Exhibition Label:
"Japan Re-imagined/Post-war Art," Mar-2008, Kris Ercums
Part of the international renown Saitō achieved during the 1960s hinged on his successful reframing of Japanese historic architecture in compelling contemporary visual idioms. His use of broad swaths of color rendered in
organic, soft shapes drew upon wider trends in popular visual culture. These two elements—classic subject matter and contemporary design—indulged an exotic, oriental “otherness” prevalent among foreign audiences who continued to uphold a quaint view of Japan that differed fundamentally from the quickly modernizing economic powerhouse that was emerging onto the world scene.