May 25, 2017 - Sale 2449

Sale 2449 - Lot 292

Price Realized: $ 2,000
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 700 - $ 1,000
IKKO TANAKA (1930-2002) NIHON BUYO / UCLA ASIAN PERFORMING ARTS INSTITUTE. 1981.
40 1/2x28 1/2 inches, 103x72 1/2 cm. Toppan Printing Co., Ltd., Tokyo.
Condition A-: minor restoration and creases at edges and in image; minor abrasions at edges; ink stamp at bottom. Paper.
With a traditional artistic background in textile design, Tanaka ultimately switched to graphic design. From book to logo design, interior decoration, typography and exhibition design, he practiced every aspect of the field with a refined style. For years, he also worked for the Seibu group, for whom he supervised their global image. A lover of traditional Japan, his posters celebrated the arts and crafts of his native country in a superb, modern way. For the Nihon Buyo (Japanese dance) performance at UCLA, Tanaka depicts a dancer's face, as if composed of origami. This is the first time he used this emblematic form, and he went on to employ it frequently in different variations for other posters he designed for cultural events and exhibitions.