176 pages / A4 format
Publication Date: August 7, 2015
Price: 4,600 yen
【Exhibition Information】
"TOKYO Art Meeting VI "TOKYO" - Revealing the Invisible City"
Venue: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Special Exhibition Gallery, 1st and 3rd Floors
Address: 4-1-1 Miyoshi, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Dates: November 7, 2015 - February 14, 2016
Hours: 10:00 - 18:00 (Last admission 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Mondays (open on November 23rd and January 11th, 2016), November 24th, December 28th - January 1st, 2016, January 12th
Admission: Adults 1,200 yen
University and vocational school students and those 65 and over 900 yen
Junior high and high school students 700 yen
Free for elementary school students and younger
