It saddens up to announce that famed Japaense psychedelic and Pop artist, Keiichi Tanaami, died on August 9, 2024, at the age of 83. The announcement was made via his gallery, Nanzuka Underground, this evening. Tanaami, born in 1936, had been an active graphic designer, filmmaker, and artist since the 1960s, as documented in early films shown at the Juxtapoz Clubhouse in 2018 with NANZUKA. Nanzuka once wrote of Tanaami that, "The reason why Tanaami's work has been re-recognized in recent years as being extremely important in the context of art discourse, is not limited to the pop art nature of his work in which he uses distinctive comic-style depictions as a weapon for expression. It is because Tanaami’s works, whether they are personally produced or a commercial work for magazines or posters, all paint a picture of the social and cultural history of the postwar world with Japan as a filter.”
He was long a favorite of Juxtapoz, with his music video for John Lennon's "Oh Yoko!" being a personal favorite of ours. Rest in peace, Keiichi. —Evan Pricco
