Taro Okamoto’s “Men Aflame” (1955) is a swirling fusion of figuration, surrealism and abstraction. The content addresses the irradiation of Japanese sailors onboard the Dai-go Fukuryu-maru by fallout from American nuclear testing on Bikini Atoll. The painting is part of the 1950s Japanese art movement known as “reportage.” It was serious art — politically engaged, socially conscious and outraged.
“Art informel” (unformed art) of the later 1950s swept aside reportage and everything else with such apparent force that it was refered to as a whirlwind or typhoon. It was, however, largely a generational development in abstract painting.
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PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
KEYWORDS
Jiro Yoshihara,
Kazuo Shiraga,
Taro Okamoto,
Informel,
Jean Fautrier,
Toshimitsu Imai,
Michel Tapie,
Jean Debuffet,
Hisao Domoto,
Georges Mathieu,
Sam Francis,
Gutai Art Association,
Shozo Shimamoto
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