Shin Sangokushi Japanese Kabuki Poster 1990s

This is a Kabuki poster by Tadanori Yokoo, and it's a riot of theatrical imagery. I mean, just look at it – there are Kabuki actors, sure, but there are also peach pits, clouds, and even fire! I can just imagine Yokoo in the studio with all the different colors, not being scared to put them together, finding unexpected harmonies. It’s like he's got one foot in the old world and the other in Pop Art. The faces are so carefully painted, and I love how they float on the dark background. There's one figure that's reclined, as if dreaming, surrounded by a circular frame of bamboo and lush foliage, a garden within a play within a poster. The way Yokoo layers the different elements makes me think of collage, not just in the way it looks, but the way it makes you think. Like Robert Rauschenberg, he's taking different images and putting them together, making new meaning in the process. It’s a conversation across cultures and art forms.