Key Dates: 1960-present
The name given to a wide range of cultural phenomena, to characterise a move away from the ‘highbrow’ seriousness of modernism, preferring a more eclectic and populist approach to creativity.
The term came into common use in the 1970s. It is used both as a ‘stylistic’ term and also as a period designation.
Paintings that have been described as Postmodernist include the work of Stephen McKenna and Carlo Maria Mariani, also selected works by Peter Blake and David Hockney.
Representative Artists:
Bridget Riley (Op Art)
Joseph Beuys
Ikko Taneka
He is most well-known for his poster design for the Nihon Buyo performance by the Asian Performing Arts Institute. The poster (pictured above) shows his fusion of modernist sensibilities and traditional Japanese culture through the simplified illustration of a geisha. He designed, among other things, posters, logos, packaging and annual reports. Among his wide ranging work, his designs for the symbols for the Expo ’85 in Tsukuba and the World City Expo Tokyo ’96 garnered much attention. He died in 2002 of a heart attack at the age of 71.
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