Taro Okamoto Explosion Encyclopedia

Commemorating the 100th anniversary of Taro Okamoto's birth.

Features approximately 200 major works, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, and drawings.
A powerful, large-format presentation!
Chronologically showcases major works, from "Space," "Contrepoint," and "Wretched Arm" created during his time in Paris and later lost, to "Night," "Heavy Industry," "The Law of the Forest," and "Myth of Tomorrow," which shocked post-war Japanese art.

Product Information
Publisher: Kawade Shobo Shinsha (April 15, 2011)
Release Date: April 15, 2011
Language: Japanese
Large Format: 432 pages
Dimensions: 23 x 4.1 x 28.8 cm

The largest collection of his works to date!

＜Recommended Words＞
In Paris, where Picasso roared and Joyce guffawed, the young Taro Okamoto threw himself into the raging straits of ultra-modernism. However, what awaited him upon his return to Japan was a pseudo-culture created by superficial modernists who played with the surface of modernity. Taro Okamoto, filled with anger, confronted the imposters, much like Don Quixote. Taro Okamoto, Japan's ultra-modernist, had few allies in his homeland, but those few – Jomon, Okinawa, Ainu, and the ancient – were all imbued with powerful magic. I, who witnessed that magnificent and comical struggle in my youth, vowed to fight like this man.
Shinichi Nakazawa (Anthropologist, Director of the Institute of Art Anthropology, Tama Art University)

Taro Okamoto's true value lies in the message "Follow the path that has no precedent." In Japan, which had been bombed and lost the war, he engaged in artistic activities across all media – painting, sculpture, photography, television – and relentlessly sought in art a means for the Japanese people to regain their humanity. Within this book, the unknown possibilities of Taro Okamoto are burning.
Takashi Murakami (Artist)