Keiichi Tanaami was born in Tokyo on 21 July 1936, as the eldest son of a textile wholesaler. He was 9 years old when Tokyo was bombed during the
Great Tokyo Air Raid of
World War II in 1945. Images seared into the back of his mind at this time would become major motifs in his art works: roaring American
bombers,
searchlights scanning the skies,
firebombs dropped from planes, the city a sea of fire, fleeing masses, and his father's deformed
goldfish swimming in its tank, flashes from the bombs reflecting in the water. "I was rushed away from my childhood, a time that should be filled with eating and playing, by the enigmatic monstrosity of war; my dreams were a vortex of fear and anxiety, anger and resignation. On the night of the air raid, I remember watching swarms of people flee from bald mountaintops. But then something occurs to me: was that moment real? Dream and reality are all mixed up in my memories, recorded permanently in this ambiguous way." Tanaami took to
drawing from a young age, and as a
junior high school student he often spent time at the studio of leading postwar
cartoonist Kazushi Hara with the intention of becoming a cartoonist himself. After Hara's sudden death, however, he turned to the pioneering field within
manga of
graphic novels, and went on to study to become a professional artist at
Musashino Art University. Word of his talent spread quickly during his time there and in 1958, as a second year student, he was awarded the Special Selection at an exhibition held by the authoritative illustration and design group of the time. After graduating he took a job with an
advertising agency, but quit before one year was up due to the numerous private commissions he was receiving. During the '60s he busied himself as a successful illustrator and graphic designer while also actively participating in the
Neo-Dada organization, one of the defining art movements of postwar Japan. In the latter half of the '60s he immersed himself in making video art, the newest medium in the art scene at the time. "In the 1960s, the Sogetsu Art Center in
Akasaka regularly held events that traversed many diverse genres. There were happenings staged by
Yoko Ono, videos by
Nam June Paik and
experimental films from America. It was around that time that I heard about the [Sogetsu] Animation Festival (1965). I wanted so badly to make an animation, so I convinced
Yōji Kuri's Experimental Animation Studio to help me create 'Marionettes in Masks' (35 mm, 8 minutes). I continued to make animations after that, with works such as 'Good-by Marilyn' (1971), 'Good-by Elvis and USA' (1971), 'Crayon Angel' (1975) and 'Sweet Friday' (1975)." museum in Madrid (Spain).In 1967, Tanaami took his first trip to
New York City. There he came face to face with the works of
Andy Warhol, shining brightly amidst the whirlwind of prospering American
consumerism, and Tanaami was struck by the new possibilities of art within the world of design. "Warhol was in the process of shifting from commercial illustrator to artist, and I both witnessed and experienced firsthand his tactics, his method of incision into the art world. His strategies were identical to the strategies employed by advertising agencies. He used contemporary icons as motifs in his works and for his other activities put together media such as films, newspapers and rock bands. In other words, Warhol's sole existence was selling his works to the art market. I was shocked by this, and at the same time I embraced him as the perfect role model for myself. Like Warhol, I decided not to limit myself to one medium, to fine art or design only, but instead to explore many different methods." At the height of
psychedelic culture and pop art, Tanaami's kitschy, colorful illustrations and design work received high acclaim in both Japan and abroad. "NO MORE WAR", his prize-winning piece from the 1968
antiwar poster contest organized by
AVANT-GARDE Magazine, in addition to his album cover art for legendary bands
The Monkees and
Jefferson Airplane and other such works left a major footprint on the path to introducing psychedelic and pop art to Japan. Furthermore, his series of
erotic paintings featuring
Hollywood actresses done in the early '70s became an important body of work that declared Tanaami as the Japanese artist with a witty eye on
American culture. In 1975, Tanaami became the first art director of the Japanese edition of
Playboy,
Monthly Playboy, and went to New York once again to visit
Playboy's head office. The editor there took him to Andy Warhol's
Factory. Tanaami's works from this period, mostly in the mediums of film and print, were provocative and experimental. His films in particular received wide critical acclaim, appearing in the
International Short Film Festival Oberhausen in
Germany (1975, 1976), the
New York Film Festival (1976), and the
Ottawa International Animation Festival in
Canada (1976). The vanguard nature of his work led the police to shut down his 1976 exhibit
Super Orange of Love at Nishimura Gallery for inspection on the opening day. In 1981, at the age of 45, he suffered a
pulmonary edema and for a time hovered at the edge of life and death. Throughout the '80s and '90s, Tanaami created many works centered around the theme of
Life and Death based on the experience. For example, the
pine tree form that appears frequently in Tanaami's works comes from a
hallucination he experienced during his illness. Similarly, the
cranes,
elephants and naked women that appear along with spirals and miniature garden-like architectural forms are characteristic of his works from this period. In 1999, a retrospective of Tanaami's works from the '60s was held at Gallery 360° in Tokyo. The exhibit was praised highly by
Yamataka Eye (Boredoms) and
KAWS, cultural leaders of the new generation born after the '60s, and as a result, Tanaami's works once again became popular amongst
youth culture. Since 2005, Tanaami has been presenting new works that fall in the realm of fine art. In these works, he continues to manifest images from his personal memories and from his dream world—personified goldfish, deformed characters, rays of light, helical pine trees, fantastical architecture, young girls—through the various mediums of
painting,
sculpture,
film and
furniture. Tanaami worked as a professor at
Kyoto University of Art and Design since 1991, where he helped bring up young new artists such as Tabaimo. Recent exhibits include
Day Tripper at Art & Public in
Geneva (2007),
SPIRAL at Galerie Gebr. Lehmann in
Berlin (2008),
Kochuten at NANZUKA UNDERGROUND (2009),
Still in Dream at
Frieze Art Fair (2010) and
No More War at Art 42 Basel (2011),
works such The Catalogue of Eccentricity series 33, 52, 66 and 78 are include at
Protection No Longer Assured (2023) exhibition at
Colección Solo museum in Madrid and
The Last Supper (2015) is part of Colección SOLO's museum permanent exhibition. In 2022,
Venus Over Manhattan in partnership with NANZUKA, Tokyo, announced the representation of Tokyo-based artist Keiichi Tanaami in their debut solo exhibition with him, titled "Manhattan Universe." The exhibition featured Tanaami's latest monumental paintings, pieces from the "Pleasure of Picasso" series, and the video work "Red Shadow." ==Illness and death==