Graphical Analysis of ‘Myth of Tomorrow' of Taro Okamoto: Bipolar Oppositionalism of Tragity and Hope

Abstract

　This study deals with a theoretical reading of the plastic arts of the Japanese artist Taro Okamoto (1911-1996), on his mural titled “Myth of Tomorrow” (subtitled “Hiroshima, Nagasaki”)(1968-1969), which represents nuclear bombs as its motif. Since he proposed the “Bipolar Oppositionalism Manifesto” in 1950, he has upheld it as his artistic philosophy. In order to clarify the expression of his “Bipolar Oppositionalism”,we analyze the components and color composition in “Myth of Tomorrow” and their interrelationships making line drawings, and his attempts to deal with the tragedy of the nuclear bombs are discussed.