IN THEATERS

Featuring Araki Nobuyoshi, Moriyama Daido, Hosoe Eikoh, Ishiuchi Miyako, Tanaami Keiichi, Yokoo Tadanori, Mishima Yukio, Hijikata Tatsumi, Ohno Kazuo, Terayama Shūji, Tenjō Sajiki, Kawada Kikuji, Watanabe Hitomi, Neo-Dada Organizers, Hi-Red Center, Awazu Kiyoshi, Kaneko Ryūichi, Hanaga Mitsutoshi, Nakahira Takuma, Enomoto Ryoichi, Tanabe Santaro, Sasame Hiroyuki, Mizohata Toshio, Morishita Takashi,Lena Fritsch,Alexandra Munroe,Lucy Fleming-Brown, Peter Tasker, Master K.

The 1960s era in Japan was a time of profound social change, political unrest and student protests. The turbulent times of the postwar era inspired an artistic explosion in Japan, with the emergence of a revolutionary scene of avant-garde artists who pioneered many disciplines: experimental and erotic photography, “Angura” theatre and underground street performances, apocalyptic Butoh dance, surreal illustrations and seminal graphic design.

A new aesthetic of photography was born: “Are, Bure, Boke” (rough, dark and out of focus), pioneered by Moriyama Daidō and the Provoke magazine photographers. Araki beautified bondage and Hosoe Eikoh sublimated the male body. Ishiuchi Miyako captured her experience of American military bases. Kawada Kikuji’s era-defining photobook The Map captured the poignancy of Hiroshima’s trauma.

Master of underground theatre Terayama Shūji produced countless magical, surreal and vividly colourful films, plays and photobooks, Yokoo Tadanori and Awazu Kiyoshi revolutionised graphic design with their incandescent theatre posters, Tanaami Keiichi, Japan’s answer to Andy Warhol, developed his unique kaleidoscopic vision of Pop-Art, and Butoh founders Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo impacted modern dance forever with their dance of darkness and light. 

Directed by Amélie Ravalec
Produced by Circle Time Studio
Co-produced by Whatsopp. Inc. / Maaserhit Honda

“Amélie Ravalec's new film Japanese Avant-Garde Pioneers provides a portal into a phantasmagorical world that is grotesque, erotic, dangerous, and as absurd as "Alice Through the Looking Glass" - yet also comical, exciting and unforgettable."

Nikkei Asia

“Japanese Avant-Garde Pioneers is a masterfully insightful work, one of Ravalec’s best, and opens a window onto an area of art that has been overlooked and underrated for far too long. This is a truly impressive visual feast of a film that begs to be seen on a cinema screen, so you can truly appreciate the visceral impact of the images. Miss it at your peril."

Outside Left

“Japanese Avant-Garde Pioneers not only shows that the artists it showcases produced some of the most cutting-edge contemporary art of the 20th Century; it also exposes the wide range of personalities behind that art — and the sheer wit that drove so many to reinvent themselves and part of their country. Highly recommended.”

Conscientious Photography Magazine

 JAPAN ART REVOLUTION

The Japanese Avant-Garde, from Angura to Provoke
1960 -1979

Created by Amélie Ravalec
Published by Thames & Hudson
25 September 2025
Featuring 600 artworks