May 10, 2016 - Sale 2414

Sale 2414 - Lot 258

Price Realized: $ 3,900
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 3,000 - $ 4,000
TADANORI YOKOO (1936- ) WORD IMAGE. 1968.
48 3/4x17 1/4 inches, 124x43 1/2 cm. Poster Images Ltd., [New York.]
Condition B+ / B: minor losses and pin holes in corners; minor tears at edges; creases, abrasions and scuffing in image.
For the seminal exhibition of 20th century posters from the Museum of Modern Art's own collection, curator Mildred Constantine assembled what Rita Reif referred to as "a landmark presentation that helped define the medium for scholars, graphics specialists and collectors" (New York Times, June 26, 1988). The exhibition focused as much on contemporary images as historical ones, and the curators put extra emphasis on the contemporary state of graphic design by choosing Tadanori Yokoo to design the exhibition poster. For this golden opportunity, he created a synthetic image with no typography within the composition to distract the viewer. Using mouths and one large eye he perfectly evokes the concept of "word" and "image." He employs the rays of the rising sun, one of his favorite and recurring motifs, but here, makes the colors red and blue for America rather than the usual Japanese red and white. Yokoo 546.